The theme of reversals of destiny is a tantalizing one to me that I had never really considered until I participated in Beth Moore’s Bible study Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman and read Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. It was only then that I realized that, particularly for a Christian, reversals of destiny are breathtaking. One reason for this is because of II Corinthians 5:21: “God made Him who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
One totally new thing Beth Moore taught me relative to “reversals of destiny” is the literary device called “chiastic structure.” She used a pair of sticks with two colored ends on each stick (one stick with green ends and one with pink ends) to show how one of these structures works, but the idea is like an analogy turned upside-down. For example, the juxtaposition of either “living to eat” or “eating to live,” or that II Corinthians verse above would qualify as chiastic structure.
There are actually many chiastic structures and reversals of destiny in the book of Esther, but here is one obvious one: all that Haman has originally comes to Mordecai by the end of the story, and Haman also receives many of Mordecai’s blessings, down to the gallows that have been built for Mordecai’s destruction. There are a few more twists and ironies along the way, too. In chapter two Mordecai saves King Xerxes from a conspiracy, never receiving any reward, and at the beginning of chapter three Haman is promoted to Xerxes’ second-in-command, apparently for no real cause. Regardless, from that moment on Haman has as much power as he wants in Persia, as top advisor to a weak-minded, easily overwrought king. He has power, money, a supportive wife, and ten grown sons. He also has the comfort that any little discomfort that arises can be solved by manipulating his lord, and we can guess that he may have hopes of the crown someday (and as well as I’ve gotten to know Xerxes, I’d say it totally could have happened).
In the last day of his life, Justice soundly trounces Haman as he falls into a series of pits that he has dug for others (Proverbs 26:27). First he bears the terrible blow of having to serve and honor Mordecai, whom he has planned to execute himself, then his wife and his friends withdraw their support and tell him to give up on his mission of revenge on the Jewish people, and then Queen Esther exposes him as a manipulative opportunist and a murderer, leading to his own quick execution. His ten sons, who presumably try to carry out their father’s plan anyway by attacking the Jews on the appointed date, are killed months later. In contrast, Mordecai is finally honored for his faithful service to the king, is spared from two separate executions planned for him, is rightly made Xerxes’ right-hand man, and is given power to act on behalf of both the king and the queen, specifically regarding both Haman’s decree and Haman’s own estate.
The other profound reversal, which is dearer to my heart if not to my mind and my sense of irony, is the one that lines Queen Esther up with a totally fictional character, Fanny Price from Mansfield Park. As I poured over both of these books I was struck by the tumblers in which these women found themselves, both of which were a great deal richer and more complex than “rags-to-riches” or “Cinderella stories.” I will give more delicious details in my next post!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Friday, June 01, 2012
The Ministry of Reconciliation
This may seem obvious to you, but I will ask the question anyway: what is the endpoint of evangelism? I would like to suggest a few possible endpoints to evangelism that seem unBiblical, and then suggest an explanation that better encompasses God’s master plan. The endpoint to evangelism is not growing the church numerically. I am incredibly thankful that when God examines our works at the final judgment, as Paul describes in I Corinthians 3, He will not judge us by the notches in our salvation stick. As easy as it is to get confused, the number of souls saved through our ministry has very little to do with us. God will always provide the increase.
Though a true outcome of salvation involves another soul bound for Heaven, selling “fire insurance” is an unBiblical and hollow way to look at evangelism, as well. Immediately after Jesus’ ascension, some of His followers apparently hoped following Him had gotten that simple, but they were given a gentle hint when the angel asked them in Acts 1:11 what they were doing staring into the sky. I am understating greatly when I say that the Christian just waiting to meet his purpose in Heaven is missing out! The endpoint to effective evangelism is also not (nor should it ever appear to be) easier lives.
This may seem to conflict with my recommendation below, but I hope you will see there is a marked difference between reconciliation and a world or a life being “fixed.” Though I have been walking with Jesus for most of my life, and so do not really know life without Him, I would be hard-pressed to name a way in which He has made my life easier. Instead, I would say He makes my life livable. In responding to critics and skeptics to ridicule the concept of God as a crutch, I would agree with a pastor who said God is not a crutch but a pacemaker.
As an English teacher, I’ve seen plenty of horrible analogies, especially those trying to explain God and His inscrutable purposes. The following illustration, from James Choung’s compelling book True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In, may not encompass the whole of the mission that Jesus has entrusted to us, but it goes deeper than other similar illustrations and I believe is timeless, though it may especially resonate with my generation. The undertones of social justice may turn some off, but in one of the clearest mission statements in the New Testament besides the Great Commission, II Corinthians 5, Paul makes it clear that the desire of God’s heart is to reconcile the entire world to Himself, and that He has a part for us to play in this redemptive work. The link for the illustration is below.
The starting point in the illustration is labeled “Designed for Good,” most directly referring to God’s good creation. After the fall of man, everything was broken and perverted for the Devil’s purposes, or “Damaged by Evil.” The crooked lines represent the brokenness in our relationship to the physical world, the brokenness in relationships with our fellow man, and the brokenness between us and God. The way that our Savior provided is represented by the two diagonal lines in the center of the illustration pointing toward the realization that we have been “Reclaimed For Better.” The last circle, which may makes us wince if we have experienced the apostasy of social gospel, nonetheless fits into God’s purpose for His kingdom on earth: “Sent Together to Heal.”
As we endeavor to follow our Master together, I exhort you to abandon all fixation on numerical growth, “fire insurance,” and easier lives. Every single one of these pitfalls may result in false converts, disillusioned evangelists, and believers who will neither mature nor experience the divine, abundant adventure for which we were created.
Though a true outcome of salvation involves another soul bound for Heaven, selling “fire insurance” is an unBiblical and hollow way to look at evangelism, as well. Immediately after Jesus’ ascension, some of His followers apparently hoped following Him had gotten that simple, but they were given a gentle hint when the angel asked them in Acts 1:11 what they were doing staring into the sky. I am understating greatly when I say that the Christian just waiting to meet his purpose in Heaven is missing out! The endpoint to effective evangelism is also not (nor should it ever appear to be) easier lives.
This may seem to conflict with my recommendation below, but I hope you will see there is a marked difference between reconciliation and a world or a life being “fixed.” Though I have been walking with Jesus for most of my life, and so do not really know life without Him, I would be hard-pressed to name a way in which He has made my life easier. Instead, I would say He makes my life livable. In responding to critics and skeptics to ridicule the concept of God as a crutch, I would agree with a pastor who said God is not a crutch but a pacemaker.
As an English teacher, I’ve seen plenty of horrible analogies, especially those trying to explain God and His inscrutable purposes. The following illustration, from James Choung’s compelling book True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In, may not encompass the whole of the mission that Jesus has entrusted to us, but it goes deeper than other similar illustrations and I believe is timeless, though it may especially resonate with my generation. The undertones of social justice may turn some off, but in one of the clearest mission statements in the New Testament besides the Great Commission, II Corinthians 5, Paul makes it clear that the desire of God’s heart is to reconcile the entire world to Himself, and that He has a part for us to play in this redemptive work. The link for the illustration is below.
The starting point in the illustration is labeled “Designed for Good,” most directly referring to God’s good creation. After the fall of man, everything was broken and perverted for the Devil’s purposes, or “Damaged by Evil.” The crooked lines represent the brokenness in our relationship to the physical world, the brokenness in relationships with our fellow man, and the brokenness between us and God. The way that our Savior provided is represented by the two diagonal lines in the center of the illustration pointing toward the realization that we have been “Reclaimed For Better.” The last circle, which may makes us wince if we have experienced the apostasy of social gospel, nonetheless fits into God’s purpose for His kingdom on earth: “Sent Together to Heal.”
As we endeavor to follow our Master together, I exhort you to abandon all fixation on numerical growth, “fire insurance,” and easier lives. Every single one of these pitfalls may result in false converts, disillusioned evangelists, and believers who will neither mature nor experience the divine, abundant adventure for which we were created.
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