Where He Is . . .
Is always where we want to be and that very rarely looks like what we expect.
Ever have one of those moments as you’re reading the Bible when you can’t move past a verse or two – you have to know more? That was the case with me this morning. I love those moments because they send me on the most glorious rabbit trails of searching out word meanings, reading commentaries, and researching on the internet. That may sound boring to some, but I’m unapologetically an avid student and when I’m learning about my favorite subject, faith, it’s an absolute joy to me!
So, what captured me today? It was Matthew 11:16-17, two verses that hadn’t yet been underlined in my over 25-year-old Bible, so they’d obviously not made an impact previously. This is Jesus speaking . . .
“But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.’” Let me give you a bit of background before I dig into what the Lord was speaking to me in those two verses. In the larger picture of this passage, Jesus is talking to the multitudes and is validating John the Baptist and his ministry. He’s calling out the people, including the teachers of the law – the Pharisees and Sadducees, for their responses to John’s ministry. While many people believed in the message John preached, they didn’t all believe he’d come as Elijah to prepare the way for the Messiah, many ridiculed him for the way he lived as a Nazarene and fasted, and some certainly didn’t like how he delivered his message. Jesus, on the other hand, didn’t fast, He hung out with “sinners and tax collectors,” and drank wine. There were plenty of those who weren’t pleased with that either. They refused to be satisfied.
Now, back to verses 16-17. What Jesus was doing was likening the people to children who played in the marketplaces. Several commentaries mention children would have seen their parents at weddings and funerals and could easily pretend play at those things and likely often did. These children were frustrated because whether they played the flute and danced, like at weddings, or “mourned,” their friends weren’t happy with either and didn’t want to join in with them. It was the same with John and Jesus – the people weren’t satisfied with either way of living and preaching.
This got me thinking about dissatisfaction in the church body today. For instance, some are “Team Traditional,” while others are “Team Contemporary” (and there are different views on what “contemporary” looks like among churches). There are cries of dissent over all kinds of things in the church.
- “There’s too much grace preached and not enough repentance!”
- “Worship has become a glorified, too-loud concert all about people and their needs, rather than it being focused entirely on Jesus!”
- “Tradition has no place in modern Christianity – that’s for churches that don’t preach the salvation message. It’s just dead religion.”
- “People have become too familiar with the Lord in their desire for intimacy with Him. There’s not enough fear of the Lord in the church today.”
I’m not saying there aren’t valid points in what I’ve written above. What I’m pointing out is that there will always be those who oppose one “side” or the other, just as people opposed John or Jesus.
My question for God was, “Where is Jesus in all of this? Is He in the flute playing or in the mourning?” Here are some personal opinions of mine that lead me to believe He’s in both.
- I’m so thankful for His grace given to me every moment of every day . . . and I believe in the importance of repentance in our walk with Him. I love that it’s His GOODNESS and KINDNESS that draws us to repentance (Romans 2:4 ) – that part of the message is often left out.
- I see beauty in the hymns and the ways they can draw us into His presence. I really appreciate the words and meanings of those songs written so long ago and love how many of today’s artists have re-recorded those hymns in powerful renditions. I’ve been totally caught up in His presence through those yet choose much more contemporary worship on a daily basis because that’s what I love. There’s a place and room for both. I’ve been grateful for each time I’ve needed Jesus to meet me in hard places in my life and He’s done so through songs that are more about me and my needs than about the beauty of His holiness. In this season, I’m much more in search of songs about Him than about me because I’ve finally discovered everything I need is found in His presence.
- I have pretty strong feelings against religion because I believe Jesus died to forgive us of our sins and free us from the law. To me, religion is the law – it’s the trappings of legalism that hold people in bondage to “do/don’t,” “should/shouldn’t”, and “have to.” I want to see people freed from the shackles of religion and brought into encounter with God. Why? So they can experience the truth of who He is, rather than be bound by legalism and a wrong view of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and so the things they do or don’t do stem from the love for and depth of relationship they have with Him. That doesn’t mean I believe Jesus looks at all traditions and things of the past as “bad” or “useless.” For instance, I believe there’s a place for quiet contemplation and meditating on Him, spending quiet time in His presence, much as monks and others have done for centuries. There’s also such power and transformation that takes place through Communion, yet for most, it’s mainly become an act done on a specific Sunday of the month and lost its meaning and purpose. I also believe in the supernatural and the realm of the Spirit. I believe in praying in the Spirit, miracles, healing, raising of the dead, partnering with angels, visions, dreams, the prophetic, and so much more that’s available through our relationship with God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. Many discount so much of what’s available to us through the Spirit realm because the New Age movement hijacked much of what was meant for Christian believers and accessed it through an entirely different spirit realm.
- The fear of the Lord is crucial in our walk with Him yet often, we ignore this aspect because we don’t know how to walk out fearing the Lord. I don’t believe our loving Father would ever ask us to be afraid of Him. He would never require something of us that would drive a wedge between us, especially not after having sent His Son to die on the cross so that we might be forgiven, redeemed, and restored to right relationship with Him. To walk in the fear of the Lord is to walk in reverence, awe, and wonder. We simply haven’t understood how fear is defined.
In response to the John and Jesus debate about which was right or better, Jesus said in the second part of Matthew 11:19 (NKJV), “Wisdom is justified by her children.” In another version (NASB 1995), you read, “Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” My favorite is “God’s wisdom will become visible by those who embrace it” (TPT).
Wisdom isn’t found in arguments over this or that being right or wrong. It’s found in the person of Jesus. Together, let’s find Him in the dancing and in the mourning. Where He is is always where we want to be and that very rarely looks like what we expect.
I think there’s a lot more we can discuss on this topic and what I’ve written has just scratched the surface. What are your thoughts? Reach out and let me know!
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