Easter Re:Verse reading–John 20:1-18 (day seven)
There is a weird tension in verses 8-9. First, we find out a disciple believes, then we find out they did not yet understand the Scriptures about the resurrection. Some debate the meaning of this claiming it’s a typo or it’s really talking about the Holy Spirit or more reasonably, both are true: they believed while not fully understanding the larger context of the resurrection in Scripture.
At this point in their faith they could not grasp the spiritual scope of what was happening in front of them. Which is perfectly ok, because they were working through their faith together. It was ok because they were searching out Jesus Christ, it was ok because the Holy Spirit would soon be coming, it was ok because we are finite beings in need of an unfolding process to understand. God knows this.
These confounded disciples are hope for us. Though we do not yet fully understand the scope of what God is doing in our lives, we can still make progress. We learn and we grow, as the spirit leads, having a greater knowledge of God today than we did yesterday. It is ok to work through your faith slowly, just make sure you are working on it. Even a snail’s pace is enough. Donald S. Whitney writes in Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, “The Bible does not set a minimum acceptable speed for the pursuit of holiness.” Even a snail’s pace is progress.
Re:Verse reading – 1 Samuel 13:1-14
“Obedience as opposed to disobedience is a life-and-death issue. God has given humankind the innate power of choice: the choice of obedience leads to God’s promised blessing of life; the choice of disobedience leads to curse, judgment, and death.” (https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/obedience/)
I could not agree more, “He is exact with His words and His expectations.” I was exact with my expectations of my employees. I was clear in my expectations, followed up closely and warned them if I found a deficiency in compliance. As employees, we must follow an order exactly as it is communicated to us.
God is our spiritual leader. When He commands, it is wise to listen to Him attentively in order to understand His directions and instructions so we can follow exactly as He expected. We either comply or not comply. Obedience is about a total compliance, a complete submission to directions or orders.
God set up a model of rewards and punishment. Those obeyed God will be rewarded and those don’t would be cursed or punished. God’s model of obedience or of rewards and punishment has been implemented in all organizations and in life. As employees, we should expect to receive disciplinary actions when we ignore or don’t comply with supervisory directions and instructions. We cannot decide what to obey and what not as employees.
Society will be in chaos if people go their own way, disrespectful of lawful orders or organizational rules and policies. God provided 10 spiritual commandments as His law and we need to attentively listen to Him as to where He wanted for us to focus on or to fix our deficiencies. God gives us the choice: obey or disobey Him. There are rewards for obedience and consequences for disobedience. We need to decide which path of life we want to travel on and where will be our destination. Heaven or Hell?
I could not agree more, “We learn and we grow, as the spirit leads, having a greater knowledge of God today than we did yesterday. It is ok to work through your faith slowly, just make sure you are working on it. Even a snail’s pace is enough.”
Learning is a lifelong process. It is a journey, not a destination. It is a self-directed and self-paced journey. It is not a race, not to arrive at a particular level of proficiency at a particular deadline.
As long as we are alive, most of us will continue to learn so the learning journey will continue and will never end. We will learn at our self-directed and self-paced journey. We will continue to build on the knowledge we have accumulated over the years and from yesterday.
We will enjoy, have fun and believing in God’s power to do the impossibles while we are learning. We will focus on learning the Scriptures and applying them to solve earthly problems and discovering what it means for believers with Jesus’ resurrection. Turning to God for all the concerns but do not go weary. God is present to help us if we seek Him. Yes, even a snail’s pace is enough.
After all, I am curious as what others believe with Jesus’ resurrection. Has society been less sinful? Who else has been raised from dead we do not know about? Or Jesus was the only one because He is the Son of God? Has anyone seen Jesus eyes-to-eyes? Has anyone confused or had doubts about Jesus’ resurrection unfolding’s event? I do believe in the power of God and that He can do miracles! We just have to trust and believe in Him and wait for His unfolding miracles.