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LK: Hey Jen, it's the pest from the west, knocking on your cyber-door again. (So would that make you the beast from the east? Has kind of an intriguing prophetic ring to it, don't you think?)

JS: What? You're saying that I'm somehow related to the beast of Revelation? And where do we find "pest" in prophecy?

LK: How about "'I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,' says the Lord Almighty" (Malachi 3:11, NIV; it's not exactly prophetic, but it'll have to do). If I promise not to devour your crops will you let me in for a little Christmas cheer? How about a cup of hot carob on this cold December night?

JS: Sure, come in. . .you have so little body fat, I dare not leave you out in the cold. Here, I'll add some extra cream to your carob. .. .. should we talk about our Christmas shopping or should we transcend all the madness and focus on the Reason for the season?

LK: I've shopped till I've dropped but I never get tired of talking about my Best Friend. I was thinking (we blonds do that sometimes) about the mystery of the incarnation. It's always meant so much to me that when God became human, He didn't exempt Himself from the genetic and environmental variables to which we're all subject. He became fully incorporated into the human race, fully subject to the laws of heredity and every other facet of the human condition--short of participation in our sin. Recognizing that has helped me to believe that He really understands what my life is all about, that He can really relate to my struggles and my joys. Don't you find that very winsome?

JS: Not just winsome, but redemptive. In all honesty, there are times when I find it hard to believe that a being as big as God could relate intimately and personally to me. Sometimes this wave of sadness comes over me, a certain profound sense of insignificance. From what I can see and sense, I am just dust in the wind, a mere inanimate particle making no particular impact. Then in the midst of that experience, a call comes--through a song, a sermon, a comment someone makes--to believe that I really do make a difference to heaven. That when I am forgotten by everyone I am remembered by Him. And that He feels what I feel, and follows me through my day. The point being that Jesus actually qualified Himself to be the friend-closer-than-a-brother that He is by becoming a human being. Leslie, if I didn't know that, I don't think I could survive.

LK: Neither could I; I'd self-destruct, which is what I was in the process of doing when I encountered Christ 23 years ago. Even so, though I've become convinced that He knows and understands every particle of what I go through, I've struggled monumentally at times to believe that He cares. That's no reflection on Him; it's an emotional hangover from my previous life. But it goes to show that intellectual conviction has to translate into emotional certitude, a process that's greatly expedited by seeing Christ incarnated in the people around us--like you, Jen. Far from seeing you as a random speck of dust in the wind, I've seen you as a vessel for the character and Spirit of Christ. You've impacted my little life. Does that make you feel more significant?

JS: Aw, shucks, Leslie. . ..the same is true of you. I remember how happy I was to meet someone as nerdy as I (no offense). And to find out that, not only were you anxious to engage me intellectually, but that you wanted to be a friend closer than a sister! So you've been like Jesus to me. After all, Christ came with the grand object of not only saving us, but bonding with us for eternity. So profoundly did He want to connect, that He was willing to join the human race forever, even at infinite sacrifice to Himself.

LK: He's become the eternal Friend-closer-than-a-brother, so the members of His body may become closer to one another even than sisters and brothers. That's the big picture of the incarnation, I think--Christ came to this earth and gave Himself to us and for us, that He might fill us with Himself, so we could become one with one another. It's the incarnation's grand, corporate conclusion: "Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own."1 Jesus isn't waiting for a bunch of disconnected mavericks to simultaneously achieve a rigid orthodoxy; He's enabling us to interact with each other in a way that will create a dynamic whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. That's my understanding of Christian perfection, anyway--a vital, truthful, redemptive connection with Christ and one another. (And you were worried that I'd lose my idealism in my old age.)

JS: When Paul mentions perfection in Philippians 3:12 and 15, the root word is teleo--which means to complete in purpose or goal. It's also translated as "mature" in Ephesians 3:13, in a passage about unity. It says, "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (italics supplied). So the mature man is not an individual at all, but the body of Christ that has come into the "unity of the faith." In other words, in our search to be like Jesus, we can't go it alone. You find sages on mountaintops, but you find true Christians in a body. And that's just the point, isn't it? Jesus Himself was found in a body--a body not His own, a body that required that He consort with others whom He loved but didn't necessarily feel comfortable around. That's what drew Him out of the manger and into the mainstream. So I guess it's out of the cubicle for us, Leslie, and into fellowship. Sure hope nobody rubs me the wrong way. . .

LK: Would it rub you the wrong way if I asked you what you're getting me for Christmas? I could use a nice CD.

JS: I'll have to cater to your wishes. You've ingratiated yourself, having sent my gift already. Thanks, by the way. I've already read the first two chapters.2 By the way, do you listen to anything but Celtic music? Any classical? Any Christian singer/songwriters? I won't be so tacky as to give you one of my CDs, although it would save me fifteen bucks or so. . ....

LK: Actually, when I said CD I was thinking Certificate of Deposit--I could use a little nest egg. Maybe you have about 10k lying around that you'd like to contribute to my future? It would be the mature thing to do, Jen. It's more blessed to give than to receive.

JS: You're right. Problem is, I don't have 10k lying around. Guess you'll have to believe in my maturity without any external evidence. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Now tell me what music you like before I revoke all Christmas present offers.

LK: I'm making my list and checking it twice. . .

May you be blessed with the fellowship of Christ and His body this Christmas Season and in the New Year. That we may become like Jesus to each other, showing forth His love to the church and to the world, is our prayer at Synergy.

________________________________________________________

1. Ellen G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 69, emphasis supplied.

2. Jon Paulien, Meet God Again for the First Time.


Out of the Manger, Into the Mainstream LK: Hey Jen, it's the pest from the west, knocking on your cyber-door again. (So would that make you the beast from the east? Has kind of an intriguing prophetic ring to it, don't you think?) JS: What? You're saying that I'm somehow related to the beast of Revelation? And where do we find "pest" in prophecy? LK: How about "'I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,' says the Lord Almighty" (Malachi 3:11, NIV; it's not exactly prophetic, but it'll have to do). If I promise not to devour your crops will you let me in for a little Christmas cheer? How about a cup of hot carob on this cold December night? JS: Sure, come in. . .you have so little body fat, I dare not leave you out in the cold. Here, I'll add some extra cream to your carob. .. .. should we talk about our Christmas shopping or should we transcend all the madness and focus on the Reason for the season? LK: I've shopped till I've dropped but I never get tired of talking about my Best Friend. I was thinking (we blonds do that sometimes) about the mystery of the incarnation. It's always meant so much to me that when God became human, He didn't exempt Himself from the genetic and environmental variables to which we're all subject. He became fully incorporated into the human race, fully subject to the laws of heredity and every other facet of the human condition--short of participation in our sin. Recognizing that has helped me to believe that He really understands what my life is all about, that He can really relate to my struggles and my joys. Don't you find that very winsome? JS: Not just winsome, but redemptive. In all honesty, there are times when I find it hard to believe that a being as big as God could relate intimately and personally to me. Sometimes this wave of sadness comes over me, a certain profound sense of insignificance. From what I can see and sense, I am just dust in the wind, a mere inanimate particle making no particular impact. Then in the midst of that experience, a call comes--through a song, a sermon, a comment someone makes--to believe that I really do make a difference to heaven. That when I am forgotten by everyone I am remembered by Him. And that He feels what I feel, and follows me through my day. The point being that Jesus actually qualified Himself to be the friend-closer-than-a-brother that He is by becoming a human being. Leslie, if I didn't know that, I don't think I could survive. LK: Neither could I; I'd self-destruct, which is what I was in the process of doing when I encountered Christ 23 years ago. Even so, though I've become convinced that He knows and understands every particle of what I go through, I've struggled monumentally at times to believe that He cares. That's no reflection on Him; it's an emotional hangover from my previous life. But it goes to show that intellectual conviction has to translate into emotional certitude, a process that's greatly expedited by seeing Christ incarnated in the people around us--like you, Jen. Far from seeing you as a random speck of dust in the wind, I've seen you as a vessel for the character and Spirit of Christ. You've impacted my little life. Does that make you feel more significant? JS: Aw, shucks, Leslie. . ..the same is true of you. I remember how happy I was to meet someone as nerdy as I (no offense). And to find out that, not only were you anxious to engage me intellectually, but that you wanted to be a friend closer than a sister! So you've been like Jesus to me. After all, Christ came with the grand object of not only saving us, but bonding with us for eternity. So profoundly did He want to connect, that He was willing to join the human race forever, even at infinite sacrifice to Himself. LK: He's become the eternal Friend-closer-than-a-brother, so the members of His body may become closer to one another even than sisters and brothers. That's the big picture of the incarnation, I think--Christ came to this earth and gave Himself to us and for us, that He might fill us with Himself, so we could become one with one another. It's the incarnation's grand, corporate conclusion: "Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own."1 Jesus isn't waiting for a bunch of disconnected mavericks to simultaneously achieve a rigid orthodoxy; He's enabling us to interact with each other in a way that will create a dynamic whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. That's my understanding of Christian perfection, anyway--a vital, truthful, redemptive connection with Christ and one another. (And you were worried that I'd lose my idealism in my old age.) JS: When Paul mentions perfection in Philippians 3:12 and 15, the root word is teleo--which means to complete in purpose or goal. It's also translated as "mature" in Ephesians 3:13, in a passage about unity. It says, "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (italics supplied). So the mature man is not an individual at all, but the body of Christ that has come into the "unity of the faith." In other words, in our search to be like Jesus, we can't go it alone. You find sages on mountaintops, but you find true Christians in a body. And that's just the point, isn't it? Jesus Himself was found in a body--a body not His own, a body that required that He consort with others whom He loved but didn't necessarily feel comfortable around. That's what drew Him out of the manger and into the mainstream. So I guess it's out of the cubicle for us, Leslie, and into fellowship. Sure hope nobody rubs me the wrong way. . . LK: Would it rub you the wrong way if I asked you what you're getting me for Christmas? I could use a nice CD. JS: I'll have to cater to your wishes. You've ingratiated yourself, having sent my gift already. Thanks, by the way. I've already read the first two chapters.2 By the way, do you listen to anything but Celtic music? Any classical? Any Christian singer/songwriters? I won't be so tacky as to give you one of my CDs, although it would save me fifteen bucks or so. . .... LK: Actually, when I said CD I was thinking Certificate of Deposit--I could use a little nest egg. Maybe you have about 10k lying around that you'd like to contribute to my future? It would be the mature thing to do, Jen. It's more blessed to give than to receive. JS: You're right. Problem is, I don't have 10k lying around. Guess you'll have to believe in my maturity without any external evidence. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Now tell me what music you like before I revoke all Christmas present offers. LK: I'm making my list and checking it twice. . . May you be blessed with the fellowship of Christ and His body this Christmas Season and in the New Year. That we may become like Jesus to each other, showing forth His love to the church and to the world, is our prayer at Synergy. ________________________________________________________ 1. Ellen G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 69, emphasis supplied. 2. Jon Paulien, Meet God Again for the First Time.