Stumbling Over Jesus (#645)
"Blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over me." Jesus said in Matthew 11:6. What did he mean by that? How could we possibly stumble over Jesus? It turns out there are quite a number of ways we can be scandalized when he doesn't do what we might expect or want him to do. Following Jesus means to trust that he knows best and that he has things going on that we can't even conceive. His statement is actually an invitation to deeper trust, so we don't take offense at his working when there is absolutely no cause for us to do so. (The above artworks was taken from the cover of A MAN LIKE NO OTHER, which Brad and Wayne co-authored along with artist, Murry Whiteman.)
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Thanks for the good podcast. Every time I hear or read Matthew 11:6 I think of the book, Prisoner In The Third Cell, by Gene Edwards. That verse is part of the reply that Jesus gave the disciples of John the Baptist when they were sent by John from prison to ask Jesus if he was the one. Even John the Baptist was questioning his circumstances. If anyone ever had a justifiable reason to complain about their circumstances, it was John the Baptist waiting in prison before he got his head chopped off.
I highly recommend that book by Gene Edwards. It is Gene at his best. In his unique, poetic way he powerfully describes the emotion of what John may have been feeling in prison. At the end of the short book, he paints a verbal picture of John and Jesus being reunited in eternity. I rarely cry reading a book, but that scene at the end brought tears to my eyes.
Though I have enjoyed the challenge most of your podcasts have brought into my life this one does a wonderful job of hitting many of the presuppositions that lead me to a self defeating construct of God’s nature and love in my life. Thank you for continuing to challenge me with a much more expansive perspective of God’s purpose and plan for theredemption of humanity than my self driven design. You guys are a more of a blessing than you’ll ever know. Keep up the great work.