Surpassing Glory

This week’s parashah (Torah portion) includes the giving of the 10 commandments at Mt Sinai.  While I was reading it, I was really impressed by the immense glory and complete magnificence of God’s presence and the event of giving the Torah.  The imagery is especially vivid as I remember ascending and descending this same mountain as Moses did (well maybe not the exact same but close enough) this summer.  The glory of God was so great when He descended upon the mountain that all the people had to sanctify themselves and wash their clothing and they couldn’t touch the mountain or else they would die before the glory of God.  Then on the day of revelation, the people shook as they watched thunder and lightning crack around the mountain.  The shofar (ram's horn) blasts rang out louder and louder as God descended on the mountain and it was enveloped in smoke.  Moses climbs up and down the mountain (a long climb) to receive and relay God’s instruction to the people.  Then it happened.  God speaks to the nation of Israel: “I am HaShem your God, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery…”  It was overwhelming (even just reading it is mind blowing).  The midrash (Jewish commentary on the Torah) Shemot Rabbah (29:9) describes the scene as the whole universe going silent as God speaks into His world.

The thing that’s even more incredible to me is that the ministry of the Gospel is so much more glorious that Paul (renowned Torah scholar that he was) says that it’s as if this scene has no glory at all in comparison.  This is hard for me to fathom.  This story is sensational, powerful, life changing.  Yet I have the Spirit of this same God living in me and the privilege of entering the Holy of Holies by His Son Yeshua.  The same King of the universe who spoke the world into being, who parted the Red Sea, who gave the Torah at Mt Sinai.  He chose to become flesh and dwell among us in the person of Yeshua the Messiah.  And more than that make a new covenant in His own blood.  And we with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:18)  Why don't we live in this knowledge all the time?

Exodus 19-20

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Representing God

I was thinking about how everything we see in scripture seems to be about how we are representing God. Since we are made in the image of God, we should be pictures of who God is. Of course, because of sin, Jesus is the only one who is “the exact representation of his being” (Heb 1:3). But we are called to put Christ on display and so doing show people the Father. Paul says we are “always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:10-11)

Something that struck me was the fact that this is the heart of the laws of the Torah as well. Most Christians have a lot of trouble with the book of Leviticus. They either find it too boring to read, don’t think that it applies at all, or start nit-picking trying to figure out what is applicable to them and not. We don’t make sacrifices anymore, but do we need to keep following other commands such as “Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed” or “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material” (Lev 19:19)? What about keeping kosher? Or what about “Do not steal” and “Do not lie” (Lev 19:11)? I think we’re asking the wrong question when we try to figure out what we have to do and what we don’t. 

The Leviticus laws are meant to point us to Christ. As followers of Jesus “we are no longer under the supervision of the law” (Gal 3:25), so the question is not what to do and not to do. The question is how am I putting Christ on display? How do each of these commands enable the life of Jesus to be manifested in our mortal flesh? You don’t plant your field with two kinds of seed because you are painting a picture of God’s holiness (set apart) in your business. You don’t lie because God is the Truth. You keep the festivals of the LORD to declare His bountiful mercies to His people over the generations. How we put Jesus on display may look a little different in this day and age, but ultimately it’s the same idea. When people look at us, they should see Jesus.

Conversion

I figured I'd start off reposting some old stuff.  (That way I have some time to develop new thoughts.)  I wrote this in response to a conversation I had in February.  A friend of mine mentioned something about converting people which got me thinking.

I don't really like the word "convert." It carries a lot of negative connotations and really isn't an accurate description of what's going on. You convert binary to decimal or inches to centimeters. These are all changes within the same class of thing. However, meeting Jesus Christ for the first time is fundamentally different. It is a transformation of being. We're not out to make Jews or Muslims or atheist or anyone for that matter convert to Christianity. We are after something far bigger ontologically speaking. My desire is to see this person come face to face with Jesus Christ for the first time. Cultural religious expression is largely irrelevant. This is the powerful thing. It's not just a conversion from one religious system to another. It's a life and being that is completely new and different as a result of their encounter with the living God through his son Jesus Christ.

Kicking things off

People (mostly Chris Becker) have been telling me for a while to start a blog, so I finally gave in.  I'll most likely use it to expound upon various thoughts, musings, and the like.  I'm a fan of epistemology and metaphysics as well as some more practical theology.  I like to make math and engineering metaphors for life that sometimes describe things well (and sometimes are just silly).  So these are some of the things you might come to expect out of this blog.