Yesterday evening at Bible Study, the subject of discussion was the idea of ‘desert times’.  The desert played an important role in Bible times and was the setting for many significant events.  In addition, many leading Bible figures had life-changing experiences in the desert.  It was suggested that the desert can be representative of trying times in our lives today.  That is to say that times of loss, times of pain, times of difficulty, times of being lost or without direction, times of uncertainty, etc. are ‘desert times’.  If we are faithful during these ‘desert times’ our testimony is increased as we come out of them, just as the Israelites’ testimony did as they entered the Promised Land; forty years of provision for food, water, clothing, etc. showed God as a refuge and a faithful provider for the needs of His children.  It is during these ‘desert times’ that our relationship with the Lord grows closer, wider, deeper, more meaningful and more trusting.  It is through these ‘desert times’ that we are blessed by God, for without them, we would not recognize His goodness.  It is through these ‘desert times’ that the character and nature of the Living God is revealed and we are able to know Him in ways that, were it not for these ‘desert times’, we would never have the blessing to experience.  So as I sat listening to the discussion, I remembered something I had read in God’s perfect timing earlier that very morning which I would like to share with you here.  I researched the internet to find the author, but was unsuccessful in turning up who penned this:

IF YOU NEVER …

If you never felt pain, how would you know that I am a Healer?
If you never had to pray, how would you know that I am a Deliverer?
If you never had a trial, how could you call yourself an overcomer?
If you never felt sadness, how would you know that I am a Comforter?
If you never made a mistake, how would you know that I am a forgiver?
If you knew all, how would you know that I will answer your questions?
If you never were in trouble, how would you know that I will come to your rescue?
If you never were broken, how would you know that I can make you whole?
If you never had a problem, how would you know that I can solve them?
If you never had any suffering, how would you know what I went through?
If you never went through the fire, how would you become pure?
If I gave you all things, how could you appreciate them?
If I never corrected you, how would you know that I love you?
If you had all power, how would you learn to depend on me?
If your life was perfect, what would you need me for?
-author unknown

Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, MI, has a new book that has been published recently and is making waves.  To promote it, he produced a video.  Below is a transcript of that video.  In response to the video, Jeremy Grinnell, Asst. Prof. of Systematic Theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, wrote a short piece and his friend, Mike Wittmer, published it on his blog.  Which point of view do you agree with?

Rob Bell’s video transcript:

Several years ago we had an art show at our church and people brought in all kinds of sculptures, and paintings, and we put them on display. And there was this one piece that had a quote from Gandhi in it; and lots of people found this piece compeling. They’d stop and sort of stare at it, and take it in, and reflect on it—but not everybody found it that compelling. Somewhere in the course of the art show somebody attached a hand-written note to the piece, and on the note they had written: “Reality Check—He’s In Hell.”

Gandhi’s in hell? He is? And someone knows this, for sure; and felt the need to let the rest of us know? Will only a few, select, people make it to heaven? And will billions and billions of people burn forever in hell? And, if that’s the case, how do you become one of the few? Is it what you believe; or what you say, or what you do, or who you know—or something that happens in your heart? Or do you need to be initiated, or baptized, or take a class, or converted, or being born again—how does one become one of these few?

And then there is the question behind the questions, the real question: What is God like? Because millions and millions of people were taught that the primary message—the center of the Gospel of Jesus—is that God is going to send you to hell, unless you believe in Jesus. And so, what gets, subtlely, sort of caught and taught is that Jesus rescues you from God. But what kind of God is that; that we would need to be rescued from this God? How could that God ever be good; how could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be good news.

This is why lots of people want nothing to do with the Christian faith. They see it as an endless list of absurdities and inconsistencies; and they say: “Why would I ever want to be part of that?” See, what we believe about heaven and hell is incredibly important because it exposes what we believe about Who God is, and what God is like. What you discover in the Bible is so surprising, unexpected, and beautiful, that whatever we’ve been told or taught, the good news is actually better than that; better than we could ever imagine.

The good news is, that love wins.

Jeremy Grinnell’s response:

Several years ago I was touring a holocaust museum, and I was deeply moved the images of suffering and inhuman brutality that I saw there. And near the end of the tour on the wall was a picture of Hitler standing in front of the Eifel Tower in Paris. I and many who were with me were struck by the idea of Hitler enjoying the beauties of Paris while at the same moment one of the greatest genocides the world has ever known was being carried out on his orders. But apparently not everyone saw it exactly the same way. Sometime in the previous few hours, somebody had attached a hand written note to the picture, and on the note they had written, “It’s okay because God forgave Hitler too.”

God forgave Hitler? He did? And someone knows this for sure? And felt the need for the rest of us to know? Do the most evil and unrepentant people in history, remaining what they are, still make it to heaven? And what of those who aren’t quite so evil as that—Child molesters, racists, drug lords. And what of the rest of us who only yell at our children, cut people off on the highway, and cheat on our taxes? And what makes our evil less and Hitler’s more? Is it the number of people you hurt? Or how badly? Or whether anyone else knows? Or whether you meant to? And what if you’re the one who was molested or your loved ones murdered because of their ethnicity?

And then there’s the question behind the question? The real question… What is God like? Because millions and millions were taught that the primary message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that God is willing to forgive everybody no matter who they are or what evils they’ve committed against the rest of us. So what gets subtly sort of caught and taught is that God is willing to forgive the perpetrators of evil, regardless of whether or not their victims ever see justice. That God is willing to let slide things that we mustn’t. But what kind of God is that? Can a God so uninterested in justice be good? How can that God ever be trusted? How could that ever be…good…news?

This is why lots of people want nothing to do with the Christian faith. They see it as an endless list of absurdities and inconsistencies, and say, “why would I ever want to be a part of that?” See what we believe about heaven and hell is incredibly important because it exposes what we believe about who God is and what God is like. What you discover in the bible is so surprising, and unexpected, and beautiful, that whatever we’ve been told or taught, the good news is even better than that, better than we can ever imagine. It means pure and perfect justice, no wrong accusations, no punishments that don’t fit the crime, no hidden motives, no unaccounted pains or sorrows. But overflowing compensation for anyone who’s ever been hurt or betrayed.

The good news is that “justice wins.”

This clip is from hour one of Wretched Radio on Feb 25, 2011.  Wretched Radio keeps me ‘filled up’ and ‘plugged in’ on a daily basis, but this particular segment was very fine; so good, in fact, I thought it was worth sharing.  The intro is the show’s host Todd Friel and the story is told by Paul Washer.

You know John?  He works down at the store….kinda medium build, brown hair, drives that pickup.  You know…….John.

Stop.  At this point, most likely, you have someone in mind.  Really I could have said most any common name like Jim or Tom or Bob, but that’s not the point.  The point is you are probably thinking of someone.  If not, feel free to play along.    And the someone you are thinking of is DIFFERENT than the someone I’m thinking of.  True, they are both called “John” but they are different people.  If I had told you more about John, perhaps given you some specific details about him like he’s married, has two boys, has a limp from a car accident, his wife plays the piano at the church, and the pickup he drives is a black restored ’46 Ford with flames down the hood and fenders.  With these additional details, you would have realized that you were not thinking about the person I was describing and would have moved away from whomever you were thinking about since he no longer met the given description.

Let’s try this little exercise again.  I’d like to give you another name.  Jesus.  Do you know Jesus?

Stop.  At this point, most likely, you have someone in mind.  His name is Jesus, sure, but what’s he like?  Can you describe him?  What’s his character like?  Is the Jesus you are thinking of the same Jesus of the Bible?  Are you sure?  This may seem silly to you, but millions of people have a Jesus that is not the Jesus of the Bible.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) do not believe in or teach about the Jesus of the Bible.  The same can be said of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Unitarians.  They have ‘a’ Jesus, not ‘the’ Jesus.  Unfortunately, most are not willing to investigate the discrepancies between what the Scriptures say and their own beliefs.

Sadly, these same claims can be made of many Christians.  Yep.  Many self-professed Christians, when questioned about the Jesus they have in their head, profess belief in ‘a’ Jesus that is not ‘the’ Jesus of the Bible.  And just like the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, they too are not willing to investigate or even listen to the discrepancies between what the Scriptures say and their own beliefs.  “So what?” you say.  “What’s the big deal?  So everyone doesn’t has every little detail down perfectly.  That doesn’t matter.  The only thing that matters is that I believe in Jesus.”  If you believe in ‘the’ Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible, okay.  We can move on to other, lesser-important things and discuss and debate them as brothers.  If, however, you believe in ‘a’ Jesus and this Jesus of yours is not ‘the’ Jesus of the Bible, then there is a major problem.

In the 14th chapter of John, Jesus says that He is the only way to the Father.  If your Jesus is not this Jesus, then you don’t have the right Jesus and you have no way to the Father.  That’s a major problem if you believe you are going to heaven yet don’t believe the Bible or the Jesus of the Bible.  So what DOES the Bible say about Jesus?  Who is the Jesus of the Bible?  In the 8th chapter of Mark, Jesus asked His disciples “Who do you say I am?” and that is basically the question here; who do you say Jesus is?  Here are a few of the essentials:

• Second person of the Trinity
• Divine
• Eternal, not created
• God incarnate (Emmanuel)
• 100% man, 100% God (hypostatic union)
• Born of a virgin
• Lived a sinless life
• The fine payor for your sin
• Crucified, dead, and buried
• Arose on the third day defeating death
• Ascended into heaven

I have now told you more about Jesus.  I have given you specific details about Him.  Have you realized that you were not thinking about the Jesus described in the Bible?  Have you moved away from the Jesus you were thinking about since he no longer meets the given description?  You would have earlier with John.  Why not now?

Make sure your Jesus is ‘the’ Jesus.  Your eternity depends on it.

Have you ever felt small?  Not when you were a kid and you weren’t tall enough to ride the ride at the amusement park.  I mean small as in insignificant.  I remember the first time I saw the ocean.  Wow that’s a lot of water!  The emotions I felt while standing there are hard to describe; insignificant, vulnerable, little, powerless, and generally small.  Small seems too trite and pithy, yet it really does sum up how I felt to the extent that words can be used to express such things.  Watch this video and see if you feel some of these same emotions:

As I consider how truly little we are, it’s easy to get lost in it.  It’s a really big place, and it’s easy to give in to desperation and a sense of futility.  What’s the point in what little-ole-me does in such a vast place?  But as that thought crosses my mind, another one immediately replaces it.  Diamonds are small too.

Diamonds are small.  Diamonds are rare.  Diamonds are valued.  I am small.  I am rare.  And I am valued.  I watch that video and I see God.  There is no other reasonable explanation for the amazing intricacy, balance, power, size, and design than an almighty God.  (It amazes me that others can watch that video and see the absence of God – read the comments – but that’s a different post).  Out of that vastness, we are.  And to our knowledge, there are no others.  Some theologians go so far to say that, based on the Bible, there can be no others.  Regardless, despite being small, we are NOT insignificant.  And being rare in this large universe makes us all the more special.  We ARE valued.  We are NOT worthless.  How do I know?  The creator of all this has told us so.  ”But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

I still feel little, but only because it’s such a big place.  I am loved by God, the one who measures the universe with the span of His hand, and He has promised me that He will not lose me.  I am His and I am valuable to Him. That’s a Valentine’s Day message everyone should hear.