Look With Fresh Eyes – Wallace Articles

Being a Son, Part 3

08/24/24

INTRO

We as Christians have been studying for years to better understand God and the relationship He wants to have with us. We’ve gone to church to hear sermons, we’ve read as much of the Bible as we can get through, and we’ve prayed for miraculous enlightenment. Yet it seems we can only get so far in our quest, and no further.

Great men of the Bible have told of their experiences, great religious scholars have written of their insights, and even God Himself has given parables and object lessons to illustrate important principles; and yet, and yet. … We’ve read all these things before and gleaned all we could from them; so when we read them again and again, we just come to the same conclusions we always have. Thus we’re stuck in our present position.

So to pursue our aim we must call on as much help as we can from those who have gone before us in search of this same goal. Perhaps from them we can learn the things they worked so hard to find. And perhaps we can pick up a few “tips and tricks”, as the modern vernacular terms them.

Today I’d like to propose three techniques which may aid you. This is to look at all the old familiar concepts with fresh eyes. I believe the clues we need are there: We just need to find the hidden truths within them. First, we should not be afraid to make use of sources of spiritual writings which we’ve not referred to before now. Second, as we encounter symbols and imagery in the Bible we should think beyond the familiar meaning; and review old parables and analogies for meanings beyond those interpretations we commonly accept. Third, when reading accounts of Biblical individuals encountering unusual circumstances, try to place yourself in their shoes and mentally go through those events with them.

I. MAKE USE OF NEW SOURCES

A. Philip & Thomas

When I speak of spiritual writings which you may have not used before now, this can include many sources. If you are worried about doing this, you don’t have to put them on the same level as the Bible; but neither should you fear them. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher and Guide, so we will be aided and protected as we seek to learn more of God.

Today I’d like to refer to two books written during the period of the First Century Church. They are recognized as being of great spiritual value even though not included in the Protestant Bible. They are the Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Thomas. If you wish to examine these books yourself, you may find free uploads of them online. Just “Google” the names of the books and there will be several versions available. One of the good versions is given by Gospels.net.

B. Types of Truth

In the Gospel of Thomas we read: Jesus said, “Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All. … When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.”

When we find the Truth we will be ‘troubled’. This is because God is different than we imagine. We have created in our imagination a figure of what He must be like, and have thus made someone who thinks like we think and who likes what we like, maybe even votes the way we do. Yet, He says of himself, “My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are above your thoughts,” Is 55:8-9. Thus once we actually get to know how He really is, we are going to be ‘shocked’; as Thomas warns us.

This explains why so many descriptions of God and Heaven and how things are done there are given by way of symbology and types. We need for these things to be put into simple terms first. For example, Jesus used similes when describing Heaven: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field …”, Mt 13:44; “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed seeds …”, Mt 13:24; “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding for his son …”, Mt 22:2. We need simple types and symbols to start with; then once we begin growing in understanding, we’re able to receive more complex explanations of how things are.

Consider how we say to a kindergartener that the sky is blue; but later when they’re studying science in college we change to saying, “the sky doesn’t really have any color; what you’re observing is the diffraction of the light rays from the sun as they pass through the earth’s atmosphere, and this splitting of the light into its spectrum gives the appearance of being blue.” While the second description may be more accurate, we feel more comfortable with the first one. And it’s this tendency of ours to prefer simplicity which keeps us from seeking the more difficult descriptions and truths about God. So if we wish to truly know Him, we must mentally prepare ourselves for a bit of discomfort.

C. Names

The Gospel of Philip has an interesting observation about this oversimplification of the Truth: “Names given to the worldly are very deceptive, for they divert our thoughts from what is correct to what is incorrect. Thus one who hears the word ‘God’ does not perceive what is correct, but perceives what is incorrect. … But Truth brought names into existence in the world for our sakes, because it is not possible to learn Truth without these names.”

“Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. The world will not receive truth in any other way. … All our ideas of Truth are wrong, but we need these at first to even be able to find the Truth.”

This mention of the Truth of God in the Gospel of Philip puts us in mind of verses we’ve read in the Bible. In John 4:24, Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship Him in the Spirit and in Truth.” And in 1Jn 5:6, John tells us, “The Spirit is the Truth.” So we must understand the Truth if we are to unite with God.

II. EXPAND INTERPRETATION OF SYMBOLS

The need for humans to understand the relationship God wishes to have with us explains why God has chosen to use symbols to which we can relate. Thus His affinity with humankind is likened to what we’re familiar with in our first and most basic relationship – the nuclear family unit. We understand what is meant by the terms father, mother, and son. The being we call God the Father is not the biological parent of Jesus, who is also known as God the Son. These terms are used because they help us understand the depth of God’s love. We know how much a parent loves their child.

Similarly, there are traditions which place the Holy Spirit in a mothering role, despite the Holy Spirit not really being a biological mother. (Origen, c. 185-254; Jerome, c. 342-420; Wesley, c. 1703-1791). However the descriptions of the Holy Spirit align with some of the same characteristics. Biblical descriptions of the Holy Spirit include: “Comforter”, Jn 14:16; “Teacher”, Lk 12:12; “Guide”, Jn 16:13; “Reminder”, Jn 14:26; and “Reprover”, Jn 16:8. Additionally, “the glory of the Lord”, 2 Cr 3:18; “that which is conceived is of the Holy Ghost”, Mt 1:20; “do not grieve the Holy Spirit”, Ep 4:30; “whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven”, Mt 12:32; “[I] will never leave you nor forsake you”, He 13:5. These are traits we typically view as caring and nurturing. So even though the Holy Spirit is not ever called female, it can be understood why some traditions place the Spirit in that role within the Trinity. This placement aligns with our understanding of a family unit.

Besides the Father/Son simile, there is another image He has likened our relationship to – a bride and groom; with Jesus as the groom and us as the bride. This analogy is useful because we can appreciate how much a groom loves his bride. We understand, and even expect, for him to be willing to die for her if necessary. And this is exactly what Jesus did for us. So His love is not in doubt.

But what about God the Father? If Jesus is the groom, then God would be the Father-in-Law. How does He feel about us? Does He resent that Jesus had to die because of that troublesome bride? No. And again no! To the contrary, the Father loves us just as much as Jesus does. We see this stated in that most famous of Bible verses – Jn 3:16. (paraphrased) “God so loved the world, that He was willing to give His Son, so that the bride would not have to perish.”

There may be some who take offense to likening God to humans. They feel it diminishes God to bring Him down to our level. God is all-powerful and as big as the universe; bigger even! And yet, although God is very very large, He can also be very very small when He wishes to be. As for being compared to humans, He’s made that simile Himself when speaking of His relationship with us. What’s more, He even consented to take on human form and live as we do, for a time. And He wasn’t offended by this. “He’s not ashamed to call us brothers,” He 2:11.

Another analogy is that of a shepherd and his sheep. And although we of today’s generation have no familiarity with shepherds and sheep, we understand there must be a great degree of affection involved when a shepherd is willing to face down wolves and lions in order to protect his flock.

III. PERSONALIZE RELATIONSHIP WITH BIBLE STORIES

As you read the Bible and you come across old familiar stories, you bring to mind the lessons of those stories as explained by your religious teachers. Perhaps when first hearing them you didn’t understand the reasons those people did what they did. But your mind filled in some explanation and you let the question drop. I believe that if you make a conscious effort to use your imagination to place yourself in their time and their circumstances, you’ll gain some new insight. The stories weren’t put in the Bible just for our entertainment; each story has a purpose. If an event was considered important enough to make a permanent record of it, then there is some concept in it that’s very important for our spiritual growth. As you use this exercise, those stories and their purpose will become more real.

A. A&E’s Apple

Let’s begin with Adam & Eve, and the Apple. When I was a child and first heard the story of Adam & Eve and their sin in the Garden of Eden, I couldn’t help but ask the teacher, Why? “Why did they eat the Forbidden Fruit? It seems to me that not eating an apple would be an easy thing to do. How could they fail such a simple test?” And the teacher couldn’t give a satisfactory answer.

That question troubled me for many years. It wasn’t until I tried to imagine myself in their place that I began to comprehend. That isn’t to say I’d have done the same thing. I like to think I’d have resisted temptation. But at least I was able to understand a bit better.

Now, I concede my imaginings may not be exactly what happened. But there’s also no way to know that this wasn’t the way it was. To those who may say I’m disparaging Adam & Eve by attributing to them unflattering motivations, I answer that the two of them were not “a perfect Christian couple who never do anything wrong”. This point is made obvious by the fact that they did sin.

Adam came to Eve one evening and asked, “Which tree would you like to eat at tonight?”

To which Eve answered, “You know which one.”

“No!” he said. “Don’t start that again. Why do you keep asking for it? You know God told us we can’t eat that one. There are 99 other trees we can eat. There’s so much variety we’ll never get bored.”

“I know,” she admitted.

“So why are you so focused on that one?!”

“Because I want to know why?! Why is it forbidden?”

“God told us why – it’ll kill us.”

“But God is so good. He wouldn’t put something poisonous in our garden. So there must be something else about it.”

“Like what?”

“Well, the snake was telling me it’s a magical tree, and if you eat the fruit you’ll suddenly know a whole lot more. Maybe even know as much as God.”

“The snake? You were talking to the snake?!”

“He said it’s a tree of knowledge.”

“What? Do you think we’re not smart enough already?”

“But it’s magical! And I wanna know the secret.”

Well, we know what happened next: And what the hidden knowledge was. They now knew of Evil and Suffering and Death, when they didn’t know these things before. And now we know that some things are forbidden for a good reason. And that things we think will be good don’t always live up to our hopes and expectations.

B. Manna

And another topic: There was a time when I wondered about the ungratefulness of the Israelites after they were delivered from a life of slavery in Egypt and were being taken to make new lives in a land described as “flowing with milk and honey”. I mean, that promised to be a profound improvement in their standard of living. So why couldn’t they endure a little inconvenience during the journey there?

We read in Exodus 16 of them complaining to Moses, and thus indirectly to God, that they weren’t finding enough to eat. So God sent them miracle food; food from Heaven; enough for everyone to have plenty. And yet they soon began complaining again that they were getting tired of eating the same thing every day. So a flock of birds suddenly appeared and everyone was able to eat their fill of meat. Unfortunately, they then began suffering from nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea; it was so bad some even died. And again they blamed Moses and God for this.

Really? What was wrong with these people?! But as I thought about the situation more, and tried to personalize it by putting myself in that situation, I began to understand them a bit better.

At first I imagined what the angels must have thought. I envisioned a bunch of angels in chef hats working in Gabriel’s Bakery & Confections saying to each other, “Can you believe it?! We spend all day every day baking heavenly food for them, and they have the nerve to complain about it! Did they have to gather the materials? Did they spend hours chopping and measuring and getting everything just right? No! All they had to do is pick it up and eat it. But there they are complaining. Do they consider all the work we had to do? Do they even think to thank God for having us do this for them? Again, no! If they keep this up, I’m not going to cook them anything else! I tell you what!”

Then I thought of what the Israelites must have been feeling. Consider, a husband comes home from doing whatever, and he asks his wife, “What’s for dinner?”

To which she replies, “I haven’t started cooking yet, so it’s your choice. I’ll make whatever you want.”

“What are the options?”

“Well, now. We can have baked mana, fried mana, mashed mana, stewed mana, mana patties, mana dumpling soup, mana kebobs, or even mana au’gratin. To wash it down we have fresh mana juice. And shh, don’t tell anyone, but I’ve even fermented a little of the juice so we can have some nice mana wine. Oh, to top it off, for dessert we have mana upside down cake! Mmm, mmm!”

The husband’s face falls and he says, “You know, your description is a lot better than the reality. Don’t we have anything that doesn’t involve mana?”

By thinking of the situation in this way, I was able to sympathize a bit with their predicament. They were so desirous for a change in their diet that they didn’t even consider what might be wrong with the meat that suddenly appeared.

Think about it – there was this multitude of people out in the middle of the desert, when a huge flock of birds swoops in and lands on the ground in front of them. This wasn’t normal! Flocks of birds don’t ever fly out into the desert. Flocks of birds don’t land in front of a large crowd of humans and wait to be picked up. And any person with any experience with animals knows that when wildlife begins acting strange, it means they’re sick! So even a moment’s thought would have let the Israelites know something was wrong here. Yet they were so desperate that even eating a sick bird was acceptable.

“Hey, honey! Let me fire up the grill. We’re having barbecued pigeon tonight! Look at all this – it’s going to be ‘all you can eat’! Woo hoo!!”

C. Peter on the Water

When we read the accounts of famous people in the Bible we often view them as just stories rather than as historical events. This is the result of two reasons: First, the recounting is typically very short and very dry. Second, we’ve been hearing these stories since childhood, and have heard pastors explain to us what they mean and what we should learn from them. As a consequence our mind tends to place these events in the same category as fairy tales and fables. For example, “a little girl walked through the forest to visit her grandmother, and on the way something bad happened; so the moral of the story is to not do what the girl did”. This type of recitation is often interesting and we learn something from it; but the lessons are usually not very deep and not very complex. So unless we’re merely looking for a simple object lesson, the passage has only a limited application.

I submit that in order to gain a more thorough insight into what particular Bible passages are trying to convey, one must consider the people involved, the time and place that the event occurred, and what the Bible writer was trying to express by recording that event.

Consider the gospels about Jesus. Two were written by Apostles and two were written by students of the Apostles. And consider, these Apostles were not professional writers; they were fishermen. So they didn’t think to tell us the backstories of the people involved; the political and social pressures of the time; and the details of the circumstances which led up to the event in question. If the account had been written by someone experienced in creating historical records, each account would have been a full chapter long; but instead they’re often only a single paragraph.

Nevertheless, despite their brevity, these events were considered important enough to secure for history. There were far more things happening in Jesus’ three years of ministry than are recorded. Thus the Apostles evidently felt there was something particularly important about the events they selected for preservation. So we must do our best to find the crucial lesson they meant to convey. To do this we must consciously attempt to view the account as more than a simple parable, and see what the people involved were really doing and why they were behaving that way. If you try to see them as real people, similar to folks you know today, then you can begin to relate to some of their motivations. This will make the historical event come alive and be far more meaningful to you.

To demonstrate the principle I’m trying to explain, please allow me to expound one of the well-known events in the Gospels – Peter walking on water. This event can be found in Mt 14:22-33; Mk 6:45-52; and Jn 6:16-21. Despite the event being told by three different writers, we’re given little more than a brief recounting of a series of events.

To wit: After the sermon when Jesus fed the 5000, He told the Disciples to take a boat and wait for Him in Gennesaret. The Disciples tried to cross the Sea of Galilee but a storm came up and it kept them stuck in the middle of the sea. Jesus saw from shore what was happening so He went out to help them, walking on top of the water to get there. They saw him coming, but thought it was a ghost. Jesus told them it was Him, but they were doubtful. Then Peter said, “If it’s really you, let me walk out to you.” Peter was able to take a few steps on the water, but then sank. Jesus helped him back into the boat, then made the boat finish the crossing instantly.

As you see, these accounts give us facts; but they don’t give us a sense of what it was like to be there. So allow me to retell the event adding details which aren’t explicitly written but which very likely happened. Then see if this helps make the events more relatable.

Expanded version:

Jesus heard the news that His cousin, John the Baptist, had just been killed by the king; and He was feeling very sad. He wanted to be away from the city and the crowds to have a little time to grieve; so He went out to the wilderness area just outside of town.

The crowds in the city were constantly searching for Jesus. Some wanted to ask Him to heal their sick loved ones; some wanted to hear more of His interesting teachings which were so different from what the priests were saying; and some were spies for the priests looking to catch Him saying something blasphemous so they could arrest Him.

Even though Jesus had left the city, word came to the crowds that He was just outside of town in a wilderness area He liked to frequent. So the crowds went out to where they thought He might be, and they found Him there.

Jesus, despite His sadness at the loss of His cousin, felt moved with compassion at the people who had come out to be with Him. So Jesus began speaking to them and healing those who were suffering. This went on from morning until mid-afternoon. At last the Disciples said to Jesus that the meeting had gone on too long and the people were getting hungry, so He should tell them to go back to town.

Jesus didn’t like the idea of sending them away hungry, so He told the Disciples to feed them. “With what?!”, they asked. So Jesus performed a miracle for them: multiplying five small bread rolls and two fried fish into a huge amount of food, He then told the Disciples to hand it out.

The Disciples worked in pairs, one holding a basket full of bread pieces and the other holding a basket full of pieces of fish. This way there were six teams of “waiters” circulating among the multitude. “Here you are, have a nice fluffy roll; it’s sourdough, very delicious.” “And would you like some fried fish with that? Nice and crispy. Yum yum.” “Thank you. This looks very nice. Oh, um, you don’t happen to have any tartar sauce, do you? No? Well, never mind. This is fine. Can’t expect too much for free. Still, you might make a suggestion to the management.” “Excuse me, sir? Um, could you tell me where the bathroom is? My little one can’t hold it much longer. What?! A bush?! How rude.”

What a multitude it was – 5000 men, and an unknown number of women and children. The crowd was numbered this way because at that time and place their society was very male dominated; so only men counted. Not like us in modern times where men and women are considered equal. Uh huh, I see you smiling. Well, maybe our society still isn’t perfectly equal, but at least we have that as a goal we’re working toward. Thus the number of people needing to be fed could have been anywhere from 8000 to 10,000. So even with six teams rushing around with baskets, it would have taken a couple of hours to get food to everyone. This meant that by the time everyone had finished eating it was evening time and it would be getting dark soon.

It was at this point that Jesus told the crowd that the meeting was over and they should all go home. Think about this for a minute. These people had been listening to Jesus talk for at least six hours; and yet they were reluctant to leave and had to be told to go. Compare that to religious meetings today.

Nowadays people start getting restless if the pastor’s sermon goes longer than a half-hour. Plus, not many churches provide meals to the congregation after the meetings. Just imagine what it would be like to sit and listen to a three or four hour sermon, to be handed a roll and a fish, and to then be expected to sit and listen for three or four more hours. Yeah, I know. People wouldn’t stick around that long. But we then wonder why churches today can’t do the miracles that were happening way back then. Hmm, I wonder if there’s a connection. You know? My talk will be going on quite a while longer. Perhaps we can heat up some frozen fish sticks and dinner rolls to hand out while I continue. What? No? Oh, well, I digress… Even so, you’d all better fasten your seat belts and put on your life vests, because we’re about to enter some choppy water.

Jesus then told the Disciples to get in the boat and cross over Galilee without Him. They were surprised at this. “Jesus? Aren’t you coming with us?”

“No, I’m going to stay behind for a bit. I still haven’t had the alone time I was wanting.”

“But you’ve already sent the crowds away. Isn’t that enough? You don’t mean you need to get away from us too, do you?”

“Sorry guys. But, yeah, I really need some time to myself. Yes, even away from you too. Aww, Judas, don’t pout. I’ll catch up with you later.”

On a clear calm day the crossing from one side to the other could be done in about two hours. However, this sea had a history of strong storms coming up suddenly and preventing boaters from reaching shore. Additionally, many boats had been sunk during these storms and the lives of those aboard were lost. So boaters were constantly fearful of these storms.

Dusk was coming on and before long it would be dark. So the Disciples were hoping to be a good way across before the twilight faded. They could then finish the journey by steering toward the light of the city. Plus, there was supposed to be a full moon which would provide enough light to travel.

Unfortunately they had not even made it halfway across when a storm came up. Of course, this made it completely dark so they couldn’t see anything – no moon, no city lights, nothing. What’s worse, waves were splashing into the boat trying to fill it with water. Several of them began bailing out the water as fast as they could; while the others struggled with the sails and oars trying to keep the boat upright and headed straight. They could only guess which way might be the right direction as they strained to see through the slashing rain.

All of you here know what a hurricane is like. Well, that storm they were in was similar to the tropical storms we experience. They were in danger!

They fought for their lives for several hours. At last the wind and rain let up a bit. Was the storm finally coming to an end? Or was this merely the eye? Suddenly one of the Disciples called out, “Look! What’s that?!” A human-like form was coming across the top of the water. It looked like a man wrapped in a sheet, with his shroud billowing out around him. Was this some ghost up from the depths of the sea coming to drag them all down to a watery grave?!

At last Peter built up enough courage to shout at it, “Who are you? What do you want with us?!” The figure finally spoke, “Relax, Peter. It’s me, Jesus. Don’t be afraid.” The Disciples didn’t know what to think. Was this really Jesus? If so, how could he be standing on top of the water? That would defy the laws of physics: If physics had been invented yet, that is.

Peter decided to test the claim. “If that’s really you, then make it so I can walk on the water too.” To which Jesus said with a grin, “Come on, then.”

Do you see what I mean when I say including some personal detail in a story can add a lot to its understanding? From this point the narration just says that once Jesus was in the boat they made it safely to shore. For myself, I would like for it to have added the following:

After Peter sank and Jesus lifted him up, Jesus said to him, “Come on, try again. You nearly had it. Just focus on what’s happening in your spirit, not what’s happening around you. That’s it. Yes, you’re doing it. Great! Now run up the side of that wave over there. Yeah. Now slide down the other side. Ok, you have it. So now you get back in the boat. James, John, your turn. Come on out.”

Or if for some reason Jesus didn’t have time to give them all ‘water-walking lessons’ right then, I would have liked for it to add a bit more. Early the next morning Peter snuck away from the others and went back down to the seashore. Again and again he tried stepping from the beach onto the waves; but each attempt he’d end up knee-deep in the water. “Aw, man! I almost had it that time. Jesus must have forgot to tell me some important detail.” I believe something like this would have been in line with Peter’s personality.

We know that Peter kept experimenting with using healing prayer on others. This is how he became the only one of the Disciples to be able to heal with just his shadow. I don’t believe that came about by chance; I expect he worked to be able to do it.

In trying to understand Peter’s personality we can say he was a bit standoffish and reactionary. I’ve mentioned he was a fisherman, and you might think only rich folks act like they’re superior. But no, even working class people want to feel like they’re better than someone else. And even if you don’t want to call him a racist, we can at least say he was snobbish and elitist. We know this from his behavior on the occasion when he went to visit one of Paul’s gentile churches (Ga 2:11-13). And also the time that he was visited by Cornelius (Ac 10:15). He didn’t want to associate too closely with those he considered “unclean”. So my supposition is that even when he was in Jerusalem he didn’t want to touch those he considered dirty; and this is what prompted him to get where he could heal all those “sick-o’s” without having to actually touch them. Thus he practiced until he could heal with just his shadow. (Ac 5:15)

Isn’t it amazing how God works with us and through us despite whatever faults we may have?

SUMMARY

If we look at Scriptures with “Fresh Eyes”, we can gain a better understanding.

Many people have written about God. Some of these authors are able to give insights we may never have considered before. Don’t be afraid to read them. Just be discerning as to the weight to give them; and ask the Holy Spirit to protect you as you seek more truth.

As much as we like to believe we understand who God is and what He wants, when we ultimately see Him as he really is, we’re going to be astonished. This isn’t to say we’re not going to like Him; but it is to say He’s going to be different than the figure in your imagination.

The names and images we use for God and Heaven are oversimplifications. But we need these at first to even begin understanding. Only as we become spiritually mature enough to handle more difficult truths will the more difficult truths be given to us.

God has made use of the image of the nuclear family because this is something we know about from our earliest memories. We’re supposed to recall how much our parents loved us, so our warm feelings about our earthly parents can transfer to our heavenly parents.

Each of the images used in describing God is designed to put in simple terms “the breadth, length, depth, and height of God’s love,” (Ep 3:18).

If we will make use of our ability to imagine in order to visualize the circumstances of Biblical figures and what life must have been like in that time and place, then we can begin to personalize our relationship to these people and events. In this way we may find insights into the lessons intended by the inclusion of these stories in the Bible.

Every step forward in our understanding increases our spiritual maturity.

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