February 7

“And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him, and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Mark 10:35

“Jonah said “So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!” Jonah 4:3

Many often say “What do I have in common with people of the Bible?” One thing I can confidently say that we all have in common with the people of the bible is that we have all tried to figure G*d out. Some have lamented why G*d is absent at different times; some have tried to change G*d’s mind; some have questioned G*d’s ways; and some have demanded certain things from G*d. Since the beginning of time people have prayed to G*d, shouted at G*d, cried to G*d, praised G*d, and worshipped G*d. AND, people have tried to tell G*d what to do. James and John, and Jonah were trying to tell G*d what they thought G*d should do. James and John wanted a special place in G*d’s kingdom. They figured that, if Jesus had chosen them to be part of the inner circle in their earthly family, maybe Jesus would choose them to be in the inner circle in G*d’s kingdom. Jonah, on the other hand, felt G*d had no business offering forgiveness to a people whom he thought could or should not be forgiven.

That is the great thing about the bible. All throughout its pages, and in fact all throughout the history of the Church, we can find people who think, feel, and act like we do. And yet, these failed people were still a part of G*d’s plan of salvation and working in this world. Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662) writes:

“What spoils comparisons between the state of the Church in former times and its present situation is the fact that we usually regard St. Athanasius, St. Theresa and the rest as crowned with glory and years, judged almost divine before our time. Now that time has cleared things up, that is what it looks like, but at the time when he was being persecuted this great saint was just a man called Athanasius, and St. Theresa just a woman. Elijah was a man, subject to like passions as we are… St. Athanasius was a man called Athanasius, accused of several crimes, condemned by such and such a council…”

You may feel that you have nothing in common with all of our Biblical brothers and sisters, and those lifted up by the Church for their faith, but if you read carefully, you will find many “less than perfect” people. And many of those people are some of the G*d’s greatest disciples. Everyone has a place in G*d’s plan of salvation, no matter how glorious or imperfect.

Pastor Dave