Jungle beauty

Our minds are like jungles in many ways. They consist of a bunch of thoughts that sometimes get out of our mouths as words, sometimes as gestures, sometimes as tone of voice, and sometimes by violent action depending on personality type. So when someone speaks, what is taking place in the jungle of his or her mind is glimpsed?

Today someone close to me got to see what was in the jungle of my mind. I was upset over a series of events. Someone I work with just happened to come to talk to me about an unrelated matter to my state of mind. Yet, I still decided to allow this person to capture what was in my jungle. My tone was louder than usual, my gestures more animated than usual. My words were well chosen to show a little vim, vigor, and venom.

All I could say was "Sorry you walked in at this moment," to the person. I don't know that others seeing what is in the jungle of our minds is wrong. It's simply what is there. Jungles are fierce places sometimes, scary places. But, they carry their own beauty.

Isn't it great that there is a way to see the beauty of the jungle on occasion.

Words as masks

Over the last 2 weeks I have seen a person in a position of power who likes to think that he exercises power, at least judging by his words. But his actions are far from powerful. People's words are what they have to exercise power because others judge that words have ensuing actions. When words are not succeeded by actions, the words are cheapened. They are mere bluffs.

In the case of the Creator, when he said, "Let there be light," light came into existence. No bluff. In the case of humans, when someone says something but fails to follow up with action, nothing comes into existence except contempt for the inaction of the person uttering the words. All bluff. In this case, because of inaction on the person with the power position, another person used harmful, challenging words against a friend, knowing there would be no consequences and followed up with some harmful, challenging actions, knowing there would be no consequences.

Surely, the teacher was right when he said that what comes out of a person rather than what goes into a person is what condemns or justifies that person. I am hurting for someone tonight. Words were cheap; people were hurt. Someone stands condemned tonight.

When ordinary words are not ordinary

Words are playtoys for people who like language. I've been watching comedians this afternoon. They take the usual and the mundane and turn them into highlighted material. It's a lot like looking out over a lagoon at sunset. Both lagoons and islands are mundane. But, when taken together, they are very noticeably beuatiful. Everyday events or observations and humor are like this.

Inside insight

I am going to write one last meandering about the characteristics of the followers of Jesus that I found to be outstanding in the account from Mark. I found 9 characteristics. Today's discussion is on characteristic # 9.

Characteristic 9: (S)He seeks to understand God from lessons of nature or from interactions that people have with nature. This understanding serves as inner enlightenment for living.

Representative text from Mark: (Mark 4.10-12)

When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the 12 disciples and asked him to explain the parables. "You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God," Jesus answered. "But the others who are on the outside hear all things by means of parables so that

'They may look and look
And yet not see.
They may listen and listen
And yet not understand
For if they did, they would turn to God
And he would forgive them.'"

This last characteristic puts one on dangerous ground. Inner enlightenment can come for single individuals. It can come for a few or for a larger group. It can be reflected in one’s life or in written documents. It can come from flashes of mental thought or in interpretation of events. It’s dangerous ground.

Few people know that the early church had followers of Jesus in its midst that tried following inner enlightenment.But, between 70 AD and 200 AD, the orthodox church relentlessly ostracized it as a bad movement, a plague to rid itself of. It succeeded because few people know about the “Gnostic movement” that happened at that time.

Today, organized religion still does not recognize the value or place of inner enlightenment. It’s a threat mainly because one can worship and understand God and His son outside the scope of organized religion. That hits at the pocketbook of an organization that claims to be the legitimate successor and guardian to all of Jesus’ teachings.

However, if one were to read only the gospels, and not allow for Paul’s application or the Jewish interpretation of the Jesus movement in the early days after Jesus’ ascension, would he arrive at the same conclusion as the churches in the landscape of society today? The opposing side would readily point out that Jesus’ teachings were made in a context many times implied (understanding by those in the original context without having to have written it down). Churches can supply that context.

I get a different story. And I have had a dose of inner enlightenment to light the way. Even in Mark, Jesus asks his follower to be faithful to him and acknowledge his divine status. So, when the time in my life came in which there was a very definite, real and present danger of abandoning the family arrangement and all it stood for, I went on a trip with a friend. At the end of the trip, I climbed to the peak of a mountain. I could see God’s creation for miles. And He spoke to my mind by leaving an impression. He reminded me that Abraham had climbed a mountain many years ago, and he had had to trust God for supplying a sacrifice. Abraham’s job was to remain faithful. A ram in the thicket was provided for a sacrifce. My lesson also was to remain faithful for God would provide. Since that time life has not been kind. But, with each trying circumstance, God has provided a way through the storm—sometimes by sending the right people, sometimes by sending the right circumstance, and sometimes by providing just the right job opportunity.

In days since that mountain-top moment of enlightenment, it has not been what has happened with organized religion that has provided food for my soul. It has been songs written by Christian songwriters that have kept me faithful. It has been associations made with other Christians. It has been a circumstance in which I was truly needed to help show God’s steadfastness. It has been walking in the park where I converse with the Creator of the universe. It has been seeing the evil empire in all its power and knowing that I would do well just to hold my own. It has been having an experience in which I had to look death squarely in the eyes and tell God what I was going to do as I peered into the dark abyss. It has been acknowledging that I live in a fully dysfunctional world and family, and that I would still remain faithful. So when I read from Mark about Jesus’ life and teachings I get a whole other story than the one presented on Sunday mornings in auditoriums around the USA. Jesus came to leave his imprint with us—inside of us.

Mark 7.20-23
And he went on to say, “From the inside, from your heart come the evil ideas that lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly—all these evil things come from inside you and make you unclean.”

It’s inner enlightenment. It’s the reign of God in my actions with my daughter, my colleagues. It’s the reign of God seen in my actions on the business trips I take or the personal ones. It’s the acknowledgment of Jesus as the son of God in my actions speaking so loudly that others with their dysfunctional lives can know that they too can be healed. Enlightenment outside any earthly system is something Jesus left for us.

Man was not made for the Sabbath

I am going to dedicate the blogspot for one last week to meanderings about the characteristics of the followers of Jesus that I found to be outstanding in the account from Mark. I found 9 characteristics. Today's discussion is on characteristic # 8.

Characteristic 8: (S)He treats the strict adherents to religious traditions as those who need to be guided further, redirected, or challenged to give up their traditions.

Jesus did not mince words. He did not politely treat those who wanted to use the law as if it were a straight jacket. He would tell them hard sayings to follow such as it is harder for a camel to thread the needle's eye than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. He showed them his authority over nature, with his divine attributes of forgiving sins. He would drive out Jews from the temple area where they sold merchandise because they had turned the house of prayer into a den of theives. He would command waves on a sea to convince his followers that he was in charge of nature and could do what he wanted if he so chose. He would tell those who listened that he was Lord of the Sabbath and that they also were not made for the Sabbath, but vice versa.

If we take that to heart, then it seems that we have much in our religious world that we need not heed. We simply need to follow Jesus' teachings. We are not bound to follow people's traditions. And just what falls in the category of tradition? All kinds of practices. The church has made attendance a high priority. But, maybe just being with other Christians at work, at play, in leisure, on trips, etc. is a more effective arrangement for being with other Christians. The church has made worship "acts" a definition of worship. Paul's application was the living sacrifice. Our daily habits might be a better definition of our recognition of God than our "acts." Religious people don't let religion get in the way of their business. Followers of Jesus operate business through their integrity, honesty, decency. Who is worshiping at what place has a higher importance than exhibiting kindness and compassion to the people around us. At the very least the arrangement should be vice versa. Perhaps the second part of the statment is the only action that counts. Religious people place a priority on which church, and by extension, which doctrine is correct. What should be more important, perhaps, is the knowledge of the tenets of Jesus' teachings, that is, he fed hungry people, he relieved the pain of the afflicted, he cast out limiting demons of the flesh, he assured the insecure, he forgave sins. Our religion should not be rules but forgiving responses, healing touches, encouraging words.

It's refreshing to be around people who don't act religiously. Jesus encountered the religious people, and we do too. Our response should be the same as the teacher's response. We follow the Lord of the Sabbath.

The DNA of the message

I am going to dedicate the blogspot for at least the next week to meanderings about the characteristics of the followers of Jesus that I found to be outstanding in the account from Mark. I found 9 characteristics. Today's discussion is on characteristic # 7.

Characteristic 7: (S)He trusts that Jesus delivered the message of God that spawns a life that never ends.

Representative sample from Mark: After this, Jesus himself sent out through his disciples from the east to the west the sacred and everliving message of eternal salvation.
(Mark 16.9-10) The shortest ending

It would stand to reason that if the other 6 characteristics of Jesus' followers are true, then Jesus would send out his message through his disciples from the east to the west. Jesus would have wanted his message to have been perpetuated. I don't think that perpetuation is in the form that most churches say that it is to be accomplished. But, Jesus had in mind that his message would last through the ages.

Many churches want to have everybody "doing evangelism." Thus, a number of phases have been passed through. In the 1950s there was the "Go ye means me" movement. Door-to-door evangelism was tried. In the 1960s people set up film strip studies and home Bible studies. In the 1970s buses rolled out of a great number of church buildings to pick up the kids of the slackards who weren't coming so that they could be reached through their kids. Vacation Bible Schools existed for the same purpose. In the 1980s "reaching the unchurched" became a popular phrase for the aim of evangelism. So, churches tried different social events to invite the community to. In the 1990s "friendship evangelism" was the watchword of the day. Christians were to be a light to and talk openly with everyone in their sphere of influence. 2/3 of the way through the first decade of the 2000s, the emphasis so far has been on reaching out through a combination of 1980s and 1990s methods and a few attempts at using internet methods, although those are still in their infancy, and attempts at joining forces with other denominations, such as church planting.

But, Jesus may have meant that he wanted his message to simply be the trademark of a person. So, the plumber acknowledges the reign of God in his life through his words and actions, as does the school teacher, the electrician, the entrepreneur, the attorney, the medical doctor, the supremely educated, the carpet layer, the roofer, the accountant, the oil investor, the landmen, geologists, and geophysicists, etc. When each person on the earth claims Jesus as the Son of God, (s)he is saying that the message is other-worldly (the meaning of "holy" or "sacred") and that it has embedded in its teachings the claim a follower's life never ends.

And so, a mother teaches that to her children, people marry and teach it to their children; those children marry and pass on the good word—ad infinitum.

One might call this the DNA characteristic. A follower will every day of his or her life transmit the message in some form to someone else. The reign of God is forever.

Blabbing the superficialities of God's generosity

I am going to dedicate the blogspot for at least the next week to meanderings about the characteristics of the followers of Jesus that I found to be outstanding in the account from Mark. I found 9 characteristics. Today's discussion is on characteristic # 6.

Characteristic 6: (S)He can see the wisdom of internalizing what God has done for him or her so that every person experiences God in his or her own way.

Representative sample from Mark: “What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Then Jesus ordered them, “Do not tell anyone about me.” (Mark 8.29-30)

Other textual support for characteristic:1.34, 3.12, 7.36, 8.26, 8.30,
Fact from Mark: In 58% of the healing episodes, Jesus tells the ones healed not to say anything.

In my teens, as I became familiar with the gospel of Mark, I often wondered why Jesus told those he healed or cast demons from not to tell anyone else. It seemed that the people would be excited enough to tell others what Jesus had done for them and that Jesus should have appreciated the spread of his gospel. Later, in college, I thought that Jesus knew the state of people's minds well enough to create the reverse phsychological effect. Later, I just thought there would be a day that I would understand the dynamic, but the day never came for 20 years.

Then the day came. I was asked to analyze Mark for the outstanding characteristics of the followers of Jesus. Again, it stood out that Jesus told those he healed not to tell others. It bothered me since Jesus told those he healed to keep quiet in 58% of the recorded stories of his healing. I started with my childhood idea. But, that idea was wrong because Jesus' stated mission was to preach his message (characteristic #1). And I strongly believe the idea from my college years is wrong because it seems that reverse psychology for manipulative purposes of individuals is a game, and Jesus did not come to play mind games with people. So, I had to look elsewhere.

It dawned on me that anything meaningful in life really has to be discovered before it can be fully internalized. Even if someone else "discovers" some miracle of God, some realization for me, that is, a miracle or realization happened to me because of someone else's goodwill toward me (not my discovery), the meaning would still have to be internalized. If I am busy telling everyone about the miracle or realization, it encourages all manner of remarks from others on whether it was from God or not. I need to let the miracle wash over me. I need to internalize the generosity of God. I need to know to the deepest fiber that Jesus is the Son of God. I need to know I have no control nor have I created any good reason (such as a good life) for the miracle or realization to have happened. I need time with the Maker of Heaven and Earth to give thanks and to be overwhelmed that he considered me, a tiny speck in the universe of his. Then, I can go in power because God can use me.

Placing faith in Jesus calls for us to look at Jesus' other-worldy nature. It calls for us to trust that he represents the Maker of all. It takes a little time to award that trust to someone. It takes time to internalize what God has done for us. If we go in power later, it takes internalization now, not blabbing the superficialities of God's generosity to everyone and their dogs. Otherwise, our story is shallow both for us and for the one to whom we are talking. Instead, I need to spend the time being overwhelmed because God has shortened the discovery process for me. As the evangelist Landon Saunders used to say, "First tell his story. Then tell your story." The other order is out of order. It lacks power. It focuses on the wrong person. This is the Maker's world.

An old name, a new meaning

I am going to dedicate the blogspot for at least the next week to meanderings about the characteristics of the followers of Jesus that I found to be outstanding in the account from Mark. I found 9 characteristics. Today's discussion is on characteristic # 5.


Characteristic 5: (S)He knows the imagery of Jesus’ references to himself as the Son of Man.


Representative sample from Mark: And Jesus concluded, “The Sabbath was made for the good of human beings; they were not made for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2. 27-28)


Other textual support for characteristic:2.10, 2.28, 10.33, 10.44, 13.26, 14.21, 14.62
Fact from Mark: Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man 7 times, split evenly over his ministry

Jesus called himself the Son of Man so much that it is noteworthy. Nobody seemed to question the meaning of the phrase. Also of note is the fact that the apostles did not leave any written record of their calling Jesus by the name Son of Man. So, should modern followers think that since the apostles left no written record of calling Jesus by a name he called himself that we too should not call him by that name? Was the name treated like Yahweh was treated by the Jews of old, that is, the name was much too sacred to pronounce even?

The link given (either by clicking the title of this blog or the other link) is to a spot on Studylight.org. A series of 7 short articles have been written (December 15th-January 26) in order to help illuminate the origins of the phrase and explore how Jesus may have used this appellation. Interesting reading. Click on the title to this article (the cursor will change to a hand as you place it on the title) and you will be taken straight to the archives where you may click on the Son of Man article of your choice.