I was watching Planes with my husband this weekend. The basic plot is a crop duster has a dream to win a round-the-world-race with some of the fastest planes in the world. A crop duster is not made to race around the world. He is made to fly over crops spraying them with insecticides. This particular crop duster has heart, though, and so he enters the race, squeaks in my the skin of his teeth, and (spoiler alert) he wins the race.
When we finished the movie, Dave commented on this running theme found in many children's movies that you can be whoever you want to be as long as you have enough heart. He said it is actually a bunch of bologna. He mentioned our dog Gus. See that day we had taken him to the dog park. He is an English bulldog. He is short and has a ten minute window of stamina. At the park there were German shepherds, American bulldogs, and all kinds of mutts. These dogs love the park. They run and chase each other, wrestle, and jump all over each other. Gus has heart. He loves other dogs, but he just can't keep up. He tries and tries, but after a short burst of energy, he is exhausted and throws himself on the ground panting and foaming at the mouth. No matter how hard he tries, he is not made to run with shepherds and labs.
I thought about this as I was at a prayer meeting last night. I was surrounded by women of God, whom I love and admire. Several times I have jealously thought about how much I want to be like them. I want to pray with the authority of Priscilla, with the passion of Donnalynn, and the affection of Michelle. I often think I am not them. There is a temptation to mimic them and try to pray in the same way they do. But God sent me a freeing message: "I am not them." I was not made to pray like them. I was made to pray like Melissa Wetzel. No matter how much heart I have, I can't change who I am and what I am made to do. That when really accepted is truly freeing.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
The Emotions of the Gospel
I was reading through Mark and got stuck on a word early on. I read this word over and over, unable to move on. It was the first emotion word of Jesus mentioned.
The story: A man with leprosy came to Jesus and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Mark then describes Jesus as indignant. He replied, "I am willing. Be clean."
The word: indignant.
The first emotion describing Jesus is not a word of happiness, contentment, surety, or peace. It is indignation. It is a word of offense, of injustice, of insult. Jesus was insulted at the man's words, "if you are willing." Did he know who he was talking to? The one responsible for creating the universe, the one who desires that none should perish, the one who came to pursue a sinful people was being challenged on how much he cared. I wonder if Jesus was thinking, "You fool! I care enough to die for you, much less heal your skin condition."
I was struck by the strength of this emotion, which led me on a quest to discover the emotions of Mark. At the onset, I didn't think I would find many as Mark was writing to Romans, men characterized by military strength not emotional acumen. I was not completely off in my initial assessment. There are not many emotion words in the book of Mark, but there are enough to make some amazing conclusions. We see several groups of people exhibiting strong emotions in the book of Mark: the crowds, the disciples, the Pharisees, individuals, and Jesus himself.
The crowds are continually amazed when they hear Jesus teaching and see his miracles. They are amazed that he speaks with authority unlike the teachers of the law. They are amazed when he tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven, and then gives him the command to get up and walk. They are amazed at the testimony of the demon-possessed man whose name had been Legion. After the feedings of the 5,000 and 4,000, where they eat and are satisfied, the crowd's emotions change. After they are fed, they see Jesus and are overwhelmed with amazement and wonder. They saw that he had done everything well, and that even the deaf hear and the mute speak. Finally, toward the end they are filled with delight at Jesus' teaching. The amazement they felt at the beginning seemed to be laced with incredulity. It is the gaping-mouth stance of skeptics that Mark portrays at the beginning. However, this changes to the delighting adoration of a beloved hero toward the end of the book.
The disciples emotions don't really seem to change much. They surely feel strong emotions, but they are consistent emoters. Their predominant emotion is fear (in varying degrees). They are terrified that the winds and waves obey him. They are terrified when he walks on water, thinking he is a ghost. They are frightened to the point of stupidity at the transfiguration. They feel sad when Jesus says that one of them will betray him, though their actions also depict fear as they all ask Jesus if it is them. I wonder how their fear made Jesus feel. The ones closest to him trembled. They got to see his divinity more than anyone, and they stand in fear. It makes me think of the Old Testament where the people of Israel saw the fire on Mount Sinai and shook in terror begging Moses to go up for them to interact with this God that made them quake. It does seem that the concentrated presence of God produces fear and trembling. Surely, their fear speaks to Jesus' terror-striking divinity. I wonder if the disciples were constantly thinking that no one could see the face of God and live.
Some individuals had some wonderful emotions. The woman with the issue of blood "felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering" after simply touching his garment. What a beautiful word picture of release and freedom. I remember feeling this when God set me free from the chains of a troubled childhood. He truly is the one who sets prisoners free! Jairus, when his dead daughter was raised to life, was astonished. This word seems to be different than the crowds being amazed, as their amazement seems to be filled with doubt. His astonishment seems to be the sudden filling of wonder that only an event like this could produce. The women at Jesus' empty tomb felt bewildered, with good reason.
The most amazing thing to me about this study, was the emotions that Mark chose to describe Jesus:
The story: A man with leprosy came to Jesus and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Mark then describes Jesus as indignant. He replied, "I am willing. Be clean."
The word: indignant.
The first emotion describing Jesus is not a word of happiness, contentment, surety, or peace. It is indignation. It is a word of offense, of injustice, of insult. Jesus was insulted at the man's words, "if you are willing." Did he know who he was talking to? The one responsible for creating the universe, the one who desires that none should perish, the one who came to pursue a sinful people was being challenged on how much he cared. I wonder if Jesus was thinking, "You fool! I care enough to die for you, much less heal your skin condition."
I was struck by the strength of this emotion, which led me on a quest to discover the emotions of Mark. At the onset, I didn't think I would find many as Mark was writing to Romans, men characterized by military strength not emotional acumen. I was not completely off in my initial assessment. There are not many emotion words in the book of Mark, but there are enough to make some amazing conclusions. We see several groups of people exhibiting strong emotions in the book of Mark: the crowds, the disciples, the Pharisees, individuals, and Jesus himself.
The crowds are continually amazed when they hear Jesus teaching and see his miracles. They are amazed that he speaks with authority unlike the teachers of the law. They are amazed when he tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven, and then gives him the command to get up and walk. They are amazed at the testimony of the demon-possessed man whose name had been Legion. After the feedings of the 5,000 and 4,000, where they eat and are satisfied, the crowd's emotions change. After they are fed, they see Jesus and are overwhelmed with amazement and wonder. They saw that he had done everything well, and that even the deaf hear and the mute speak. Finally, toward the end they are filled with delight at Jesus' teaching. The amazement they felt at the beginning seemed to be laced with incredulity. It is the gaping-mouth stance of skeptics that Mark portrays at the beginning. However, this changes to the delighting adoration of a beloved hero toward the end of the book.
The disciples emotions don't really seem to change much. They surely feel strong emotions, but they are consistent emoters. Their predominant emotion is fear (in varying degrees). They are terrified that the winds and waves obey him. They are terrified when he walks on water, thinking he is a ghost. They are frightened to the point of stupidity at the transfiguration. They feel sad when Jesus says that one of them will betray him, though their actions also depict fear as they all ask Jesus if it is them. I wonder how their fear made Jesus feel. The ones closest to him trembled. They got to see his divinity more than anyone, and they stand in fear. It makes me think of the Old Testament where the people of Israel saw the fire on Mount Sinai and shook in terror begging Moses to go up for them to interact with this God that made them quake. It does seem that the concentrated presence of God produces fear and trembling. Surely, their fear speaks to Jesus' terror-striking divinity. I wonder if the disciples were constantly thinking that no one could see the face of God and live.
Some individuals had some wonderful emotions. The woman with the issue of blood "felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering" after simply touching his garment. What a beautiful word picture of release and freedom. I remember feeling this when God set me free from the chains of a troubled childhood. He truly is the one who sets prisoners free! Jairus, when his dead daughter was raised to life, was astonished. This word seems to be different than the crowds being amazed, as their amazement seems to be filled with doubt. His astonishment seems to be the sudden filling of wonder that only an event like this could produce. The women at Jesus' empty tomb felt bewildered, with good reason.
The most amazing thing to me about this study, was the emotions that Mark chose to describe Jesus:
- He was indignant with the man who said "if you are willing."
- He was filled with anger and deep distress when he saw the stubborn hearts of the Jews after he healed a man's arm on the Sabbath. They would not assent that it is better to do good and give life on the Sabbath than to do evil and kill.
- He was amazed at lack of faith from the people of his hometown.
- He was filled with compassion for the crowds as they were like sheep without a shepherd, and as they had gone all day without food.
- He was indignant with the disciples when they sent the children away and rebuked the people. Instead he brought the little children to himself and blessed them.
- He was deeply distressed, troubled, and overwhelmed with sorrow as he prayed in the Garden that the cup would pass from him.
I serve a Savior who cares deeply for my afflictions. He is distressed when I don't trust him and when I stubbornly stick to my way of doing things. He loves children and blesses them. He is filled with compassion for me and for all those who are hurting, alone, and helpless. He is a Savior who feels deeply.
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