Treasuring the Way of Jesus
In the last entry, I wrote about the call to treasure the glory of Christ... to live our lives as students, teachers, employees, citizens, parents, or children with our eyes toward the reality that exists already in heaven - the reality of the Lamb in the centre of the throne, working all of history toward that day when every tongue will confess Him to be Lord of all.
There are elements of that reality, however, that just seem too other-worldly to make a difference in today's difficulties. It's all fine and good to treasure that reality, but I can't get my hands on it. I can't actually see it. It's difficult to see with the eyes of my heart. My eyes just aren't that good!
That's why the second fractal of seeing Jesus as our Treasure is so important to keep in view... the treasure of His Way. The truth is, even when Jesus walked the earth, the disciples only caught rare glimpses of the true heavenly glory of this God-man they were following. There was the miraculous appearance of the dove at Jesus' baptism. There was the incredible unveiling of His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Moses and Elijah stepped out of the Invisible to have a conversation with Jesus. There were the events of his life that were heralded by angelic beings - his conception, his birth, his resurrection. There was his ascension into heaven. These were powerful and unforgettable experiences for all who witnessed them.
But a large part of the disciples' journey in learning to treasure Jesus was as an unspectacular man. He had dirt on his feet and grime under his fingernails, food in his teeth and stains on his cloak, bad breath in the morning and body odour at night, a peeling, sunburned nose and a black, hammer-driven thumbnail. Maybe His voice cracked sometimes. Isaiah says, "He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire Him" (Isaiah 53:2). "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14), and "since the children [that's us] share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things" (Hebrews 2:14).
Yet there was something uniquely transforming about this unspectacular man. Somehow, in His presence they felt more exposed, known, accepted, and empowered than ever before. He poured forth wisdom like they had never heard. He spoke with an unprecedented authority that could not be stymied. And the power that emanated from His presence - without smoke and mirrors, just raw verbal power - healed, delivered, and raised people from the dead! So when Jesus walked along the well-beaten paths of Galilee, he didn't draw people to Him by levitating to the sound of angels and the appearance of billowing smoke, speaking with a big echoing voice. When Andrew asked Him where He was staying, He just answered, "Come, and you will see" (John 1:39). Andrew got his brother Simon, who Jesus, upon meeting him, said, "Let's call you Rock." Then Philip showed up, and Jesus just said, "Follow me." Philip grabbed Nathanael, with a similar invitation: "Come and see." And on it goes.
From the very beginning, the condition for seeing Jesus and learning to treasure Him has not been to have some amazing transcendent experience in which He appears in all His glory. Those experiences are very special, and you can be very thankful if you've had them. But they are not the most significant way of living out your calling as a Christian. The most important condition for learning to treasure Jesus is a willingness to come and see: to show up where Jesus is hanging out, to sit at His feet and learn, and to follow Him into the places He's working, and to try out the stuff He's teaching. This is the way He did it with His disciples. This is the way He's doing it now. Dallas Willard describes spiritual formation as "being with Jesus to become like Jesus." It's companionship, fellowship, apprenticeship with Jesus in earthy, day-to-day, ordinary life experiences.
You might doubt whether it's possible to keep companionship with Jesus. After all, He's not here, in a body, sitting here in your bedroom or office. But I think there are lots of ways we can keep companionship with people who aren't there.
First, you can read their letters. Cyndi (my wife) gave me a very special present for Valentine's Day this year: a scrapbook compiling every card that we have given one another, whether for birthday, anniversary, Valentine's Day, or no reason at all, since we've been married (twelve years). I can sit down with that scrapbook and read through those cards, and it doesn't take long to feel her presence and know some of the things she's thinking, even if she's not there (I know, that's really sappy). Similarly, Jesus has left us a whole book that points to Him, from "In the beginning" to the final "Amen." It is more than a text to be studied. It is His own word, "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). I am still contemplating the incredible promise of companionship in John 14:23: "If anyone loves me, he will keep [treasure, guard, heed] my Word [everything He has taught and demonstrated], and my Father will love Him, and we will come to Him and make our home with Him." Being ‘in the Word' is about more than reading Scripture. When you are ‘in the Word,' He promises that you'll be dwelling ‘in Him,' drawn into His gracious and transforming presence.
A second way you can keep companionship with someone who isn't there is to surround yourself with things that remind you of them. If you walked into my office today, you'd see no less than twelve pictures of my wife on my desk or wall, along with several pictures of my children (not to mention the pictures in my Bible in my wallet, and on my computer screen)! This is my way of reminding myself that I am not my own; I belong to my wife, and she goes everywhere with me. Similarly, you can surround yourself with reminders of who Jesus is and what He has said... whether those are visual reminders (pictures, verses written on the mirror or memorized), or auditory reminders such as worship music.
Third, you can bring back to your memory special encounters or conversations that you have had with them. For me, I remember fondly the Diana Krall concert and the walk down Robson Street that Cyndi and I shared a few weeks ago. Similarly, you can take time, every day, to reflect back on the times when you felt, or at least yearned for the presence of Jesus. You can reflect back on the Scripture you read this morning. You might even recall the conviction you felt when you were stepping toward something that wouldn't honour Him... the "look" in His eyes as He looked at you across the courtyard.
Fourth, you can communicate with them. When I'm finished this blog, I'm going to call my wife and tell her how my day has gone. When I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago, I had no access to a phone. But I did have access to the internet, so Cyndi and I chatted on Facebook for a while. We were apart, and yet we were sharing intimate thoughts, and so, in some ways, we were together. To treasure the Way of Jesus, we have to keep Him in the conversation on our way. We can ask Him what He thinks we should do when we have a decision to make. We can express our delight or frustration as we attempt to do the things He has taught us in His Word. He's eager to have those conversations with us... even if sometimes it feels like it's all in text-messages, instead of face to face.
Fifth, you can spend time with others who know that person. When I spend time with Cyndi's family, Cyndi doesn't have to be there for me to be reminded of who she is and why I married her. There are times when I could swear she was going to come around the corner. Similarly, Jesus promises that where two or three are gathered in His name, He will dwell there. You'll look across the table or beside you on the couch, and in the love and wisdom of a brother or sister in whom Jesus dwells, Jesus will speak to you. This may be through a mentor, someone who is saying, "Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 1:13). Perhaps it will be with a small group of friends who are learning to immerse themselves in the life described in Scripture.
Sixth, you can incorporate their habits. I don't know if you've ever done this. Sometimes, when someone has been away a long time, it is helpful to set your rhythm, in a way, to their rhythms. You get up when they would get up. You have dinner when they would have dinner. You put the same things on your cereal that they would have. It sounds kind of strange, but I think it is a rough approximation of how we can practice the presence of Jesus. You see, Jesus had a lifestyle that shaped Him into the person He became. He didn't just passively become holy and loving. Hebrews says that "he learned obedience through what He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8); in other words, He didn't become the holy person that He became any different than you or I must do it. He learned, through intentional habits and dispositions, to direct His will toward that of His Father, and to value the time that He had with His Father. The same is true for us. Walking in companionship with Jesus means sharing those disciplines with Him, so that the will and presence of the Father can become as important to us as it was to Him.
None of these experiences are especially transcendent. Rather, they are incarnational. Jesus is becoming flesh, in your everyday life. But you have to be intentional about going with Him. He's inviting you to ‘Come and see.' But He won't drag you along. You have to show up.
His incredible promise is that, when you show up - when you keep companionship with Him - He'll begin to rub off on you. You'll start to say things He would say. You'll start to incorporate His mannerisms. You'll start to think about things the same way He will. And before you know it, you'll begin to freely and joyfully be acting like Him. And in doing so, you'll be fulfilling your potential as a person made in the image of God. You will "put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24), "renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator" (Colossians 3:10).
How are you learning to treasure the Way of Jesus?