lessons... from young and old... living and dead...

This week... I gained new insights from well-known stories of the Bible...

The first came Wednesday afternoon... from one of the sixth graders in the thirty-minute Bible class...

The passage... Genesis 1:1-25... Creation...

The lesson asked... What did you see God doing...?

The first hand raised... the answer... Judging...

I stood a little stunned... an unexpected answer... one I didn't see...

But there it was... And God saw that it was good... not once... or twice... but six times in the passage...

God was judging... all He saw... and deemed it good...

I never before considered this as an act of judgment... but that is what I learned from a sixth grader this week...

God is the Judge... of all things... from the beginning...

He didn't become Judge because He had to... it's just part of who He is... the same... yesterday... today... and forever...

The next lesson... also came from a very familiar story... Jesus's first miracle... water to wine at the wedding feast...

I heard it on an audio-book... Basic Christianity... by John Stott... the book originally published in 1958... its author died in 2011...

The teaching... was one I've never heard... which concerns me a little... since after 19 years of pursuing and studying... seeking... I thought it would be good if someone had mentioned it... since it is basic Christianity...

[His miracles] are in fact the acted parables of Jesus. ... His works dramatized His word.

---John R.W. Stott, Basic Christianity 

Now I might have heard that before... but not quite so clearly... mostly I've heard His miracles taught as signs that He was the Messiah... the Son of God... the mark that authenticated Him... but here... Stott teaches that each miraculous work... had meaning...

Stott used the miracle at the wedding feast as an example...

It is not in itself a particularly edifying miracle. Its significance lies beneath the surface. John tells us that the water pots of stone stood ready for the Jewish rites for purification. This is the clue we are seeking. The water stood for the old religion. ... The wine stood for the religion of Jesus. As he changed the water to wine, so the gospel would supersede the law.

Now have you ever heard this teaching on Jesus's first miracle before...? I haven't... but it sheds a lot of light on why exactly this was the first... hidden though it was... only His disciples... and the servants... seeing...

The Law... vs... the Gospel...

Ceremonial Cleansing... to... Communion Wine...

The Law... fulfilled... by the Blood of the Lamb...

An exchange... that happens in the secret place of the heart... between Jesus... and His disciples... where only His angelic servants see...

This miracle fully reveals the broad overview... the big picture... of His mission... Of course it had to be the first...

Awesome... perfect...

Lessons... we need to be open to many different sources...

Too often... I find myself only seeking teaching from the newest... the present teachers who rate publication... or radio time...

Be open... to those God places around you... no matter how old...
Explore books... dusty old books... written by the dead...
You never know... when... or from whom... an important insight might come...

Present... past... young... old... living... dead...

Rowdy sixth grader... dusty old publication...

God will teach... if you will listen...