Category Archives: Parables

Transplanted in Christ

Posted on by

0

Transplanted in Christ

Most of us are familiar with the concept of a bone marrow transplant. We understand that when the bone marrow is diseased it must be irradiated and destroyed. Once this happens, a transfusion of healthy bone marrow is initiated and after a period of time this healthy marrow takes root and begins to produce healthy blood cells instead of diseased ones. This is how certain types of cancers can be cured.

It is a similar process within us when Christ comes to dwell in us. Our old, diseased marrow must be exchanged for the healthy marrow of this new Life. Our old sinful nature must be killed off. We must die to ourselves. It is only then that the healthy life giving force within us is free to flourish.

Those who experience this “transplanted nature” of Christ, like one recovering from a bone marrow transplant, need a carefully protected environment in which to begin their new life. Without such an environment, they can easily perish from the “infection” brought on by our culture and other forms of worldliness. Without proper support, these transplanted new Christians may fare even worse than their counterparts. In some ways they are even less able to fight off the ravages of disease than before their “transplant”. They need a protected environment in which they are nurtured, loved, supported, instructed, until they are strong enough to step out into the world with their new transplanted nature and face the inevitable conflicts that will arise as they face a world which no longer understands them or shares their values. Without a functional, stable, supportive, church environment these newly transplanted Christians may grow sick quickly and die. It is perhaps worse for them than if they had never been “transplanted” in the first place. For having endured one failed transplant, they are much less likely to be willing to undergo the process again at a later time. This is why Christ was so careful not to speak any message to a group or individual before they were ready to receive it. In perfect understanding of each heart He encountered, He never spoke more than people were ready or able to hear. Lest they have “eyes to see and ears to hear” before their hearts were ready to receive.

Some wonder today why there are not many new converts to Christianity. This may be a merciful act of God, one designed to save people from a much worse end. While coming to Christ is indeed important, coming at the right time, and having a healthy support system within a functional church to nurture the new Christian carries the same importance, if not more so. There is no higher calling for the Church of Jesus Christ in our world today than the care of newly transplanted souls.

A House Without Foundation

Posted on by

0

Shifting from foundation, Whittier

Shifting from foundation, Whittier (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A House without Foundation

Everyone knows that a house with a faulty foundation is a house in serious trouble. In the midst of a storm or a trembling of the ground there is great danger to the house. It may shake violently. What was once a small crack may dramatically increase in size. The house may shift in one direction or another. Any of these occurrences means danger for the residents. The house is no longer safe.

Is it the fault of the wind or the tremor that the house is in peril? Or is it the fault of whatever made the foundation faulty to begin with? This is a question worth considering when we look at conflict within our lives and that within the church. Our human tendency is to shake our fist and curse the wind when the house falters. But the real issue at hand is what lead to the faulty foundation in the first place?

When we as individuals or we corporately as part of the church, turn away from Christ our foundation becomes weak and cracks. The tragedy is that most often this is insidious and we don’t even realize that it has happened. Those who can see the cracks in the foundation raise appeals for it to be fixed. Sadly, these are often ignored. No one wants to address the problems and issues which lead to the cracks forming in the first place. Fixing a foundation of a house is very difficult, expensive, and time consuming. It is easier to ignore the problem, hope that the weather will hold, or just deny that the cracks are serious enough to warrant fixing. This “head in the sand” approach does nothing to address the problems with the house and ignores the dangers to the residents. The risk, of course, is that the house will one day collapse and destroy the relationship or the institution. May we be humble enough and wise enough to acknowledge when our house has cracks in it’s foundation. May we earnestly seek the One who can repair all things and make them new again. Amen.

Seeing the Unseen

Posted on by

0

Cover of "Seeing the Unseen"

Cover of Seeing the Unseen

Seeing the Unseen

Dogs have an amazing sense of smell that we humans simply do not share. This sense allows them to “see” things that their human friends cannot. Anyone who owns a dog can attest to how much they rely on this sense to examine the world.

Our dog Micah had a wonderful relationship with our cat Xena. From the time he came home to live with us they were fast friends. When she died, Micah seemed confused by her absence. We tried to explain as best we could, but to no avail. One day soon after her death, he discovered the cat carrier which we used to transport Xena and our other cat Gus to the vet. Micah began furiously to scratch and paw at the carrier. He sniffed, and sniffed, peering into the carrier. Finally, he gave up and walked away. Though his eyes were telling him one thing, his nose was telling him another. Though he could not see her, he could still smell her. Which to believe? His eyes or his nose?

Humans do not have the super sensitive smelling ability of dogs, but we have something similar and infinitely better and more useful. God has given each of us the ability to “see” with our spirits. When we make space inside ourselves for His presence, He comes and dwells within each of us. In so doing, we receive the gift of spiritual discernment. Though we still see the world with our eyes, what we sense through our spirits may be two entirely different things. But unlike our canine friends, what we see with our spirit is much more real and valuable. When there is conflict between what we see and what the spirit of discernment informs us, the conflict is easily resolved. Our eyes may deceive us. But The Spirit within us is impeccable in wisdom and knowledge. It is this sense which we must learn to rely on in order to navigate our world.

Tuning the Radio Frequency

Posted on by

0

German Heliogen brand radio showing "bask...

German Heliogen brand radio showing “basket-weave” coil, 1935 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tuning the Radio Frequency.

The true nature of prayer seems to me to be a difficult thing for many people to grasp. As I have contemplated why this is the following illustration comes to mind.

Prayer is a lot like trying to find a clear frequency on our car radio. If we turn the radio on and we hear nothing distinct or just a bunch of static, we don’t give up and just turn it off. No- instead we typically search for a station we wish to hear by turing the dial or pressing the seek button. We work with it until something becomes clear and discernible. We work with the radio dials until we find the music we are looking for.

In the same way we should approach prayer. The problem for most people is that they are so distracted with the day’s events or the messages in their head that they simply can’t hear past the static. After running through their laundry list of needs, they simply quit speaking, never bothering to quite “tune in”. Thus they miss the presence of God.

Practicing ” the presence of God” is an art that allows us to be tuned into the eternal at all times. It allows us to always be set at the correct frequency, and to always experience crystal clear reception. When from time to time, life interferes and we lose “the God Station”, we become immediately aware and know to begin retuning.

The difficulty lies in learning how to recognize ” the God Station”. Until we learn to recognize the sound of that which comes over those airwaves we will remain perpetually out of tune. Much of what is wrong in our world is that people don’t realize they are out of tune. They don’t seek the right channel. They don’t recognize ” the God Station” and in fact, are tuned into some other really lousy stations instead. Learning how to tune into the presence of God through prayer, scripture study, worship, is essential to learning to recognize His voice amongst a myriad of other forms of noise and static on our radio dials. So the next time prayer seems to be not working for you remember to adjust your tuner. Search the dials. Wait and listen. Practice the art of listening as well as speaking. Learn to sit in His presence. Be still and know. After awhile, you may just find that you are tuned in quite clearly to ” the God Station”. Amen.