I love how God gradually reveals things about oneself, little tidbits of information and insights gleaned here and there over years, then one day just hits you with it: “This is you!”
This morning I was meditating on His Word. Suddenly in my mind’s eye I saw Greek letters. Seeing Christ through the lens of Luke, probably one of the most educated among Christ’s followers and a disciple under Paul at the time, a Hellenistic Jew from Turkey trained as a physician, this continuing-Christmas week morning God said, “This is you.”. I knew immediately what He meant….. I spent years having tested God through questioning one thing after another until my mind was satisfied that all I knew of God through His Word and Spirit is true (though I could never know all my mind would think to ask.) I had given my baby heart to Jesus at 10 and had even acknowledged His Lordship at 38, but I held back so much of myself for years until one day, I took a leap of faith and surrendered even my inquiring and analytical mind, no longer needing more answers and having been personally convinced of His Presence, Goodness, Sovereignty, and Love for me at a very personal level. I was “All In .”
I came at faith like a Greek…. learning, questioning, testing, comparing, evaluating. It’s not a bad thing, but it can take a while to get there..
Thankfully, God is Patient and Kind. I am grateful for the way in which God stayed so close by me
during all the time in the wilderness’ classrooms as I tested Him and He refined me!
The New Testament was originally written in Greek, not Hebrew or Aramaic. Jesus (/ˈdʒiːzəs/) is a masculine given name derived from Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς; Iesus in Classical Latin) the Ancient Greek form of the Hebrew and Aramaic name Yeshua or Y’shua (Hebrew: ישוע). Greek was the common cross-cultural language of trade, academics, philosophy, etc.
I’ve always been drawn to Luke’s iteration of the Great Commandment of Jesus…
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. ‘ “With approval Christ responded, ‘This do, and thou shalt live. ‘ (Luke 10:25-28). Somehow I know God will use all those things that God shows each of us along the way as we seek to love that way personally, individually, and intimately, to instruct and guide our hearts and minds. Nothing is wasted, even the painful things that seemed unfair, unnecessary, and unwanted.
Since I began to understand the truth and fullness of God’s redemptive power most fully in my early 40’s, I have increasingly become also “all in” on Romans 8:28 “…For we KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE THE LORD AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.”
Who is loved by the Lord? All whom He has created, offspring of creation.
Who loves the Lord? Those who are obedient to His Word and Spirit, whom He calls “Children of God.”
Who is called according to His purpose? Each of us who hears, understands and is obedient to Him.
Unless one accepts the predicate conditions of loving obedience to God’s call upon one’s life, the fullness of redemption of the difficult trials in life will not be understood, experienced, and embraced.