Why Did God Come to Earth as Jesus?

Why did Jesus come to earth as a man? Is that a question asked too many times to still be fresh? We can answer the question simply- “Because God so loved the world” Yet in this season another insight comes to me that I may just have touched on in my blogs but not fully That's the issue- can we grasp the whole meaning of the WHY it had to be that way.

I have long been enthralled by the mystery of the infinity of God. His power is infinite. He knows all things, He created a universe that is always expanding physically as scientist are looking further into space. As electronic microscopes and other ways of measuring the infinitesimal, building blocks keep getting smaller and smaller and more complicated. The human body no doubt has complexities that will keep scientists and the medical profession preoccupied for ever, to understand all aspects. One could also ask philosophical questions like, “If God is all powerful and good, why doesn't he solve the world's problems in a blink of an eye?”

The more I think about God, and I have been asking questions for over 7 decades, the more I am convinced that I know only a very slight amount of the whole nature of God. How much more is God, than suggested by the above questions? I feel lost, bewildered, and humiliated to think that I have thought that I know about God to any extent. Actually, the more I think, the less I believe that I know much of the entirety of God- what he really is like as the whole of his nature. This is where Christmas comes in.

God did want us to know something about himself. Not his whole nature; we can push that out endlessly with no assurance of satisfaction. But what was important to God that we should know about him? What really does he care about, for us to know? What is important to him for us to know? That is what Jesus came to show us. He did not answer all our questions about God; only what was really important to God for us to know about him. To study Jesus is to learn what was in the mind of God in sending Jesus. This is a life long pursuit. I expect we will have major surprises about God when we get to Heaven! We can only learn here and now what God wanted to reveal about himself in sending Jesus. (And later from the Spirit) I couldn't more than begin to say here what God wants to tell us through Jesus, but we know he waned to declare that he is basically love to us in every situation. That he has a way for us to live that is superb beyond the imagination of mankind. He also wanted us to know that he loves us in spite of our childish, rebellious heart that is often very foolish. He even takes the blame for us and forgives us of all that.

Jesus came to show and tell us about the nature and will of God for us. God is so different infinitely that we would have no grasp of who he is had he not become one of us to radiate forth his true nature- at least what he wants us now to know about him. (I have mused to wonder if he has come to all of his fallen nature- animals- atoms- in many other forms to show who he is. But that is another subject.) We just see that he had to become one of us as we would not have grasp what was most important to God for us to know. Yes, Christmas can have more meaning for us every year as long as we live, Because God has a lot more to show us about himself, I am convinced. (See the blog “God our Loving Creator” 2/5/13 for more on this infinite God.)

                                       To Like and To Love

            (For anyone contemplating marriage, or weighing their relationship)

When do you like a person and when do you love someone? If you like being around a person, is it because you love them[him or her], or like the person for the pleasant feeling it gives you to be there? Obviously you don't really like being with someone if it is unpleasant to be there even if you would make some sacrifice for the person out of love.

To like a person is to feel good about their presence because the person makes you feel good. But love is a commitment not limited to the good feeling you get from being in harmony with that person. It is caring about the person whether or not you may like the persons at a given moment.

It may be that before marriage, you may like a person very much, but would not be willing to make a sacrifice if things got really rough in your relationship, or if you were very disappointed in that person. After marriage, in the commitment of faithfulness and permanent love, you are committed to to care regardless how you feel, whether or not you like how the person is relating to you at the moment or generally. Thus it may be that liking the person dominates the relationship before marriage and love is the commitment in marriage.

So, when you cuddle up to your partner, is it liking or loving? If it is only for your own feelings, it is liking. If it is also because it makes her or him feel good, it is also loving. It is both when it is what you both want to give to each other and what you want to receive and it makes you both feel good. It is the same for sex. It can be mutually positive, or for the benefit of one more than the other.

If closeness is only for the liking of one of the person, it becomes a matter of self interest, and becomes a turn-off for the less interested person. Unless closeness is for the sake of the other person, unselfishly. I suppose all relationships should keep a balance of loving and liking: or loving above liking. Certainly to love a person you don’t like some imperfections in part becomes a test of a real relationship. Hopefully, one both likes and loves the person you marry. Usually in marriage one discovers traits you don't really like. It is love that carries you through in the commitment to a permanent relationship.

                                    When You Really Love A Person

You care as much or more about the other person as you do about yourself.

You are often looking for ways to please the other person.

You can keep on loving even over time, trials, and distance.

You would rather see the other person happy than yourself happy.

You can share unpleasant tasks with the other person as well as fun activities.

You can listen carefully to the other person even when you disagree.

You will think what is good for the other person and not only what pleases yourself.

You will often give in to the other person.

You will say it kindly when you disagree with a person.

You can wait for many things, like lunch, going somewhere, or sex.

You can discuss reasons and issues, beyond your own feelings on them.

There is time to plan your life with the other person.

You want to learn about this person as long as you live.

You want to be within communicating distance to this person as much as possible.

You seek common agreement with each other;

You try to agree, not emphasize disagreement.

You will want to do many things in life with this person.

You want the other person to become all he or she can be in life.

Your feelings for this person grow and you discover new reasons to love.

You can see the other person's weaknesses and still love the person.

Even after an argument, you would still sacrifice your life for each other.

Your love is a two way street; you both love each other.

                                         Loving With Heart and/or Mind

We love with our heart when that is who we are. We love with our minds when that is just what we feel we should do in the situation where we find ourselves.

God loves because he is love. He does not decide that he should love people because of their situation. He just loves because that is his nature. We may love because it is the social call for action; for example, if someone gives us a gift. Or because it is the right thing to do to be consistent with our beliefs, like loving the unloving person next to us.

There are persons who, like my mother-in-law, loved because of her heart of love. I doubted she gave it any thought that she should hug us whenever we came to their home. She was just being who she was. Her husband also could show love, like hugs, but it seemed more because it was just the appropriate thing to do- not as spontaneous with joy and affection.  

When a couple prepares to sleep at the end of a day, they may hug or cuddle spontaneously. But after they have slept and one wakes up, he or she may consider whether snuggling close would be love if it may disturb the partner. Perhaps loving intentionally would be to leave the person alone. This would be loving with both heart and mind. Thinking what love would be in that situation.

If a person tends to love with the mind frequently, fitting into the situation suggesting loving expressions, can one shift, to become a person loving with the heart as well- loving from the depth within? It could be assumed this could happen with a married couple if the mind-loving person thinks about loving and responding to the love initiations of the partner. Perhaps also by being loved, a person may acquire a sense of love that had not been strong in his life earlier. It may also be that when a person shows love as a part of Christian commitment, e.g., perhaps as a missionary, or pastor, a spouse, or anyone, a capacity to love from the heart will also grow on him.

Another source of growing to love from the heart may be that of fellowship with God. Recognizing God's love in a person's life in so many ways from birth or before, may lead one to be a more loving person when one is thankful daily for that continuous love. Why not also ask God to give you a heart of love so you can love spontaneously and not just because it is the suitable things to do?

There should be various ways, then, that a person can grow in loving with the heart, rather than loving mainly where loving is the expected response. I have learned to be much more loving from the heart to my spouse by living a life of loving many people I meet in life. In Belize, it was the children and needy person who came to us daily. Loving them intentionally has grown in me a heart of love far beyond that which I had as a youth. 

                                                        This Ole House

There are some things that sometimes seem to preoccupy us which ordinarily are somewhat less time consuming. Currently, one such thing is a rental house we have had since the early 1980's. It is about 150 years old and has survived many other old houses in Elkhart.

 It is hard to know where to begin telling about “this ole house” The saga began about a month ago when we got a morning call from the Elkhart Police that they had visited the house on an issue with their dogs. He said it was in all confusion and smelled bad and that the Code Enforcement might want to see it. They did come out in a day or so and did not even go in because of the roaches all over and on the furniture on the porch where somebody was helping the residents clear the house. They posted it for non-habitation. After that police report I gave them a letter demanding they move out and take whatever with them. But in a day or so “Code” demanded extermination and a new inspection. But with all the stuff, it could not be exterminated until stuff was removed. All 3-4 huge trailer loads. Loretta sorted through so much and much good was mixed in with mattresses, clothes and just plain trash. (We saved perhaps 20 bags of stuff for the lady of the house who is in jail, storing it across the street in a garage of ours.) Why did they hoarded so much and not pay rent? E.g. I counted about 200 tin can of food scattered in the house including two cans of peaches under the two beds!   “Code” was unsympathetic and gave us the options, perhaps their choice, whether the house should be demolished or repaired.  I told Conrad I was at my wits end and ready to give up. He said the house would be worth $20,000 if we’d fix it up. I gave him the charge. He said he fixed up about 10 houses like this and saved them from the city’s obsession to tear down all old houses.  So the plan was, to empty the house and back yard and downstairs and paint everything and tear out the carpets that were likely the cause of the smell. So that occupied our time the last 3 weeks. Yesterday Code was out again and told us all the things to fix and for us getting ready to sell it. We are so thankful for Conrad’s expertise and leadership in all this. 

Today (November 28) we are taking the day off, the first in a while. In all this, I learned how little emotional and physical strength I have for much stress. Daily after several hours on the job I would be physically and emotionally exhausted. So this is a day off, for doing homework of gathering up leaves and work on my own agenda. Thanks for wading through my story of the past month

                                                          My Co-Driver

For years it has troubled me that when we are in the car and I am driving as usual, she makes many comments about my driving. I am in the wrong lane from where I want to turn off, or going too slow or too fast, or catching up on the car ahead of us. When I glance over at her, it really seems that often she is sitting on the front edge of the seat and leaning forward, much as if she herself was driving. No amount telling how her “co-driving” bothers me and even may distract me from my best driving, she just can’t stop helping me to drive.

Today I discovered a new insight for all this. While she has often said that she is only helping me and helping us be safe, I thought there must be something else going on that I am missing. It seems to me now that her main language of love may be in action here- companionship- being close to me. This same expression is dominant in our morning devotions where we sit close as she reads and she usually affirms my praying with an amen. She also likes when I sit with her as she is watching TV, and welcomes me to leave my computer attention and come enjoy her entertainment. In many other ways she subtly, if at all, expresses some affirmation when I share activities with her.

Perhaps her driving advice may be an expression of just how close she is to me when I am driving. She shares her driving style- e.g., lane selection as soon as you turn a corner- as an expression of her style, more than as criticism or correction of my driving. She often expressed that she is just helping me, which I appreciate when we approach a busy intersection like Johnson and Modell Avenue- when I can admit my need of her watchful eye. So pervasive is her style of closeness to me when I drive, that may really be an expression of her heart to me. I want to test out this foundation of her comments as I drive tomorrow and see if it really seems to be wholly true. She always insists she is just being helpful. Maybe she is, and could be accepted as such if I could overcome my self-sufficiency and pride as a driver, and accept her well-meaning “co-driving” as caring closeness in the serious business of driving. 

                                                  What Do Retired People Do?        

                                                    (At least one such person)

Last Sunday when I was greeting people in church, one man ask me how I was doing and then, what do you do, knowing that I was retired for some time. I responded,”That is a good question. When you don't have to go to work anymore, what do you do?” He recognized the issue and problem, and agreed that one needs to find new things to do with an abundance of time available when one no longer needs to “go to work”.

We then talked of some things I do, like spend a lot of time on the computer with the myriad of things one can find there to do. He seemed to understand and did not show scorn over that. How nice! And then when I mentioned that we have a large back yard to occupy time, and also that we have several rentals to maintain, he seemed to be even more understanding.

This conversation led me to think of what all I actually find myself doing. To think through this, I don't know whether it is better to list thing by importance to me that I do, or by how much time I spend doing them. So let me just list some things I do beside the above mentioned, and what it may even mean that I do the above things.

While it is most impressive  to working people that I maintain property and manage several rentals, that actually takes very few hours per month unless there is a change of renters and a house has to be updated.  And working outdoors also is mostly a summer job, and then I get tired physically after only a half hour or an hour of hard work- even if it is mostly walking. Besides it makes no money!

I get credited a lot if I say I work with Hospice, sitting with old people in their final days. Yet this has usually occupied no more than several hours a week and sometime none for a month. Most valued by most friends of mine but little time spent per month on an average. Sometime persons I sit with never even know I was there, or would not remember it 30 minutes later. But there also are most rewarding contacts with patients and families who appreciate our support...

Something that takes more mental and Spiritual energy than physical is keeping up with about 6 families in Belize that were close to us when we were living there. They call once or more per month explaining their needs and concerns and I have to decide the best way of helping them, which often includes sending money for the basics of life, including food and medical. And how much counseling can you do over long distance telephone or texting?

Few understand what all I can do on the computer that is interesting, amusing, and some even outgoing for others. Games are a challenging past time, and also entertaining and even helping to keep my mind sharp. Reading news headlines, I always do, and follow up with items of interest. Sometimes I feel I travel around the world even before our family devotions in the morning. (More on praying later.) Of course there is email, keeping me informed some about the church, friends and much irrelevant stuff I just erase. Equally informing or more so is Facebook, where I have to scroll down a lot to find anything of interest, but I also get news from family and friends that I would never get otherwise. It is my best source of info from some nieces and nephews. Some time I share my “wisdom” in responding to comments and news items.

Then also the computer is the writing tool for current thought which may help me clarify my thinking and keeping me informed of what I believe! Then there are my blogs which number over a hundred entries by now, where I share matters that may challenge many, which I also value. It is a ministry as I check in on the many “page views” responses of people from around the world who check in on each writing. Sometimes I have to pray for people in Korea, Russia, and anywhere else in the world who may be mulling over my writings. So the computer offers many opportunities to socialize, and exercise my mind and reach out to challenge many. Certainly time can be wasted on the computer but it offers such a variety of opportunities for the good in entertaining, mental exercise, and outreach. Presently I am also writing my biography, including much writings about our 25 years in Belize.

I mentioned prayer in connection with blogging, and news around the world gives much basis for praying intercessory every morning. It often feels we travel around the world in praying, dipping down in Belize, Bangladesh, Puerto Rico and many other places. Nearby are also neighbors, renters, the church and many more. Abroad are missionaries who need our support in prayer, including some of our family anticipating mission service. We pray for the work of the Spirit around the world moving people to seek the true God.  It gives me ambivalent feelings to sit there in the living room in the peace of the morning with relatively no worries of my own, no crises I am facing compared to that which I know millions of people are struggling with. I wonder how I can worship God and be thankful in a world where I am exempt from the hardship millions of hopeless refugees and famished are struggling for survival. And even Christians many places live in greater peril of their lives than ever.

So there are many things for an older person to do. In fact there are so many, including distractions that one can daily wonder if one is using the time wisely. I often think how I may feel in a decade or two when many things possible now may be more difficult, and there is no going back to the good old, old days of my present life.                                                                                     October 22, 2017