The Most Important Word in History

     A baby in Bethlehem.  Angels singing praise.  Shepherds eager to spread the good news.  There's something so tranquil about this moment.  Something so... joyful.  The epitome of perfection was made flesh.  The Son of the Most High God was dwelling among men.  Our very salvation was resting in the arms of a human being!  The mere thought of it is baffling.

     But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

     We often think of this as the beginning, where it all started.  But did it really begin here?  Let's back up for a minute.  Before the manger, before the shepherds, before Mary, there sits on the throne in heaven an infinite God.

     Looking over His creation, the Father sees the sin that corrupts the hearts of humanity.  Why do they constantly turn their backs?  Yet in spite of this, the Almighty knows what has to be done.

     Speaking to His one and only Son, God says, "Do you see those people down there?  My people?  I want you to go to them.  And although they will reject you, mock you, and even torture you, I want you to live among them and teach them.  And, Son, I want you to lay down your life for them.  Will you go?"

     In this moment - this answer - rests our hope.  On it rests the lives of a girl named Mary and a man named Joseph.  On it rests the lives of every human in the history and future of the planet.  It is as if the entire universe holds its breath as the answer comes from the Savior's mouth:

     "Yes!"

     Yes!  What obedience!  What love!  That the Son of Man would be willing to live among and die for us, sinners, is unthinkable!  Who could possibly have such a willingness as to give their very life that others might have salvation?

     Yet we today are asked a similar question.  Will we commit our lives to serve the Holy One, no matter what the cost, no matter what we feel?  Do we have the obedience and love to be fools for Christ that others would come to know Him?  Will we be the Isaiah's of our generation and say "Here am I, Lord! Send me!" in a world of darkness?

     The Maker of Heaven and earth is awaiting your answer.  Will your answer be yes?

The Path to Redemption: An Allegory (Part 3)

         Just at that moment, however, Messiah arrived and dove into the sea.  With blows and attacks, Messiah freed Lost from Sin and Shame and cut the bindings of Works and the Law.  Lost, desperate for air, swam frantically in hope of reaching Redemption.  However, with Death threatening to pull him under, he could not find his way.  Much to his relief, though, Lost reached the shore.  But, unfortunately, it was the shore from which he came.  He was back where he started, with no hope of reaching Redemption. 

                While Lost was trying to find his way, Messiah struggled against the Sin and Shame under the sea of Death.  The beasts that had at first taken Lost began to pull Messiah under.  Joined by beasts such as Sorrow, Grief, Anguish, and others, Sin and Shame eventually accomplished their mission.  Messiah was dead.  Lying on the shore, without hope, Lost cried,

“Surely he has borne my griefs and carried my sorrows! 

The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all! 

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.”

                Lost looked longingly across the sea of Death.  How would he reach Redemption now?  His savior was dead.  What further hope would he have? 

                Just then, as these thoughts ran through his mind, Lost noticed that the waters began to recede.  The great sea of Death began to disappear as if by magic.  For

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death,

because it was not possible for him to be held by it

                As the sea vanished, Lost looked in hope of finding Messiah, but he was not there.  Messiah sat at the right hand of the Father in Redemption, saying “It is finished.”

                With the final drops of Death disappearing, Lost saw a path clearly marked, leading the way to Redemption.  The path was called Grace.  Running at once with all the speed he could muster, Lost made his way to the palace.  Upon his arrival, he heard a voice say

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.

                Let your name no longer be Lost, but let it be Redeemed.”

Entering into the court called Thanksgiving, the newly named Redeemed heard all the people singing praises.  The sound of their worship was so sweet, it welled up inside him.  Without shame, he sang out with the others in praise to his savior:

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

The End.

The Path to Redemption: An Allegory (Part 2)

Fortunately, the sea was quite near the country.  It was well-known to the people of Fallen; its name was Death.  At the shore, Lost looked across the sea.  Focusing intently, he could vaguely make out a glowing castle just on the other side.  The rumors were true!  There was a city, and there must be a King! Lost, with excitement, sought for a way to cross.  Just when Lost thought he would find no way of getting across, however, he was relieved to find three men with a boat at the shore.  The boat’s hull read “Deceit” and the men’s names were Legality, Morality, and Vanity. 

                “Hello!” yelled the men.  “Is there anything we can assist you with?”

                “As it might happen, I believe there is,” replied Lost.  “You see, I wish to cross the sea to find out whether or not there truly is a King and a palace called Redemption.” 

                “Oh, yes!  Redemption!” cried the men.  “We’ve been there many times!  In fact, we were just on our way there.  Hop in the boat, and we’ll take you.”

                Surprised at his luck, Lost eagerly joined the men and the four set out across the sea.  When they were just a little ways off, however, Legality, Morality, and Vanity stopped the boat. 

                Meanwhile, far off in the palace of Redemption, the King looked out and saw a boat in the distance.

                “There, far off, are Legality, Morality, and Vanity,” He said to his Son, Messiah.  “And who is the other?”  For a moment, silence fell, but then a voice spoke.

                “That is Lost, oh King,” replied a servant named Prayerful.  “He was a friend of mine from the country of Fallen before I came here.”

                Messiah exclaimed, “If he continues with those three, he will no doubt fall prey to their lies and be killed.  Father, allow me to go and rescue him, for

I have come to seek and save that which was lost.”

                The Father consented.  “Go to him, before he is destroyed.”

In the boat of Deceit, Lost was already learning of his mistake.  Much to his astonishment, Legality, Morality, and Vanity seized him and began to bind him.  Legality, with a rope called the Law, tied up Lost’s hands and feet.  Morality took out a cloth called Works and covered Lost’s eyes, blinding him.  Vanity, lifting Lost over the edge of the boat, threw him overboard.  This done, the three men sped off as fast as they could to the shore. 

                Meanwhile, Lost struggled in vain.  Sinking lower and lower in the sea of Death, Lost had no hope of escape.  Then, from under the water, beasts arose called Sin and Shame.  They began to pull at Lost, deeper and deeper into Death. 

                

The Path to Redemption: An Allegory (Part 1)

The Path to Redemption

By

Nathan Tasker

                Long ago, there was a land that was dark and dreary.  There was no beauty, no flowers; no sunrise to color the sky.  Everything was bleak and dull.  The country was called Fallen.  In this country, there lived a man name Lost.  Lost was no different from any of his fellow townsmen; he would walk the streets, going about his business, occasionally stumbling for lack of light to guide his way.  So it went for all the people of Fallen.  But one day, as Lost was meandering the streets of Fallen with his friend False-Wisdom, something unique happened.  Unexpectedly, they ran into (quite literally) a stranger, whose name happened to be Messenger. 

                “Good day!” said Messenger enthusiastically.  Lost and False-Wisdom weakly returned the greeting. 

                “Haven’t you heard the news?”  The stranger asked. 

                “What news?”

                “Why, the King has invited all the people to His palace Redemption, of course!  How could you not have heard?”

                “The King?” retorted False-Wisdom quickly.  “Why would anyone believe such tall tales?  Everyone knows the only ruler here is the prince of this world, Deceiver.”

                Lost, however, remained silent.  He had heard stories such as this before, but this time, he felt something deep in his heart, causing him to listen. 

                “Well, Lost?” False-Wisdom inquired.  “Haven’t you heard enough of this crazy talk?”

                Lost, ignoring False-Wisdom, asked of Messenger, “Where is this palace that you mentioned?  I reckon I might try to find this place.  I’m getting quite tired of hearing rumors that I don’t know are true.  I want to find out for myself!”

                “It’s nearer than you may think,” replied Messenger.  It’s only just across the sea.  I’d take you there myself, but I have to someone I’m supposed to meet.  If you find a way to get across the sea, though, you’ll be right there.  Good luck to you!”

                With this, Messenger bid them farewell and was off.  Lost at once set out, much to the dismay of his friend False-Wisdom, to seek out the truth in the stories that had been going around.

Make Me a Servant

Photo from deviantarts.com

     This isn't exactly a typical post of mine, but I just wanted to share some lyrics.  Our Friday night Bible study sang this song last week, and now I can't stop singing it!  The words are really powerful and the melody is equally meditative.  I know I desperately need God to make me His humble servant, content in simply doing His will.

Make me a servant, Just like your Son

For He was the servant; Please make me one

Make me a servant, Do what You must do

To make me a servant, Make me like You.

Make me a servant, Take all my pride

For I would be lowly, Humble inside;

Giving to others With all that I do

In love for my brother; Make me like You

Make me a servant, Filled by Your might

And may all my labors shine with your light

Show me Your footsteps and what I should do;

For now and forever, Make me like You.

Values in Motion (Part 2)

     In the last post, we talked about our values - mainly how we know what they are.  In this part, however, let's see how values affect our lives personally.

     Now, it seems quite evident that our values would affect our actions (in the form of our ethics).  That's what we talked about in the last post.  But beyond that, what difference do values make?  You see, our values are building blocks to something even larger: our name.

     In order to understand this, we need to clarify what we mean by "our name".  Obviously, my values won't change the fact that my name is Nathan.  So this couldn't very well be "name" we're talking about.

     Proverbs 22:1 states it this way: "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold."

     Still, while "Nathan" is a good name, this isn't the "good name" that Proverbs talks about.  This good name is how we're known to others.  It's what comes to mind when they think of you.

     You can think of anyone in your life, and you will find that you have a concept in your mind of what that person is like.  When we hear "Jesus", for example, we think "Savior, God, Christ".  But when we think "Satan", we may think "Devil, sin, evil" or something along those lines.

     The "name" of each individual on earth is determined by the values and ethics that they hold.  Some have a good name, and others have a bad one - all grounded in their values and ethics. 

     When people hear your name, what do they think?  Do they see you as a faithful Christian serving God, or just another church-goer?

Values in Motion (Part 1)

     We all have values.  They permeate our lives and show themselves in our actions and behavior.  Our values (and our character as a whole) are what we do when no one is looking - and what we're willing to stand for when others are looking.

     Whether we realize it or not, we all have our own values.  Many times, though, we don't know what those values are.  That's a bit of a scary thought, isn't it?  Deep in your heart, you stand for something - but you may not even know what it is!

     So how to we know what are our values?  One of the easiest ways to spot our values is in one place: our ethics.

     Now to a lot of us, "values" and "ethics" seem kind of synonymous.  Aren't they the exact same?  No, they're not.  While they deal with the same issue (our character), ethics are when our values are put into practice.

     The best way I've heard it stated was this: Ethics are values in motion.

     The main difference between values and ethics is that values are subconscious ideas, whereas ethics are conscious decisions.  The conscious choices you make reflect the values that you hold.  You choose your priorities, and you govern your time accordingly - all according to your values.

     But what affect do values have in our lives and futures?  Where do we get our values - and can we change them?  Because there are so many points to this topic, I will have to save them for the next post.

     Until then, take a look at the ethics in your life - your choices.  What do your decisions say about your values?  Every choice we make continues to build up a value.  What values are we building?