Valleys Fill First

"The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah." 1 Kings 16:17

So truthfully, I am getting quite worn out with this semester. I probably took on more than I should have and stress more than I should. But today I was reminded of the story of Elijah and the widow. The widow had faith, not because her jar was already full, but because she trusted in the future promise of its filling. God uses weak and empty vessels so that He can provide and show forth His strength and make His name great. That is something we as Christians should want but all too often we begin to rely on our strength or the blessings that God has provided. So it is not up to us to be strong so that God can use us, but we can be, and most certainly are, weak and broken people who have faith in the promise of God's sufficiency as evidenced by His past faithfulness to Himself and to us. And what a comfort that should be to us.

This is the valley that I’m walking through
And if feels like forever since I've been close to you
My friends up above me don't understand why I struggle like I do
My shadow's my only, my only companion and at night he leaves too

Down in the valley, dying of thirst
Down in the valley, it seems that I'm at my worst
My consolation is that you baptize this earth
when I’m down in the valley, valleys fill first

Down in this wasteland I miss the mountaintop view
but it's here in this valley that I'm surrounded by you
Though I'm not here by my will- it's where your view is the most clear
so I'll stay in this valley if it takes 40 years

And it's like that long Saturday your death and the rising day
When no one wrote a word, wond'ring is this the end
But you were down there in the well, saving those that fell
Bringing them to the mountain again

~Caedmon's Call (the best band ever!)

"Here am I, send me"

So just as a follow to yesterday...here is a good and short article on how to pursue God's calling in your life and lay yourself open for the call to missions. Take five minutes...

"Seeing now, but then...darkness"

The words of Teiresias speak concerning Oedipus' future doom. Or prophesying my certain doom on a Greek test I took today where I felt Oedipus' pain, as one who blindly "wanders beating the ground with his staff." Sigh.

It's that word, darkness (skotos in the Greek), that really struck me when I read it, as did the images of sight/blindness and light/darkness upon which Sophocles plays between Oedipus the seeing blind man and Teiresias the blind seer. A word quick search on "skotos" turned up 30 uses of the word in the New Testament, and such images of light and darkness should sound very familiar to the Christian. (Hehe...considering my own blog theme...) I'll just list a few here for quick reference:

Speaking of the doom of unbelievers

"I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 8:11-12

Where we were before fellowship with Christ

"Therefore do not associate with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." Ephesians 5:7-10

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9

"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14

What We, as Christians, should avoid

"The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." Romans 12:12

That out of which we should call others

"But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles- to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'" Acts 26:16-18

What Gods exposes and will expose

"Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God." 1 Corinthians 4:5

I think it very beneficial to consider this imagery and tease out what the NT writers might mean by such talk. Perhaps in a succeeding post I will expound more upon these thoughts.

What is the greatest crime in the desert?

...Finding water and keeping silent.

Kristen is at Wycliffe orientation these next two weeks at their center in Orlando. The more I hear and read about the vision and ministry of Wycliffe, the more I am impressed by their passion for the glory of God and the salvation of men. After 2000 years, there are over 3000 languages that still do not have any of the Bible in their own language! These people have never heard the gospel message and do not know Christ, their only hope for salvation. Many of these language groups do not even know what writing is. I heard another statistic today that said 80% of support for missionaries today comes from my grandparent's generation.

So in pondering these two statistics, I wonder what it is that my generation is seeking. I know that God will continue the work that he has started among the nations and that one day men from every nation, tribe, and tongue will stand before his throne. But will my generation be among the harvesters? I wonder that my generation hasn't grown up despising suffering and therefore forfeits any endeavor that might inflict such misery upon us. And yet Christ called us to suffer, but even more to take part in the great joy of suffering and living and dying for his namesake. We sit in our churches and seminaries and Bible schools with every imaginable tool and book with which to study our Bible- all at our fingertips. We have Bibles in whatever flavor you could want. There are millions of people who have no such access to the Bible and thirst for its hope and salvation, and yet how dispassionate are we to their need or maybe ignorant or blinded by our own ambitions. Some, like Kristen, have heeded the call of Christ and begun their journey to spread God's name among the nations...will you? Will I? God commanded us to missions. It isn't a choice. Here lies the choice: whether we live and die stateside supporting missionary work or live and die as the missionary. Both call for sacrifice and suffering and a war-like mentality...and a joy found in the promises of Christ, indeed Christ himself.

I end with a quotation by missionary Jim Elliot from The Shadow of the Almighty:

"You wonder why people choose fields away from the States when young people at home are drifting because no one wants to take time to listen to their problems. I'll tell you why I left. because those stateside young people have every opportunity to study, hear, and understand the Word of God in their own language, and these Indians have no opportunity whatsoever. I have had to make a cross of two logs and lie down on it to show the Indians what it means to crucify a man. When there is that much ignorance over here and so much knowledge over there, I have no question in my mind why God sent me here. Those whimpering stateside young people will wake up on the day of judgment condemned to worse fates than those demon-fearing Indians, because, having a Bible, they were bored with it- while these never heard of such a thing as writing."