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Tereo:When To Run, When To Stay
by Mike Frandson (Mike's bio)
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Pastor Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church in Columbus, OH has a favorite saying. It goes something like:
'You can't just read the Bible . . . you have to READ the Bible!'
Now, if that makes you stop and think for a moment, then we could be on to something here! 'On to something' is the feeling I got when I first started looking into the Bible and saw what it IS, not just necessarily what it says.
What the Bible says is the words. Most Christians and Jews believe the words are the inspired word of God, sent to and written down by His prophets. There are many cases of scripture in which God admonished His prophet to 'write' the word. So for many of us, we believe the words of the Bible. What the Bible IS, is a story. A beautiful mosaic, written by many authors from many walks of life. For instance, David and Solomon were kings, Luke a physician, Joshua was a military general, Matthew a tax collector, and Peter a 'lowly' fisherman! What an assortment God has used!
This mosaic, when viewed from afar, shows a wonderful picture of God loving His creation and preparing for mankind a means by which His people can find righteousness through His son, Jesus. This same mosaic, when viewed up close, shows some of the ragged edges, short corners, uncut pieces, and unfinished business.
So, for starters, let me give you an example. An example of one of the most dramatic events in human history. An event which has largely been glossed over by Bible writers and teachers. This is one of the mosaic 'pieces' that may look incomplete or insignificant, yet it is one of the events, which convinced me of our Lord's walk on this earth.
Let's say I am a soldier, say, of al Qaeda in Afghanistan, standing alone in an open field, with a US Army Apache helicopter bearing down on me. What would I do? I'd run. Fast and hard! And I would hide, if I lived long enough for that to be an option.
That same type of fear is what the disciples of the humble rabbi of Nazareth felt when Rome's finest fighting machines came bearing down upon them that night in Gethsemene. Perhaps a garrison of Roman 'Green Berets', a large assemblage of the Sanhedrin, and even the finest Temple guards came looking for Jesus. And what did the disciples do? They ran . . . fast and hard, basically. Peter followed, as did John and some others, perhaps, at a distance. And they hid. Jesus' closest friends denied him and He faced his accusers alone, as it was predicted. Later, however, this small band of scared, hungry, and heartbroken renegades would become an army that no weapon would stop. They marched straight into their own deaths over something that happened some three days later . . .
Something happened from which they could NOT run nor hide.
Now, Dear Reader, I don't know a lot of things in this world but I do know this: Self-preservation is the most basic of human motivations. And to save my soul, I know of no power ON EARTH that would drive men to their own destruction except that perhaps this humble rabbi from Nazareth was a very special man; a very special man indeed!
If I were facing an Apache helicopter that was out to kill me, I'd run. These men did not run. No sword would silence them; no rope would hold them; no cross could scare them.
Pastor Parsley is right. You can't just read the Bible.
So let us not run, but stay or 'keep' (Tereo), and see where this leads. And hopefully there will not be any helicopters along our path!
Copyright 2002, Mike Frandson. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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About Mike Frandson:
By day he mulls over engineering drawings, molding presses, and automobile parts as a Quality Control Technician! But by night, he spends his time tickling the literary muse, writing hit songs, raising his children, and Praising his Lord. A layman who was nearly turned away from Christianity by false arguments, Mike now has set out to study the truth about Christianity, and to share these truths with all who are curious about seeking the kingdom of God. Visit Mike's web site |
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