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Road trips. Some of us love 'em! Some of us hate 'em. But I'm pretty sure we've all been on one just as I'm sure you've gotten lost along the way or worse - you've forgotten your mapquest directions! So like the wise individual that you are, you stop, and ask for directions. Only when you got them, the directions were either unclear, the person wasn't from the area and gave you a butchered go-right-go-left, the person while confident led you somewhere else entirely, or you got perfect directions! When you're travelling and out of the familiar, you're definitely at the mercy of anyone! Thank the Lord for GPS' right?! (Sometimes!)
Our life is most like a road trip before we come to know the Lord. We have a desire to go in a particular direction, we make a plan, but somewhere along the way we get lost and the person we asked instructions from sent us on a detour that led right to Our Father, God. How amazing?! While our encounters may seem simple enough, the actual getting there may be the road trip for a few of us. Now that we've "arrived" and we know the way, are we careful in giving others the directions to "The Way"? Are we applying the care and consideration that we would like had we been on a real journey and gotten lost?
Upon reading today's reading, John 3 and 4, I thought a lot about our witness. In John 3, Jesus is having a chat with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who was obviously overwhelmed with curiosity and anxiety when he snuck away in the night to question Jesus. He had to get answers! After confessing to Jesus that he and the other Pharisees knew that He was from God from the miracles He's done, Jesus said something that would cause an eye-opening discussion, a discussion that impacts us today! Jesus says in John 3:3, "...no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." But that's not the part that hit me! The part that hit me like a brick followed Nicodemus' "huh" moment. Jesus says in John 3:10, "You are Israel's teacher and do you not understand these things?" Wow! This is not just about the "concept" of being born again but as a "giver of directions" Jesus was questioning his "sense of direction"! We say we know how to lead people toward Christ, but do we "teachers of the children of God" know how to get them there?! We should! Jesus goes on to say in verses 11 and 12 that "we (Jesus and the teachers) speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you (teachers; us) people do not accept our testimony." There we have it! Some of us do not accept the directions we've been appointed to give! Powerful! These would be the people who have an idea how to get someplace but couldn't really tell ya how. In order to accept, we first must research the destination, familiarize ourselves with it, and have confidence that it's actually there! The other point to make is, how can we see Him in our lives, testify to others that He's there, and yet not accept His presence in our lives?
At this particular time in history, Nicodemus as a Pharisee was directing people to The Laws, teaching that obeying them would bring them life and inclusion. With his arrival, Jesus brought a new order! Under the old order of things, the people were held to The Law and it brought death them. It was inevitable! Trying to follow The Laws to the letter was causing some to become distracted by it, losing faith in God and putting more effort into not messing up. Have any of you felt like that? Well God provided a remedy through His Son, Jesus. He tells Nicodemus in verses 14 and 15 that "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." Aha!
What about this snake that Moses lifted up? And why was Jesus comparing Himself to it? In Numbers 21:1-9, the Israelites, still in the desert wandering on their never-ending road trip, were travelling around Edom when they "grew impatient". They insulted Moses and they insulted God, proclaiming their growing distrust and their dissatisfaction with the way things were going.
