Person-2-Person - January, 2014

My wife, Charlotte, and I were listening to a radio program when a woman was describing a particularly disturbing time in the life of her young daughter. The mother began by saying that she was a “catastrophizer by nature,” meaning that she tends to imagine the worst of any given situation. Granted, her daughter was gravely ill and it’s difficult to be positive in such circumstances. I thought of a woman with whom I once worked. She was the type of person who begins every third sentence with “Oh, my God.” Everything was a calamity or a potential calamity. In our marriage, Charlotte is usually the spiritual one while I’m the worrier.

Jesus’ disciples were like that sometimes. They often expected the worst. This is illustrated by Judas in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Jesus Christ Superstar.” To Judas, it’s only a matter of time until the house of cards Jesus has built will come crashing down. Not only will the authorities call for Jesus’ head but his erstwhile disciples will too: “‘You have set them all on fire / They think they’ve found the new Messiah / And they’ll hurt You when they find they’re wrong . . .’” For Judas, it’s not a matter of if the people find they’re wrong about Jesus but when.

Webber and Rice’s Judas might be something of an exaggeration but Jesus’ real disciples were still sometimes worried and afraid. They had doubts about who Jesus was, and about what he could and would do. When the storm struck on the Sea of Galilee, they were certain they would all die: “‘Teacher, don’t you care that we are drowning!’” (Mark 4:38 New Century Version). When the crowds were hungry, they were sure there was no way they could feed them (Matt. 14:15; Mark 6:35-36; Luke 9:12; John 6:7). Some wondered why he had allowed his friend Lazarus to die (John 11:37). In that respect, they were just like me, and possibly like you too. But Jesus had already answered them and us during the Sermon on the Mount: “‘You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.’” (Matt. 6:27 NCV).

The author of Hebrews wrote, “God has said, / ‘I will never leave you; / I will never abandon you.’ / So we can be sure when we say, / ‘I will not be afraid, because the Lord is my helper. / People can’t do anything to me.’” (Heb. 13:5b-6 NCV). If the people of this world can’t do anything to us, we have nothing to fear. John wrote in Revelation that, “When I saw him [Jesus], I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He put his right hand on me and said, ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the One who lives; I was dead, but look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys to death and to the place of the dead.’” (Rev. 1:17-18 NCV). The one who lives forever and holds the keys to death holds our lives in his hand, and he will not let them go. And as long as we are in his hand, we need not fear.

As we begin another year, it’s natural to have fears and doubts. Jesus’ earliest disciples were the same in some ways as we are. But God doesn’t want us to give in to what is “natural.” Paul told the Galatians, “Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please.” (Gal. 5:17 NCV). We can’t do what we please; we have to do what pleases God. What some translations call “the natural man” (1 Cor. 2:14) cannot understand spiritual things. “But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.” (vs. 10a NCV). If we “do what comes naturally,” we won’t show Christ. I certainly won’t. It’s not in my human nature. But Peter wrote that we “. . . can share in God’s nature, and the world will not ruin [us] with its evil desires.” (2 Pet. 1:4b NCV). If we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit (Eph. 4:23-24), we can share God’s nature and everyone around us will see Christ in us.

“No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God so that we can know all that God has given us. And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom but with words taught us by the Spirit. And so we explain spiritual truths to spiritual people. A person who does not have the Spirit does not accept the truths that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish and cannot understand them, because they can only be judged to be true by the Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:11b-14 NCV.)