I sent my disciples out in pairs to do ministry in my name and gave them some other instructions. They were excited when they returned saying that even the demons were subject to them in my name. I told them to rejoice not in this, that the demons were subject to them, but that their names were written in heaven. You may not be impressed by worldly power, but are you impressed by spiritual power?
Are you at peace? What is the basis for the peace you have or would like to have? Stable relationships? Financial security? Secure employment? Absence of war or national or personal crisis? These are all obvious answers, but they may not be available to you. Yet you can still have peace. I offered my followers peace, but not as the world gives. You may recall that my early followers did not have the type of security and stability that you enjoy, yet my offer was real. My kingdom is not of this world, so the peace I offer has a transcendent quality.
I told my disciples that the kings of this world exercised dominion over their subjects and this world is run according to a dominance hierarchy, but that it was not to be so among my followers, for whom the greatest was to be the servant of all. So I introduced the idea of servant leadership and washed my disciple’s feet and turned the existing social order upside down. But there is more going on here than just assuming a place at the bottom of society, for this confers moral authority. When I was brought before Pilate he had the power of life or death over me.
Are you a reasonable person? Do you think there is a rational explanation for everything, and are you willing to be persuaded by a clearly structured argument supported by evidence? Have you ever encountered someone who resisted changing their mind in the face of a convincing argument? Have you ever done this yourself? Reason doesn’t explain everything. You are an emotional creature as well, and don’t see this as a weakness. You need to feel emotionally safe enough to trust before you will change your views no matter how compelling the argument.
Are you familiar with the glass half full/glass half empty metaphor to describe optimism and pessimism? There is another dimension to this concept that this metaphor doesn’t capture. Do you think of a glass as a rigid object with fixed volume? Yet in the realm of growth your ‘glass’ can grow so it holds more than it did before. Haven’t you experienced this already, that you understand things that would be incomprehensible earlier? You may refer to this as stretching, and know that the discomfort involved in the process is real.
Which of my characteristics do you think is most important? Do you consider the divinity of Christ to be the non-negotiable basis of faith, and make that the central thrust of your evangelical efforts? How did I refer to myself? I could have selected from among many titles, but the most common was, The Son of Man, which is to say, the human one, like yourself. Do you consider your humanity a burden to be overcome, since you are ‘only human’ after all? You can see that I didn’t take such an approach.
And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. You know that this refers to me, and that it describes a unique event of divine destiny. But could the same concept apply to you? Have you ever heard of reading someone like a book? Or heard of someone described as an open book? This implies that their true nature is on display. Paul referred to his fellow believers as living epistles, seen and read by all men. If your life was an open book, what would it say? Are you letting your light shine before men? Is it possible that the word has become flesh in you?
Are you familiar with the story of Abraham and Isaac? Do you think it was cruel for me to ask Abraham to kill his own son? Even if you don’t, you will meet people who do because they don’t understand the point of the story. You may recall Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice that which was most important to him and my intervention at the moment of truth to prevent this final act. And so the name Isaac has become symbolic of the ultimate sacrifice that anyone could make. Do you think Abraham would have given his own life to preserve his promised son?
Have you heard the distinction between seeing the same glass as half-full or half-empty? This is used to illustrate the difference between optimism and pessimism in the same situation, and the gratitude for what you have, but the same scenario illustrates another principle as well. A glass that is half-full has room for more. Have you met people who were like full glasses, confident in their current positions and lacking in curiosity about things they don’t know? They can’t take on any more. I want you to know that you are a glass half-full.
Do you want to be smarter? Intelligence is highly rated in your culture, and people are admired just for being smart. But intelligence is a fairly stable measure, while maturity and wisdom are not. Do you see a lack of intelligence as a major hindrance in the people around you? Wouldn’t you say that they are held back more by fear, bias, and a lack of comprehension of the shape of reality than by a lack of reasoning ability? These are things that you can change, or can be changed in you if you accept the process.
