I've been reading the Gospel of John quite a bit lately, and it's very timely for me as I try to work out the irrelevant and the irreverent things in my life. I'm starting to see a pretty clear progression of the first 10 chapters in how Christ does exactly that.
In Chapter One the stage is set: The Word has become Flesh! In the next nine chapters we see how that plays out. God is in the world and things start getting knocked around pretty good. Let me take you through it:
Chapter 2: Christ takes His own mother - family - and puts her (nicely) in her rightful place. Then He takes the water jars that are used for ceremonial washings and ruins their original purpose forever. By filling them with wine they can never be used for the rituals that they were intended for. His purpose is clear: everything is coming down or being fulfilled. He then proceeds to the Temple and reveals that it's time has also come. It hasn't served its purpose so it's coming down. He Himself will fulfill its original purpose of bringing God to the people and the people to God.
Then in chapter three Christ nails the religious leadership by telling Nicodemus he should have known that it's about a spiritual renewal. Chapter four brings down the Samaritan worship rituals and as is always the case with Christ, He also takes down Jerusalem with it! ("Neither on this mountain or in Jerusalem . . . ")
In the next few chapters He systematically dismantles or restores the Sabbath, the Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Dedication. He clears the table, and brings Himself to it as the only option and the only true fulfillment of all of these rituals/holidays.
Which makes me think as I head into the New Year: What rituals/traditions/observances do I follow blindly without ever evaluating if they're still (or ever were) part of the Plan. He tells us in chapter 6 that we must feed on Him, consume Him: Christ is the meal, nothing else should be on the table.
So I ask again, what are we bringing to the table that doesn't belong? What things do we believe or hold dear to our souls that we would be shocked to find out when we get to heaven that we were wrong?
I'll tell you some things in my life:
I would be shocked to find out the Bible wasn't the authoritative, literal Word of God from Genesis to Revelation.
I would be mildly surprised if I found out that you could lose your salvation.
I wouldn't be shocked to find out I was wrong in my belief in the area of tongues or women in leadership.
As I read through John I'm reminded that I need to be constantly clearing things off the table and then picking them back up and holding them up to the true Light to make sure I haven't tied myself onto things that are not the Truth.
Anyone out there have any of their own 'thoughts' that they would / would not be surprised to find out that they were wrong?
2 comments:
yo man,
good stuff. i have loved this study through John. God has gotten a hold of me and i'm already learning that i could be wrong about many of things that i hold to be true.
i'd have to say that i would be very surprised to find out that there was a group of people who were chosen to be saved before the world was created.
that's somewhere to start from...
That's a good one. I want to make clear that my purpose isn't to rip the rug out from anyone's foundation. We need to have core beliefs that we build upon. But what things do we think are core that really aren't?
I mean, what was more core to the Jews than their Temple? It was the center of everything and Christ basically said, "Done!"
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