What a beautiful day this is! The sky looked like a painting, with the clouds drifting away across the blue sky. We were outside for a while in mid-day, harvesting dandelions. If you have been following this blog a while, you might remember that Tony loves to make dandelion jelly, dandelion root tea, and dandelion wine.
Dandelion Wine. That is the title of a very interesting book by Ray Bradbury. We spent one summer listening to Tony read it out to us while we were traveling back and forth to my sister’s to help them close up her n-laws’ house. It’s a book about remembering the past, and that was what we were doing, remembering the past through the objects in the house.
Nostalgia: Is it a good thing? Jeremiah 6:16 says, “This is what the Lord says:’Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls’. But you reply, No, that’s not the road we want.” (NLT)
When we look back to remember the old, godly way, we are really looking forward, for that way is never outdated. That old way has always been looking forward. It teaches us how to live forever with Jesus Christ, in a new place that he is making for us. It is perfect for us, designed for us, prepared with us in mind. That old way leads to the future.
So today we were outside, picking dandelions in the sun, glancing up at the beautiful sky, and just enjoying the spring day. The air was filled with perfume from all the nearby flowers. The crab apple tree around the corner was in full bloom, and so were the lilacs. The breeze would blow one way (apples!), and then the other (lilacs!), and when it stopped for a moment, the smell of dandelion honey would waft up from the nearly-full bowl.
Beau looked up suddenly and then ran inside for the camera. I listened, watching carefully, but couldn’t see or hear anything. I figured it must have been a plane. Beau has a way of hearing them far off, then getting a picture to see what kind of plane it is.
He came running back, “miracle camera” in hand. He saw my questioning look, but then blew by without pausing. He was trying to get the camera out of the case, set it and then point it upwards. Finally he was able to get his mind in gear and let me know what it was:
“Sandhill cranes!”
I would have never known they were there if Beau wouldn’t have alerted me. It was if their sound was out of tune on the radio, and the information Beau gave me tuned it in. Now that I knew what to listen for, I could hear them. It took some doing, for we had the elementary school kids screaming at recess, heavy machinery moving the sand around on our road, and a couple of robins carrying on conversations with their buddies. But once he said it, there it was, that haunting, other-worldly sound of the Sandhill cranes. Beau pointed to the sky where he saw them, but my eyes still couldn’t pick them out.
Beau took picture after picture, while I listened to their cries moving farther and farther away. Finally, he turned and showed me what he had been shooting. It was a flock flying in formation, traveling very high up above us. Beau was zoomed in about 100X when he took these.
(Except maybe the one on the bottom!)
Belief is a powerful thing. But so is unbelief.
Mark 6 recounts the story of how Jesus came back to “his own country,” after his ministry had started elsewhere. He had just finished healing a woman who had merely touched his clothes in the crowd (Mark 5: 27 – 30), and then raised a twelve-year-old girl from the dead (Mark 5:35 – 42). But when he came back to his own country (Nazareth, where he lived as a child), his townspeople were offended.
“The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, ‘Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’ Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.’ ” (Mark 6:2-3) NLT
And Jesus said,
“ ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.’ And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” Mark 6:2-4) NLT
Unbelief is like insulation that blocks the electric power of God.
What if I hadn’t believed Beau? I may have heard nothing at all except the sounds nearby that I knew made sense. After all, I couldn’t see a thing in the clouds, not even a dark shadow that looked like it could be a crane, but I could see a loader in front of the house, and a robin on the lawn. However, my trust in Beau’s word gave me the faith to “tune in” so that I could hear the cranes.
In the same way, God requires us to believe in Him before we can see the evidence for Him.
Hebrews 11:6 says that “he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
So while Beau went back inside with his pictures, Tony and I went on gathering dandelions.
The world is full of evidence, and as we find the faith to believe, we begin to find that evidence; just as I was able to hear the cranes after Beau explained what he heard (and I believed him). Beau witnessed to me, and I became able to hear. In the same way, when we share our testimony of what God has done for us, we provide light so that others can find the pathway to Jesus Christ.
So many times, the thing that blocks faith is such a small thing. A misunderstanding, or a small deception may get in the way. For me, it was the hypocrisy of those around me who claimed to be Christian. But someone took the time to speak with me about his own experience, and I believed him.
The boy who talked to me all those years ago wasn’t a friend of mine. He was just someone who saw my unbelief and had compassion on me. He helped me to see that God hates hypocrisy worse than I do; in fact, two thousand years ago, the religious hypocrites were the ones who put Jesus Christ to death! The bullies and betrayers, the corrupt ones in high places were the ones who killed Jesus. Their claim to know God meant nothing to Him.
Jesus was speaking to religious hypocrites when He said, “This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me. . . .” (Matthew 15:8-9a) When I understood that God did not accept the hypocrites who claimed Him, then I believed in Jesus, and I was born again.
Don’t be offended when you hear people put Christians down. Most likely, the anger they feel is not for a real Christian, but for a hypocrite. They may have been hurt, and deserve our compassion.
Jesus said that you will know a real Christian by the “fruit” they bear. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. A real Christian will demonstrate most of these qualities in their life.
Do real Christians face persecution? Jesus said we would. The world hated Jesus, and so it will hate his followers, too. (The “world” means those who are still serving the desires of the flesh and the devil.) But if we are patient, even in our suffering, enduring persecution, then we will help others see how Jesus remains present with us through it all, giving us the power to be the children of God (as demonstrated by our actions, in that we love others the way He does).
Have courage and be strong in your faith! Be compassionate, and have the courage to share the truth about your own life when it is in your power to do so, and we will do the same. Much love to you!
The Fullers Four 