One of the things that tickles me to death about Jesus is that He was not literal. His speech was lathered with irony, sarcasm, hyperbole, juxtaposition, and innuendo. If we are bound to taking Jesus literally then we are all in trouble, because no camel can pass through the eye of a needle, no mustard seed can move a mountain, and Jesus never destroyed the temple and built it back up in three days like He said He would, so how can we trust anything else He said?
Years ago when I was first writing devotions for Purposedrivenlife.com (some of you may remember this) I was sitting at my computer struggling over an idea for inspiration when I suddenly realized I had been staring at some pretty incredible pictures of God’s creation on my screensaver. Then it dawned on me that I had been caught up in worshiping God through my screensaver, without thinking of it as worship. Duh! I decided to write my devotional in such a way as to take my readers through the same experience of discovery I had gone through. (I wanted them to feel as dumb as I did and possibly make a point if even for that.) I decided the best way to do that was to set them up by admitting I didn’t know what I was going to write about that day, but I had gotten caught up in some pretty incredible pictures on my screensaver, anyway, such as:
… a filigree of fern, its curled, unopened fronds lined up like the tops of cellos in an orchestra section
… a stand of tall Aspens, the green of their tops and the green forest floor blending into a black background leaving only the straight, bare skeleton-white trunks to emerge ghostly through the fog
… a close-up of a single drop of dew suspended under a blade of grass, so still and so pure, you could see your reflection in it.
Then after waxing as eloquently as I possibly could describing five or six more images on my screensaver, I concluded by writing: “After all this, I’m still sitting here, hands clasped behind my head, wondering what I should write about today to help lead us all in the worship of God. Any ideas?”
The surprise was the number of people who wrote me back and tried to seriously answer my question: they tried to give me ideas! One person was even upset that someone in my position would admit to having nothing to writer about.
The experience showed me we’ve all got to ease up on ourselves spiritually. We can become so bent on getting it right that we can’t enjoy the process of discovery. Jesus didn’t put everything on the bottom shelf. He didn’t lay it all out in black and white like you or I would. More often than not He sent people away scratching their heads. I believe that’s because He wants to involve us in the process.
Jesus never announced He was the Messiah; He asked “Who do men say that I am?” followed up by “Who do you say that I am” and then he let Peter say He was the Messiah and rewarded him for how the Spirit had shown this to him. Isn’t that more fun than “Alright class, today’s lesson is on my mission and purpose for being here so you better pay attention.”
So lighten up a little when you read the words of Jesus. Some of it will cut you to the quick, and some of it is downright hilarious. Sometimes you need to look just to the right or the left of what He said to find what He wanted you to get.
And while you’re at it, why not take a look around you right now and find something you can worship God over that you never have before. Believe me, there’s lots to choose from.
Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.
– Roger van Oech
John Fischer The Catch 
John, thank you for this post. My personal daily devotions were running in a spiritual dry creek bed. You provided the rain water and the flash flood is upon me. I just sat here looked at the technology here in my office and praised God for how ingenious He made humans and how this technology reflects Him .ie. we can be almost everywhere at once using cyberspace. Wow! I always saw my computer as a tool to use not as an item of praise and worship. As I look out my office window the snow is now beautiful, rather than just a reality of a long drawn out winter. Not one snowflake is the same, yet it is all snow. Only God could create something that unusual.
I needed someone to kick start me into becoming more creative in my time with God rather than following the same routine. Routine is good but can be stifling. The stifling has once again become creative. God amazes me with His creative ways of dealing with me and the world He has created for all of us to enjoy. Thanks for getting my into that mind space once again.
O yes, I have always loved your brutal honesty, and shooting from the hip so to speak. You speak God’s Word boldly, and that is uncomfortable but enjoyable. I hope that it continues to touch all in that way. The Truth shall set us FREE.
Loved your thoughts! It reminded me of my morning drive today. I was on my way to work, driving behind an SUV this morning when I noticed his/her license plates. “ATH31ST” (atheist) At first I was offended, but then the Holy Spirit was whispering in my ear, “pray for the people in that car”. I realized that those plates were, for me, an invitation to pray. I don’t know what the end result of my prayers will be, only God knows that, but I had a connection, and I am honored that I have God who wants to hear my prayers. I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to the atheist in the SUV today, and tomorrow I will pray the same. What a blessing that we have God’s grace, mercy and peace just by asking for those gifts, through Jesus the Christ!
John, it is called making people think for themselves. This has been lost in education. We feed people facts and don’t allow them to brainstorm anymore. We teach them to read, spell, and cipher, but not to think.
Exactly. You got the point I’m trying to make here. Not to cast doubt on what Jesus said, but to make us work harder and to also obscure the truth so God can REVEAL it to whom He wishes.
John, you have an odd way of making a point sometimes. “…to obscure the truth so God can reveal it to whom He wishes”…… and, “…so how can we trust anything else He said?” His last words to us were…”Go into all the world and teach this Gospel to everyone…those that believe shall be saved……” Shouldn’t we make it clear ? Not everyone understands your way of “teaching this Gospel”.
Now you’re taking ME too literally. “…so how can we trust anything else He said?” (check the context) was sheer hyperbole. And “…to obscure the truth so God can reveal it to whom He wishes” is, in a nutshell, Jesus’ own explanation of why He spoke in parables, not mine.
John this one was a really good one today! About a year ago, I started to keep a “Today I’m Grateful For” diary.. I keep it where I drink my morning tea… I don’t write in it every day, but this morning before I read The Catch, I was writing things like – Sweet Pea is just such a perfect creation, and looking outside, the snow is almost gone, and I wrote I’m grateful for the new baby shoots of grass coming up – and looking up and out, I wrote how beautiful the mountains look today with their dark green and snow… I am happy today… Then I wrote – THANK YOU… So maybe I’m getting closer and closer….
Wish you enough
This totally made me laugh… “One person was even upset that someone in my position would admit to having nothing to writer about.”
Ah, the time we waste picking apart things around us and totally missing the point. How frustrated Jesus must have felt sometimes. Thankfully his words are so simple, yet so deep, you can even read the same parable or verses every year and, depending on where you are at that moment in your spiritual walk, He will deliver the exact message you needed.
That’s pretty amazing!! And certainly worthy of remembering during worship!!
Jesus never announced He was the Messiah?? You forgot about His incredible discussion with the Samaritan woman at the well in John Chapter 4. …. unless, of course, you don’t feel this conversation should be taken literally. Be more careful with your warning to not take Jesus literally. “No camel can fit through the eye of a needle”, but with God all things are possible. A rich man cannot stop trusting in his riches on his own strength, but when he discovers God’s riches in Christ…..! “No mustard seed can move a mountain”, but He didn’t say that! He said “if we have FAITH LIKE a mustard seed we can say to this mountain…..”. And, He never said He would destroy the temple…. the temple was the place of God’s abode here on Earth until Jesus arrived. He was God in the flesh….His Temple, built back up in three days after the Cross. There is a difference between “taking Jesus literally”, and discerning a parable through the understanding given by our “Helper”, the Holy Spirit. It’s a slippery slope to instruct others to look to the left or the right of what He says in order to get the true meaning of His intent in His words. Or, for the sake of discovery, “look at the same thing as everyone else and think something different..”. ….. come on John,… an awful lot of confusion, and outright heresy, has been injected into the understanding of God’s Good News over the years with thinking like that. Is it not safer to lean more towards trusting to what He said originally, rather than reading into His words on our own. God’s Spirit will show the Way if we will just trust God’s Word…. instead of, “how can we trust anything else He said !!” Point the Way clearly, or don’t point at all.
The Bible is to be taken seriously not literally. The words of Jesus were written years after his death from memory by men. Men not unlike men today that had opinions and agendas. It’s not as tho he was followed around like a reality TV show.
I agree with this:
“So lighten up a little when you read the words of Jesus. Some of it will cut you to the quick, and some of it is downright hilarious. Sometimes you need to look just to the right or the left of what He said to find what He wanted you to get.”
The Bible is to be taken literally, and seriously…… take on faith what you don’t understand.
No one takes the bible literally, only the parts they like.
So true!
sailaway58….. maybe John would feel it important to jump in here and shed a little light on this subject…. the Holy Spirit gives the interpretation of the Word….. we’re not left to believe just the parts we like…. words have meaning! …. Jesus is the Son of God, with all power on Heaven and Earth given to Him…. He knows what He is talking about!
Yes, absolutely. The Holy Spirit is here to guide us into all truth.
While that sounds great the truth is apparently the spirit gives lots of interpretations.
God may know what he is talking about but we are looking through a dim glass.
meh, lost hour…i probably would have frittered it anywy- mmmm…fritters! (1st Kings first:-))