The Ordnance Survey is revered as a British institution in the field of mapping the country. It is renowned for the accuracy and clarity of detail in its publications. There is also an on-line facility I like for plotting routes I am planning to walk, or recording those that I have actually done. It is called "getamap". When heading out onto the hills, it is vital to have a map, and the ability to read and use it. Mountain rescue teams regularly bemoan the fact that people set off without the right clothing and maps. Sadly, with the use of satnav devices in cars, map reading skills seem to be in decline.
Once the skills have been developed, map lovers can easily spend hours poring over them. The symbols for the contours, the transport networks, the rivers and valleys, the woods and crags, and all sorts of land use and man made landmarks all create a vivid impression of an area, even if it has never been visited. When out in the field, provided you can keep tabs on where you actually are on the ground, you can then proceed with certainty when confronted with a junction in the path or road requiring a choice or decision to be made.
Life is often likened to a journey. Rightly, the Bible has often been likened to the map for life's journey. God is a higher authority even than the Ordnance Survey. If we can put our trust in man-made maps, surely we can even more securely trust the Word of God? It shows where we go wrong and how things can be put right. It presents the destinations that lie ahead of all people beyond death - either heaven or hell. It shows precisely how to avoid the one and gain the other. God presents His own perspective on what is right and wrong, and who are we to argue? He defines sin and concludes that all have sinned and deserve hell. There is a clearly signed crossroads at the heart of the route selection - the cross of Christ, the meaning of His death and resurrection. God provides a Saviour and makes Him freely available to everybody, so that we can escape hell and be certain of heaven. All we need to do is to recognise our need and accept God's provision.
All too often we want to take short cuts. We may not realise that there is an obstacle or pitfall to be avoided, maybe a difficult river crossing, a bog, a crag. Others only ever want to use motorways and refuse to explore the by roads and so miss out on many of the most special places there are to see. In the journey of life too, short cuts can be dangerous, or simply doing nothing than following the crowd after entertainment or material gain.
To get right with God, there is no short cut avoiding the cross of Christ. Jesus Christ is the key to the Bible. Just like maps, the Bible comes to life when we understand the key meanings of the message being conveyed. God is not hiding things from us, but because the truth often hurts, we try to avoid or alter the message to suit ourselves. We want to earn God's blessing, even when He says we cannot. We want to choose for ourselves what is right or wrong even when He sets the parameters as is His absolute prerogative. We prefer darkness even as God is providing us with light. If only we allow Him to turn on the light for us, we will start to see the beauty and fullness of the message he has for us. The person of Christ becomes precious, His death and resurrection become central to our life and purpose, and the destination of heaven is assured. Our lives can be transformed and have totally new and real motivation and meaning.
When going out for a walk in a new place, nobody with an interest in the world around would set off without a map, and one which is reliable at that. When journeying through life, likewise, we should not proceed without the one reliable guide from the Maker's hands, the Bible. Life is too serious to make mistakes on the most important issues. Don't just accept any old plan for life, get The Map. Don't just make assumptions about its message, make sure you have a first hand understanding.
A good map satisfies the needs of multitudes of visitors with differing interests. In the journey of life, we all have twists and turns that are individual to us, but the Bible is able to speak personally to each and every human life with truth and authority, with direct relevance and yet with grace and mercy too. Don't relegate The Map to some dusty shelf in the corner.
Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts
2012-03-12
2012-03-05
Walking in Matthew's Gospel
I must admit that it was a surprise to find that there are only 7 references to the word "walk" in Matthew's Gospel. However, we should realise that most of the travels that Jesus undertook, which were considerable in number and distance, were done on foot. It was just the normal means of travel. It was taken for granted by the writers of Gospels that walking would have been the means by which Jesus travelled throughout the Holy Land, and the occasional mention of donkeys and asses in the Lord's journeys are almost certainly exceptions deserving of their special mention.
Today, we would all assume that working people who travel as part of their work are going by car or train, or even regularly flying in the USA. We would not always expect to refer to the means of travel, just refer to the places we had been for the meetings or business appointments. These days we would certainly remark on it as an exception if someone was travelling large distances on foot. This reminds us just how much life has changed in our usual experience of the modern world.
Simply, the fact that walking would be taken so much for granted helps to explain the lack of references, and the context of the references that are made. We will look at them briefly, not in order.
The first is the call of Jesus to His disciples (Matt 4:18). He was walking by the sea of Galilee when He called Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen, and He was about to bring a transformation in their lives. The record said that they left their nets and followed Him - literally following in His footsteps as well as His teachings. They were gradually to cease their lives based on and around the lake and boats and fish. Later it was explained that they were to be fishers of men. To follow Jesus would surely have involved walking greater distances than they were used to, visiting a much wider range of places than could ever have expected to see, and seeing far more people on their journeys than they were used to meeting and socialising with.
Walking by the Sea of Galilee was one thing, but no less than three of the remaining six references are about walking on the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 14:25, 26 and 29). Now there was some walking that really merited comment! What is natural on land certainly is not on water - people literally sink or swim. But Jesus did not sink or swim, He walked in a perfectly poised and composed manner on the surface of the Sea of Galilee. This is one of the notable miracles displaying His glory as the Son of God. It shows His physical and practical rule over the world of nature. But seas and stormy waters in the Bible are also often intended as a vivid picture of the moral and political swirls and turmoil of the world in which so many people suffer and toil. And all the toil and activity never really seems to lead to sustained healthy and peaceful progress. How lovely, we think, it would be to sail calmly through life as though we were walking on the surface of the waves. This is exactly the picture Jesus was portraying, which Peter picked up on. He wanted to join Jesus, and he too briefly walked on the water, before his faith failed and he sank and had to cry out for help. In this world we need help from the Lord if we are not to sink beneath the troubles. By faith, He can bring peace, joy and contentment even in the midst of continuing turmoil that often continues to affect believers directly and seriously.
The remaining three references also concern miracles of the Lord - the healing of people who were lame. When society relied so heavily on walking, we little appreciate how serious a problem lameness must have been. Even today, with all the helps available, mobility can still be a very big issue for individuals trying to carry on a normal life. Twice the fact that Jesus made the lame walk is mentioned by Matthew in general statements about the healing miracles he performed. It is a central idea of this site that we should see how walking is likened to the journey through life. Being unable to walk means a serious lack of being able to participate in the same healthy activity as others. Leprosy speaks of sin, sight speaks of faith and our eyes being opened to our need of a Saviour and the way Jesus perfectly fulfils that role for us. Lameness being healed speaks of a new direction in our lives, motivation, and a new ability to make progress and grow in faith and works as believers.
The reference I have left to last is a very important one, from Matthew 9:5. I often think of it as the pattern miracle for understanding their spiritual as well as practical meaning. Denying the miracles of Christ is a total denial of who He is. It was a required sign of the Messiah that He would be a miracle worker. In this instance we have a more detailed account of an individual healing of a lame man. There were numerous eyewitnesses, as on many other occasions. They are amongst the best attested facts of history. If Jesus is who He claimed to be, there should be little question of accepting His ability to overcome forces of nature. After all, He created them in the first place.
When Jesus was presented with the man in all his obvious need, He said "Your sins are forgiven". This is not to suggest a direct relationship between particular sins and illness or disease. The Bible is clear that all have sinned, however outwardly healthy or otherwise we may appear. The Lord's later question is the key, after he had healed the man with the impressive visual results. He asked "Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? For us we cannot say 'Arise and walk' with any authority whatsoever. We know that we cannot merely speak and achieve such a transformation in someone's life. It is the very definition of a miracle. Yet Christ could achieve it with ease through the spoken word. 'Your sins are forgiven you' are words without any immediate visual signs of results or reality of achievement. What does being forgiven look like? It is an internal heart matter. But Jesus knew that the reality of forgiveness was the most important need of humanity, far outweighing this man's need to walk. He also knew it would be achieved at great cost. He could speak the words, but the words alone were almost meaningless. In that way they might be seen as cheap and easy to say. However, He knew He would in fact have to die at the cross and rise again to achieve real grounds of forgiveness for this man and for us. Jesus could easily speak the words to heal the blind, deaf or lame, and the results were immediate and clear. For us to know the reality of forgiveness from God, Jesus had to do far more than speak a few words. Let us always remember that the genuine offer of forgiveness to all of us, who are sinners in the sight of a holy God, was achieved at the cost of the cross. Rejection of that true demonstration of love is a serious step when all that God requires of us is simple repentance, faith, trust and thankfulness for a work perfectly achieved on our behalf. We can be the recipients of the greatest miracle of all, achieved at the greatest cost - forgiveness and eternal life in a loving relationship with God as Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, we would all assume that working people who travel as part of their work are going by car or train, or even regularly flying in the USA. We would not always expect to refer to the means of travel, just refer to the places we had been for the meetings or business appointments. These days we would certainly remark on it as an exception if someone was travelling large distances on foot. This reminds us just how much life has changed in our usual experience of the modern world.
Simply, the fact that walking would be taken so much for granted helps to explain the lack of references, and the context of the references that are made. We will look at them briefly, not in order.
The first is the call of Jesus to His disciples (Matt 4:18). He was walking by the sea of Galilee when He called Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen, and He was about to bring a transformation in their lives. The record said that they left their nets and followed Him - literally following in His footsteps as well as His teachings. They were gradually to cease their lives based on and around the lake and boats and fish. Later it was explained that they were to be fishers of men. To follow Jesus would surely have involved walking greater distances than they were used to, visiting a much wider range of places than could ever have expected to see, and seeing far more people on their journeys than they were used to meeting and socialising with.
Walking by the Sea of Galilee was one thing, but no less than three of the remaining six references are about walking on the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 14:25, 26 and 29). Now there was some walking that really merited comment! What is natural on land certainly is not on water - people literally sink or swim. But Jesus did not sink or swim, He walked in a perfectly poised and composed manner on the surface of the Sea of Galilee. This is one of the notable miracles displaying His glory as the Son of God. It shows His physical and practical rule over the world of nature. But seas and stormy waters in the Bible are also often intended as a vivid picture of the moral and political swirls and turmoil of the world in which so many people suffer and toil. And all the toil and activity never really seems to lead to sustained healthy and peaceful progress. How lovely, we think, it would be to sail calmly through life as though we were walking on the surface of the waves. This is exactly the picture Jesus was portraying, which Peter picked up on. He wanted to join Jesus, and he too briefly walked on the water, before his faith failed and he sank and had to cry out for help. In this world we need help from the Lord if we are not to sink beneath the troubles. By faith, He can bring peace, joy and contentment even in the midst of continuing turmoil that often continues to affect believers directly and seriously.
The remaining three references also concern miracles of the Lord - the healing of people who were lame. When society relied so heavily on walking, we little appreciate how serious a problem lameness must have been. Even today, with all the helps available, mobility can still be a very big issue for individuals trying to carry on a normal life. Twice the fact that Jesus made the lame walk is mentioned by Matthew in general statements about the healing miracles he performed. It is a central idea of this site that we should see how walking is likened to the journey through life. Being unable to walk means a serious lack of being able to participate in the same healthy activity as others. Leprosy speaks of sin, sight speaks of faith and our eyes being opened to our need of a Saviour and the way Jesus perfectly fulfils that role for us. Lameness being healed speaks of a new direction in our lives, motivation, and a new ability to make progress and grow in faith and works as believers.
The reference I have left to last is a very important one, from Matthew 9:5. I often think of it as the pattern miracle for understanding their spiritual as well as practical meaning. Denying the miracles of Christ is a total denial of who He is. It was a required sign of the Messiah that He would be a miracle worker. In this instance we have a more detailed account of an individual healing of a lame man. There were numerous eyewitnesses, as on many other occasions. They are amongst the best attested facts of history. If Jesus is who He claimed to be, there should be little question of accepting His ability to overcome forces of nature. After all, He created them in the first place.
When Jesus was presented with the man in all his obvious need, He said "Your sins are forgiven". This is not to suggest a direct relationship between particular sins and illness or disease. The Bible is clear that all have sinned, however outwardly healthy or otherwise we may appear. The Lord's later question is the key, after he had healed the man with the impressive visual results. He asked "Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? For us we cannot say 'Arise and walk' with any authority whatsoever. We know that we cannot merely speak and achieve such a transformation in someone's life. It is the very definition of a miracle. Yet Christ could achieve it with ease through the spoken word. 'Your sins are forgiven you' are words without any immediate visual signs of results or reality of achievement. What does being forgiven look like? It is an internal heart matter. But Jesus knew that the reality of forgiveness was the most important need of humanity, far outweighing this man's need to walk. He also knew it would be achieved at great cost. He could speak the words, but the words alone were almost meaningless. In that way they might be seen as cheap and easy to say. However, He knew He would in fact have to die at the cross and rise again to achieve real grounds of forgiveness for this man and for us. Jesus could easily speak the words to heal the blind, deaf or lame, and the results were immediate and clear. For us to know the reality of forgiveness from God, Jesus had to do far more than speak a few words. Let us always remember that the genuine offer of forgiveness to all of us, who are sinners in the sight of a holy God, was achieved at the cost of the cross. Rejection of that true demonstration of love is a serious step when all that God requires of us is simple repentance, faith, trust and thankfulness for a work perfectly achieved on our behalf. We can be the recipients of the greatest miracle of all, achieved at the greatest cost - forgiveness and eternal life in a loving relationship with God as Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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