Saturday, February 12, 2011 - Hiding Behind the Middle Man

     Substitute teaching is the perfect job for me since it allows me to use my skills and experience as a teacher yet leaves enough time and energy for writing and maintaining some semblance (loose interpretation implied) of domestic order (see previous parenthetical note). Getting a sub job no longer means calls from frantic secretaries trying to fill an absence before 7:30 a.m. because Benton schools, like many other systems, use an employment service to fill teacher absences. The service contacts employees via computerized calls, a method which has freed this people-pleaser to be selective. I can listen objectively to the job description without the voice of a desperate person swaying me. The computerized voice states the job available and I punch a number in response: #1 to "accept this assignment;" #2 to "hear additional assignments;" or, #3 to "reject this assignment." It's a piece of cake to tell this de-personalized middle man "not today" when I would feel guilty telling a real person "no."  
     Middle men have their places in our lives but not as substitutes for God's Voice or as punching bags for what we don't like in God's Word. Who are some of the spiritual "middle men and women" we allow between us and God's Voice? They're available in all shapes, sizes, and formats:
     *friends who've found God's path for themselves (and therefore make us feel less spiritual);
     *the preacher in the pulpit who studied and prepared what God wants us to know (but who puts his pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us);
     *parents, grandparents and other spiritual role models (who've all made mistakes);
     *Bible teachers and leaders who know what the Hebrew and the Greek words mean (but haven't walked in the "real world" for a while); 
     *charismatic or annoying radio and television personalities (who rub us the wrong way by being overly materialistic or simplistic);
     *friends we go to for answers instead of for prayer (who would stand by us if we said the sky was chartreuse).
     Jesus came to earth to tear the veil between us and God. He was God with us in a form people could see, hear, and touch, yet He was perfect in every way.

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, 

and they will call Him Immanuel' -- which means 'God with us.'" 

Matthew 1:23

He ascended to heaven to send the Holy Spirit to live and work in us as our built-in Teacher and Counselor of Truth.  

"And I will ask the Father, 

and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever

 -- the Spirit of truth." 

John 14:16 

 "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, 

will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." 

John 14:2 

     With the beautiful mystery of God's personal Voice in our spirits, why do we prefer hearing from people to hearing directly from Him? 

"When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.'" Exodus 20:19 

  The rebellious Israelites kept their options open by keeping the righteous, Holy God at a distance so they could discount and disobey His stuttering servant Moses. They wanted to feel free to press #1, #2, or #3 without feeling guilt or shame.

     "Why are we so terrified lest God should speak to us? Because we know that if God does speak, either the thing must be done or we must tell God we will not obey Him." (Chambers). We don't think twice about punching option #3, "reject this assignment," when we hear from one of God's servants but we'd have a hard time saying "not today" to God's Face. The Holy Spirit reminds us that when we tell God we will not obey Him, we're also telling Him we don't love Him. 

 "If you love Me, you will obey what I command"

John 14:15

"Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching.'"

John 14:23

"He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching."

John 14:24

     It doesn't matter what my lips say to God if my disobedience is shouting something else to the heavens. We need to stop expecting the middle men in our lives to fill the empty places or to be our punching bags when we've chosen to keep our obedience options open. We need to let these people serve as confirmers, encouragers, and clarifiers while we take responsibility for our personal spiritual growth, love for God, and obedience to Him. It's up to us to draw near to Immanuel and become intimately acquainted with His Voice, with nothing and no one between us. 

"Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Inspired by My Utmost for His Highest and Jesus Calling

Photo from VBS powerpoint presentation