Growth Rings
I'm working on a message based on John 6, where Jesus forced his followers to expand their faith from the natural to the supernatural and finally even beyond that. This is heady stuff (like most of John's Gospel), and I need some help in bringing it down to street level.Here's what I've got so far.
I'm beginning with the metaphor of growth rings on a tree--those markings revealed inside the trunk that indicate stages of the plant's growth. I'm wondering what it would look like if we could take a cross-cut view of our spiritual lives. Where are the growth rings--the times we've gained maturity? And would it reveal any occasions where growth slowed or stopped.
See if these "growth rings" match your experience of coming to know God in a deeper way.
Stage 1: Asking God for Help
Jesus fed more than 5,000 people from just a few loaves and fish. Not surprisingly, people came back for more. The first step in faith is believing that God is bigger than you are and can provide for your needs.
This is where we pray for divine intervention in our lives--miracles. Many people get stuck here, calling on God only when they're in a real jam.
Stage 2: Asking God for Forgiveness
Jesus always moves people from the natural to the supernatural. He did this in Mark 2, when four men brought a man to Jesus for healing. Rather than heal the man (Jesus did that later), he said, "Your sins are forgiven."
This happened to Peter when he met Jesus (see Luke 6). After Jesus performed a miracle by directing an incredible catch of fish, Peter said, "Get away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."
Have you realized that Jesus is something more than a lottery ticket? That he can somehow fix the rift you feel in your soul--he can make it right between you and God?
This is stage 2 of faith, I think, but it's not the end. There's something beyond this.
Stage 3: Trusting God without a Reason
When Jesus said, "You must eat my flesh and drink my blood," he used a graphic image to say that we must completely identify with him. We trust him not for miracles or even merely for forgiveness, but we tie our lives entirely to his.
Many people thought this was absurd and quit following Jesus. Probably others have done so when they heard the bit about forgiving their enemies, the first being last, trusting God more than financial capital, etc.
Jesus pushed a lot of people's buttons during his lifetime, including those of his followers. Sooner or later he'll push yours too. Stage 3, I think, is following Jesus not because he can help you, not even because he can forgive you, but because you trust him implicitly.
What do you think?
Do these "growth rings" accurately describe the way people grow in their faith? Does it accurately depict what happens in John 6?
Can you identify other growth rings--steps or stages people go through in their faith development?
What images, illustrations, or quotations might help to communicate these ideas? Continue Reading >
4 Comments:
I found four different stages myself, stressing a growth from longing for justice to hungering for mercy:
http://philangelus.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/phases-of-christian-awaiting-the-return/
John 6, though, is so much more than asking the disciples to believe in "the supernatural." He was asking (demanding) them to do one specific supernatural thing, and most of the crowd was disgusted and confused enough that they walked. But he didn't back down. He was willing to lose everyone, even the twelve, rather than compromise. And then those that stayed with him until the end did get to eat his flesh and drink his blood at the Last Supper.
As such, I guess I can't agree that he "used a graphic image." I believe he meant it literally. Eating and drinking something makes it a part of you, and he made it so he could physically become a part of us. The ultimate nourishment. No other degree of closeness to the Divine would suffice.
@Philangelus ... I like your paradigm, stages of faith based on mercy/justice. I think we could also list stages based moral behavior or attitudes. We may go from--guilty unaware, to guilty and fearing punishment, to forgiven and permissive, to grace-filled and holy--or something like that.
As to John 6, I think you and I may have a different understanding of the Eucharist ... as many Christians do :-)
Thanks for these good thoughts.
I grew up surrounded by people who seemed to think the totality of Christ's work was that someday he'd return and beat all the bad people and show the world they'd been the good ones all along. It wasn't until I went away and came back that I saw how distorted a view that was. That's why I organized mine the way I did; we're all going to have our own set of defining polarities, I guess. :-)
About John 6, how else can I understand it? If he'd meant something else, wouldn't he have backpedaled when people started leaving?, but he left no wriggle-room whatsoever. Since I want his life within me more than anything else, who else can I turn to? :-D
Great, very thought-provoking message, Larry. I have enjoyed the other speakers/preachers (especially Ken), but was also glad to have you back preaching.
I was thinking about the rings. With our houseful of people, the Scriptures have taken on new meaning. What we are learning is that "things" do not matter, whether used, broken, borrowed, or etc. What truly matters is that the love of Christ is seen/felt in out home.
I think the very last ring (the goal) is total submission of self to God. I have been moved by this statement by John Hyde, "Self must not only be dead, but buried out of sight, for the stench of the unburied self-life will frighten souls away from Jesus."
If our goal is to show the love of Christ to those in our home, we must put aside self. I sure don't want the self-life to frighten these souls away from Jesus. It's a high calling and so difficult, but it is our goal. Pray for us.
Thanks so much for presenting the Word so clearly. Pat
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