I already knew I loved Greg and Rebecca Spark's music, so I was fairly certain I would find their teaching/speaking just as powerful. I wasn't disappointed. They were the speakers at our family camp a couple of weeks ago, and I found myself being blessed one moment, and incredibly challenged the next.
On Tuesday night Rebecca shared a story from Mark's gospel -- that odd, difficult to interpret story of Jesus healing the blind man at Bethsaida. It's odd because Jesus literally spits into the man's eyes to heal him. And spitting into someone's face was as odd, and offensive, then as it is now. And it's difficult to interpret because the man wasn't healed the first time Jesus touched him. Jesus actually had to touch him a second time before he was completely healed.
I've heard (and read) many different interpretations of this miracle. And probably most of them hold truth -- some more than others. Was it the faith of the blind man that was in question? Were there two different "levels" of healing? Or are there different types of "touches" that we can experience from Jesus?
The truth is, no one knows for certain -- but I like Rebecca's interpretation the best. You had to be there to fully appreciate it, but she encouraged us to consider this notion: Maybe even Jesus needed time to accomplish a task. Maybe even Jesus needed a second effort. Maybe the PROCESS was just as important as the PROGRESS.
And in THAT truth, I find great hope. Because then this miracle becomes a dramatic representation of the fact that our God is a God of second-chances. Our God doesn't give up the first time. He is not discouraged. He does not lose hope. Our God is a God of second, third, fourth, and fifth chances.
We are the ones who give up. Our culture has programmed us that way. We expect results now, and if we don't receive them, we become discouraged and disillusioned, we lose hope, and we often just give up.
We give up on our hopes and dreams. We give up on our gifts and talents.
And even worse, we give up on people -- others, and ourselves. We give up on relationships when they become too complicated, or when they reveal aspects of ourselves we don't like. We give up on people when they don't measure up to our expectations, when they fail us, when they make decisions that hurt us. If it takes a second, or third, or fourth effort, we just don't have it in us.
But God does. He knows we are all just a work in progress. And He is not willing to give up on us. To God, we are each worth a second, third, fourth, or 400th try. The Bible is filled with stories of human beings who were all a work in progress -- and God didn't give up on them. Indeed, God deemed them worthy of many chances, because He created them, He loved them, and He knew what they were capable of -- but He also knew it would be a process.
Discouragement, despair, and disillusionment are all powerful weapons in the enemy's arsenal. And we often feel defeated because we forget that life is a process, and the most important things take time.
It's not Scripture, but the words of Winston Churchill still ring true: "Never, never, never, never give up." Never give up on God's ability to take what is broken, wounded, shattered, decayed, or worthless and make it whole again.
It might take awhile. It might even take several chances. But give it some time. God's love is big enough. And He isn't giving up, so don't you give up. Don't give up on God. Don't give up on other people. Don't give up on yourself.
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