I was talking to the man I call Professor and I asked him, “I know you had reservations about getting baptised. Why did you decide to do it anyway? What was the deciding factor?”
He smiled and answered, “Firstly, I don’t believe in decisions that others make for me, such as my godfather renouncing Satan for me, and secondly, I have personally seen and verified the effect that faith in God has had on my life. I have seen the same thing in others: for example, a person, even an old person, six months after coming to faith, has a visibly better attitude towards others, which speaks a lot to me. After many years of observation, I said to myself: it’s confirmed! The life of faith radically transforms a person, bringing out abilities and gifts that he or she would otherwise have taken to the grave without ever noticing or making use of them.”
The words of Jesus are confirmed: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people” (Mark 1:17). In other words, “I will change you from carp fishermen to fishers of the shipwrecked in the raging sea of life, who will take them out of anonymity and free them from the yoke of Satan…” And all this, Lord, so that You, “open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God”, so that, as You promise, Lord, “they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18). From the time Jesus spoke these words until today, people have never ceased to be amazed at what happens to someone when they walk with the Great Teacher.
The amazement began with Himself: “Coming to his hometown, He began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked” (Matthew 13:54). “All spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked” (Luke 4:22). Their amazement was also compounded by the fact that His wisdom was not the product of the educational systems of the day, but came from His continuing communion with God the Father. They marvelled and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?” (John 7:15).
This astonishment was transmitted from Him to His disciples. When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, the people were astonished because they knew that they were ordinary people and “they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). And the astonishment continued…
Faith and science
It is a form of basic honesty to recognise that, behind the great transformations of science, morality and art, there are people who raise their hats when they hear the name of God, as well as people who have come to raise their hats after seeing the footprints of God in the universe they have explored.
Such is the case of the British atheist philosopher Anthony Flew, whose research into the human genome led him to write the book There Is a God. And alongside him, the man of science and faith, Francis Collins, who wrote The Language of God.
When the first man walked on the moon, he read from Genesis chapter 1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…”. There was undoubtedly a mysterious connection between those who dared to walk on the virgin soil of the moon and the words they read.
It is true that the followers of Jesus were generally perceived as those who “never learned” or as “uncultured people”, but the illusion of this perception was shattered the moment these people showed what the Book had made of them. Perhaps the students of “Nebuchadnezzar’s University” thought the same when they met Daniel and his friends. They were convinced that these despised prisoners of war were ten times below their level, and indeed the level was ten times lower, but it was their own level compared to the level of the prisoners. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27).
True faith does not mean isolation or regression, but progress in goodness, truth and beauty, which is later reflected in the various aspects of life. The world was not built by people full of hatred and contempt, but by humble people full of love and respect for God and their neighbour.
Faith and freedom
Everything that human beings and humanity have achieved has had as its declared aim the liberation of individuals from all that limits their happiness and fulfilment, and this is undoubtedly a high and noble aim. In its desperate struggle for freedom, humanity has left behind all that it perceived to be an obstacle to its ideal. Unbelievably, in their thirst for freedom, human beings left behind even the Great Liberator and tried to become their own liberators. Did they not know what they had been told? “Apart from me you can do nothing”? Of course they knew. Have they ceased to believe in the millenarian truth of this Word? Perhaps they have not ceased to believe, but, strangely enough, human beings became convinced that they had a better answer, and they tried and tried…
Separation from the Great Liberator resulted in the total loss of freedom and humanity’s descent into the cruellest form of bondage: that of its tyrannical ego.
In the past, men were enslaved by other men. Now they enslave themselves, and thus the number of slaves has increased immeasurably. “‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). There is no science or procedure that can free mankind from the chains of such slavery. But we have a great Deliverer in Jesus: “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
And again people are surprised… “They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you” (1 Peter 4:4).
The plot of degradation
When you improve your life from being a slave to “reckless, wild living” to becoming a free and blessed person, there is nothing to deride. Yet the transformation of life, the freedom in Christ, and the achievements of those who “walk with God” do not always look good in the eyes of those who disagree, who consider themselves superior, and who demean the believer.
Contrary to its intent, the intellectual arrogance that manifests itself in contempt for the believer has had a beneficial side effect: it has kept Jesus and His disciples in the limelight. As Paul writes: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18).
The attack on the dignity of the believer did not begin with us, but with Him who was “despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held Him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53:3).
Under these circumstances, with such a precedent of cosmic proportions, what can we expect for us? Should we expect different treatment? It would be quite unfair. “I am not worthy to be crucified like my Lord”—tradition records the words of the Apostle Peter. Is it any wonder that the world hates us? We are warned by the Apostles themselves: “Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you” (1 John 3:13). “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).
Indeed, there is nothing to be surprised about. It all depends on what we make of the fiery ordeal of contempt and humiliation to which faith is constantly subjected.
Refining
We have been told that it is not what happens to us that matters, but how we respond to what happens to us. This is only partly true, because how we respond to what happens to us is shaped by what we make of what happens to us. Depending on that, we will react in one way or another. I have seen people who, in spite of all the reasons to behave otherwise, still find the resources to mock the life of faith, to “blaspheme in matters they do not understand”, as the Bible says. No surprise here.
The big question is: what do you make of it when you are the target of such an attack? I recently heard someone urging others to ignore such people completely. This did not seem at all in line with the standards of respect and the words of Jesus. He did not say to ignore untruthful evil; on the contrary, he taught us to pay full attention to it and to make ourselves known: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11, 12).
So rejoice and be glad! At evil things? Yes, because evil things, since they are false, are a sign of the presence of good and true things, and we should rejoice in them.
We should rejoice not only that the evil attributed to us is untrue, but that its opposite, the good, is real in our lives. And we should rejoice even when an evil is attributed to us that is true, because we have the opportunity to acknowledge it and correct it. It is a revelation of the truth about our situation. We are told: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you” (Hebrews 12:5). Let us rejoice, for someone is holding up a mirror to us and we see the blemishes on our faces. This person could be a friend or a well-meaning person who offends us out of faithfulness to help us correct ourselves. When I am rebuked, it is actually a compliment: you can do better, you can work better. You are not working to your capacity and therefore you are always dissatisfied.
Let’s now look at how the Saviour describes believers in Matthew, chapter 5, verses 13 to 16: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Matthew 5:13). What is the flavour of salt? It is precisely this: “rejoice and be glad”; that is, what you make of the humiliation, the bad and the untrue, and the way you respond to it. The joy and gladness of which Jesus speaks here is the ‘flavour’ of the salt, which makes it effective.
The most important thing when someone demeans the salt of your testimony is how you respond. This is really the only thing that will have a lasting effect. No statue will be erected to the critic, but the memory of the one who responded appropriately cannot be erased.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). What hill is this? It is the Rock eternal. If the fortress of your life and testimony is built on the Rock eternal, it will be noticed. It is not he who scoffs who is noticed, but he who responds in the Spirit of Christ: rejoice and be glad with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:15). What is this bowl? It is a dark face, devoid of the joy and gladness of which Jesus spoke. It is a face and an expression that does not speak of Jesus, but of His absence. What does the lamp put on its stand mean? It means “a gentle and quiet spirit”, which is of great value before God. Not gentle when it smiles in its sleep, or in beautiful dreams, or delusions, but gentle and still in the storm of mockery and scorn that seems to devour the lamp.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). In the same way, that is, rejoice and be glad over the evil things that may be said about you that are untrue!
This is the refining process Jesus spoke of in the everlasting Sermon on the Mount. The most important thing in what happens to you is what you make of the situation. The answer will not depend on what happens to you, but on what you make of what happens to you.
The beginning of Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry consisted of a short but significant question: “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?'” (Jeremiah 1:11).
First of all, we need to make sure that we see, and that what we see is real. The most important thing to see in our walk with God, behind all the trials and realisations of life, and also the first thing to see, is God’s intention.
When we understand why, we are prepared to face almost anything. “Open my eyes, Lord” doesn’t just apply to the events of the Bible, but to everything that happens in our daily lives.
There is, of course, a certain distance between what we see and what really is. What we see and what the Lord sees in what happens in our lives are two different and distant things, as far apart as heaven is from earth.
It is hard for us not to see the evil in evil, and even harder to see the good in evil, but when we go through this divine opening of our eyes, we gain access to another level of reality. Jesus calls us to see in someone’s curse an opportunity to bless, in hatred an opportunity to do good, and in persecution an opportunity to pray. “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44, 45).
This is God’s pedagogy: “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). This is God’s response to the just and the unjust alike. His answer is not tied to any particular just or unjust thing, but to Himself, who is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), and who “does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).
To live in this way is a remarkable qualitative leap, and the life of the individual always reaches higher, more elevated than its original place and condition. This is the meaning of development and growth, and it does not come from our nature, but from the Seed that cannot perish.
