Over time, it’s easy for historical figures to be seen as caricatures. We’re not so concerned with the details of their lives so much as what we think they stood for. As a result, we can treat them as mascots for our cause, rather than hearing them on their own terms. That seems to have happened with Jesus in a number of different ways. Some people believe in Jesus, the moral teacher. Others esteem Jesus as a prophet. Some see Jesus as a champion of social justice. And still others see Him as an ally for conservative politics. What Jesus do you believe in? And more importantly, who do the Scriptures reveal Him to be?
“A Tale of Two Cities” is Charles Dickens’ most famous work and possibly the best-selling novel of all time. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and dealing with the class struggle of eighteenth-century France, at its heart is a beautiful love story. An English legal aide named Sydney Carton is in love with Lucie Manette. Her heart, however, is given to a man descended from the French aristocracy, named Charles Darnay. Darnay marries Manette and they begin a happy life together in England until he makes a return trip to Paris. There, he is swept up in the arrests of the French Revolution and thrown in prison. Shortly before his execution though, Carton manages to slip into the prison, drug Darnay, exchange clothes with him and has him sent out of the prison with his own identification papers. It’s an incredible act of self-sacrifice because, with Darnay out of the way, he might have been able to renew his love for Lucie. Knowing, however, that she loved Darnay, he gave his life in love and set another free. The novel ends with the death of Carton by guillotine. This story pictures for me, perhaps better than any other, the incredible message of the Bible.
Everybody procrastinates. When we’re young, we learn to procrastinate with chores and homework. As we get older, we procrastinate about emails, exercise and taxes. So, it’s not surprising that we would procrastinate thinking about death and what comes afterwards. You may be putting off thinking about a will or your funeral planning, but let me explain why waiting until after this life to think about the afterlife is such a bad idea. Better yet, let me share how Jesus explained it and the reasons that He gave.
As more foreigners visit Japan, Japanese hosts have to negotiate the cultural differences around views of what’s clean and what’s not. As we welcomed guests from many different countries in our home in Japan, it was clear that they struggled with the Japanese rules. Some people explained to me that their shoes weren’t that dirty. Others were convinced that they could wipe off the dirt. And some people just didn’t like to put on other people’s slippers. It was humbling to be told that your shoes were too dirty to just walk in. Despite the differences, everyone seemed to concede that a guest must defer to the host. As I have reflected on the dilemma faced by many Japanese hosts with their foreign guests, I’m reminded of a similar problem confronting God as the host of heaven. In fact, a story that Jesus told sounds very similar to the problem of slippers and outside shoes in Japan. And it helps me understand what keeps many people out of heaven.
COVID-19 is on everyone’s minds right now, and it forces us to ask some tough questions. Does God exist? Does He care? Can He see what’s happening right now? Is He powerless to do anything about it? I’ve seen people ask these questions in recent weeks. I’ve seen people ask them after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011. And I’ve seen people ask them after personal tragedies like the death of a loved one or a painful divorce. The place where I always bring those questions when they come is the opening chapters of Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve. Let me explain how I feel their account answers the hard questions of COVID-19.
