BUCKET LISTS

In our times, a “bucket list” is defined as something that we want to do before a certain deadline—perhaps before we die. That's why we read about 90-year-olds tandem sky-diving or going up in a hot air balloon. Or maybe their list includes mending tattered relationships, so they can pass away with a clear conscience. In Old Testament times, the spiritual buckets required folks to render enough offerings or acts of penance in hopes they'd be forgiven their sins and get right with God. By the time of Martin Luther (early 1500s) the church had lots of money-making rules to take care of bruised consciences. And Luther had a problem with that. He felt weighed down by his sin (even as a monk—a real-life “church guy”) and didn't know if he was good enough for God.

Then one day he read Romans 1:17

Die Gerechten werden aus dem Glauben leben. “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Nothing about having to earn it. It came by faith. A gift. And from then on, he risked his life to teach what Scripture teaches, birthing the Protestant movement. And this wasn't just a New Testament concept, for in writing that, the apostle Paul had reached back into an obscure Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk (2:14), to proclaim the forward-looking truth of the mission of Jesus Christ, that “salvation” is a gift, not something earned.

Habakkuk's name means “embrace” or “ardent embrace”--which has been taken to imply “wrestler” or big-time hugger. He had “wrestled” himself with his nation's plight. The wicked, strong, proud Chaldeans were getting the upper hand and ready to overthrow the southern kingdom of Judah. God answers that yes, they will prevail, but not forever. Judgment will eventually come. Our role is to trust and obey. Yes, amid the failures of Old Testament laws, and the threats of vile enemies--the extravagant hope of a Savior.

For a lot of people, the “minor prophets” like Habakkuk are hard to understand and boring. There's so much warfare and questioning and plain old doubt. But Habakkuk, fifth to the last of the Old Testament prophets, looks toward the dawn of hope that erupts in full glory with the birth of a Savior. As he wrote, things looked very dim. Crops were failing: figs, grapes, olive. Ditto livestock. But he looked up: “The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights!” (v. 3:19).

It's also the vibrant, hopeful New Testament message: Jesus died for my sins. I am forgiven. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

TASTE AND SEE

I'd stirred up some brownies from a box mix and could not resist a childhood pleasure—of licking the spoon and spatula. Yum, yum. Into the oven a pan would go, later to bear “number” candles for my son's latest birthday. That's right, brownies instead of a cake. His little boys eagerly tasted them and declared they were good!

I think of that sensory pleasure when I read Psalm 34:8:

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

As children, when confronted by a new and strange food, we'd often be told, “Taste it, you'll like it.” That wasn't always true for limited and inexperienced palates! (Definitely NOT true of my first experience with liver!) But we often use the same ruse in introducing people to Christ. “Give Jesus a try—you'll like Him.” The problem is that Jesus isn't like the food samples offered by ladies in smocks and hairnets at the local big-box store. He's not in competition with another “product.” He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life—the only way to truly know God (John 14:6).

“Taste and see” is a warm invitation to know the living God—not a product evaluation. Once in a vital relationship with Jesus, we understand. And it gets better.

As a pre-teen introduced to the church sacraments, “communion” seemed such a mature mystery. At that time, my family attended a liturgical church where we came to the semi-circular altar rail, and the pastor served each of us: “This is the body and blood of Jesus.” I remember gripping the communion rail, trying to bridge the gap between something that tasted and Someone who sacrificed. As I grew and participated in communion services in other denominations, that mystery remained. And even though churches differ in how to explain this holy moment with long, important words, the bottom line seems to be this: we remember. The cross. Gratitude for being loved so much, for Him to endure so great a painful and sacrificial death.

Perhaps “taste and see” is the right way to phrase it. We can't experience Christ by looking in from the outside, no more than I could savor the chocolate left in the mixing bowl by leaving it untouched on the kitchen counter. Christ is not a display. He is a lifestyle, one defined and empowered by an undeserved, prophesied, willingly-entered-into and lovingly completed Death to conquer the Enemy's grip. His gasped words, “It is finished,” rocked across the millennia of history.

We taste...and know...that He is good. “Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8). We know through how choices play out in circumstances and relationships. And we know through that deep, inexplicable sense that Jesus is, indeed, the Presence within that truly satisfies.

In the church I now attend, communion is passed in trays down the rows, not served a few at a time at the altar rail. As I hold the little cup and wafer, I remember, and ask God to again make this a holy moment: “This is MY body, given for you, MY blood, shed for you.” I am to taste and know that He is good.

RESTING

 A monthly series on a great hymn of the faith

J. Hudson Taylor, known for his vision to evangelize all of China, had his share of faith-discouraging hard times. That especially included the trials and losses of the 1899-1900 “Boxer Rebellion,” so named because the Chinese rebels were known for their boxing and martial arts skills. They killed nearly eighty of Taylor's missionaries during that bloody time.

One of the slain missionaries was brother to Jean Pigott, an Irish poet and hymn lyricist. Though she lived to only age 37, her legacy included the lyrics to “Jesus, I am Resting, Resting.” That hymn reportedly brought Taylor great comfort during his greatest trials as a missionary leader. It's said that when the worries and losses of leading the mission nearly overwhelmed him, he'd go to his little reed organ and sing the hymn that expressed his greatest need.

The hymn also expressed in music and lyrics the Biblical truths from John 15, about abiding in Christ—illustrated by vines “abiding in” the branch (Jesus) and finding their strength there. A fellow missionary had written Hudson a note of biblical encouragement, sharing how he'd come to realize the power of “abiding” in his own struggles. The friend wrote: “But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith but by resting on the Faithful One.”

The hymn impacted Taylor so much that he often had his missionaries sing it with him. It didn't take away the bloody political problem. It's estimated that 100,000 died (including 200-250 foreigners, mostly Christian missionaries) during the Boxer Rebellion. But the hymn lifted their eyes from the discouraging political situation to the One who created and called them, and Who promised eternal life.

The words that Miss Pigott used to express “abiding” are worth thinking about. She wrote about resting in the Lord, gazing on Him, being satisfied at the deepest level through contemplating His presence and gifts. The hymn begins:

Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, And thy beauty fills my soul,

For by thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.

At least two tunes are associated with this hymn. This video features a menu's chorus singing it with the traditional music.

Jesus I am Resting, Resting - Bing video

The other tune with beautiful scenery can be found here:

Jesus, I am resting - Bing video

JUST LOWLY SPUDS

We'd gotten a bag of potatoes that were rejected by the produce company for size, including this mammoth one that I decided to name “Bud the Spud” before I peeled, cooked, and mashed it for dinner. I gave it some fake “eyes” (though it had a few of its own, au natural) for its portrait....and thought of a game from my 1950s childhood that featured a plastic potato. The aim of the “Mr. Potato Head” game was to decorate it with all sorts of plastic “items,” like mustaches and hairdos. I guess, the uglier the better. But don't laugh: those half-a-century-ago game spuds sell now for $175-225 on resell sites. I find that... incredible.

I guess I shouldn't, as there's something in our culture that thinks “the bigger, the better.” The more luxurious, the lovelier. The flashier, the favored. The more “decorated” (as in military medals or academic degrees), the more desirable.

Paul turned that tendency upside down when he described what should characterize a Christian:

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:3)

He went on to describe the various ways Christians live out their faith, according to the “giftedness” with which God has endowed them. Some are gifted in declaring God's truth. Others serve, teach, encourage, share resources with those in need, lead, and show mercy (vv. 6b-8).

The walls of my little office/sewing room have some award certificates given me as a writer and speaker. The recognition was affirming, but I have learned that they aren't the whole picture of God's call on my life. Some days I really feel like a lumpy old potato, wondering if God can still use me. Then I remember: He specializes in new recipes as He “grows” a servant. In my cooking life, I can transform a “spud” with recipes for baking/twice-baked, scalloped, mashed, hash-browned, and fried. Similarly, God knows what's best for the rest of my years on earth.

And who knows what God can do through the raw material of a human being? Pastor Charles Stanley of our times has said, “God takes full responsibility for the life wholly devoted to him.” Nineteenth century evangelist D.L. Moody said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God's help, I aim to be that man.” Missionary martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Our culture tends to elevate and even worship celebrities. That's not God's usual way of doing things. He seems to delight in reaching down into a mesh sack and pulling out the most unlikely candidate to prepare for His work. Like me.

Curious about the world's biggest potato? Here's a whopper that looks like a curled-up gnome:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/giant-potato-may-have-smashed-the-world-record/ar-AAQmFQk