Hello All,
(Just a general disclaimer that I must insert here at the beginning. I am but a lay person, like most of you. And these weekly “thoughts” are but my own. Not the definitive word on this or any topic. Just my own conclusions derived from my own study and faith in God. The greatest hope I have for these weekly “thoughts” is to have them be a springboard for further study on your part. Not to be a weekly treatise to be blindly accepted. So, please read them with this intent, this motive in mind).
A new “Adult Sabbath School Study Guide” lesson quarterly for our third quarter of 2020 titled “Winsome Witnesses: The Power of Personal Testimony”. Another lesson title I really like. “Winsome”… yes! The definition for winsome is, “pleasing, engaging with child-like charm and innocence, light-hearted, cheerful”. This is what our witness is to be like. Just like Jesus. Is this your picture of Jesus? Do you see Him as child-like? Does He have a cheerful innocence? I surely hope your picture is like this. Do you remember the interchange between Jesus and Peter when Peter told Jesus to stop talking such depressing talk? “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’” (Matthew 16: 21-22). This interchange shows us just how mild Jesus really was. So humble and mild that the very disciple that recognized Jesus as God, could speak so forcefully to that very humble and mild One. Evidence of just how humble Jesus was. (NOTE: this also explains why Jesus’ very clear statements about His trial, death and resurrection were not credible to His disciples. If Jesus was the Messiah, as they understood Him to be, then these statements were viewed as depressive talk… fatalistic talk).
The real punch here is that if Jesus was “winsome” as we are to be “winsome”, then we must also abide by Christ’s words, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), meaning God the Father is “winsome” just as God the Son. And if that is not enough, how about this text… “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (Luke 9:48). Meaning, this little child is like Me… and so is the One who sent Me… God the Father! That’s correct, God the Father is like God the Son who is just like a little child. Wow! Have we ever been wrong about the Father! Think of it. If Peter was unafraid to rebuke the Son of God, neither was Lucifer (pre-fall) afraid to entertain illogical, self-centered thoughts in the presence of God the Father as a “covering cherub” (Ezekiel 28:16) in the Heavenly Sanctuary. God is humble and mild… child-like… winsome. Is this your picture of God? I hope so. For our witness will be like the One we worship and admire. If we worship a harsh vindictive “god” who is intolerant and unforgiving, we will be harsh, vindictive, intolerant and unforgiving in our lives. You can always tell the kind of “god” people worship, for their actions mirror their understanding. I pray our actions towards all are “winsome”, full of “child-like innocence”.
For me, this is the real lesson here for our whole quarter. It is not about witnessing technique or outreach programs. It’s about our own relationship with our God. That relationship shapes our lives… our true witness… which is largely unconscious. An outgrowth of our picture of God. If we picture Him as loving and truthful… we will be loving and truthful. If we picture Him as gracious, patient and kind… we will be gracious, patient and kind. If we picture Him as forgiving to all… we will be forgiving to all. This is the real value of Adventism. Not so that we can know what is true and be prepared. But so we will be like the true Father of us all. Adventism is poised to reveal to the world, the truth about our Father. Revealing Him in our lives (witness).
Last question… have we Adventists collectively misunderstood our Father? Are our lives a model of love, truth, grace, patience, kindness and forgiveness? In the past, some of us (maybe many of us) may have been more judgmental, more critical, more unforgiving. It makes me sad that we may have seen our Father that way… and promoted Him that way to our brothers and sisters in that way. May we ever be true to our Father as He really is. As Jesus says… like a child.
With brotherly love,
Jim