Too many options or happy with what I have?

I went to Whole Foods yesterday, and once again, I was amazed with the hundreds of types of cheeses available in one store. I really wanted to buy two kinds of cheese, and just see what I like, buy more next time, etc.

I am still surprised with the variety of products available in America--in the malls, groceries, bookstores . . . And I am wary of falling into the consumerist/materialist trap. I have seen poverty in the Philippines and India to know that many of the things in America that are taken for granted, including cheese, are a luxury, no matter how many options there are here and no matter how much we think we "deserve our luxuries".

I came home completely satisfied with and excited to try my choices: a small slice of manchego cheese from Spain and a package of goat cheese. I love cheese and as I was having parts of both for breakfast just now, I reminded myself not to pine for the 400+ options in the store, but to be happy with what I have, to be grateful for God's provision so I can enjoy these yummy slices of bliss.

May I too be like Paul and learn "to be content whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:11." May I not get caught up with everything out there, everything I think I want, but may I be grateful for what I do have. And now I am not just talking about cheese.

The Book, but it's not just Eli's

I just got back from watching "The Book of Eli." It's been a while since I have enjoyed watching a movie like I did today. If you haven't watched it, you should. (Plus I only paid $1.50 to watch it--cheaper than Manila--so that was fun too!)

I don't know if the movie was made by a Christian, but I saw some great principles in it. Here are a few reasons why I loved it so much (I may have some spoilers below, so beware):

1. In the "old times", Eli said people had too much. The "old times" is "our time", and yes we do have too much. Seeing what life could be and what we don't want it to be could help us evaluate what we do and how much we think we need, we want, and we should have. After all, godliness with contentment is great gain.

2. Eli read the Word "without fail." If only we would do that too. And no I can not imagine memorizing the King James Version, from Genesis to Revelation!

3. Eli said he heard a voice, he knows what he heard and he knows what he hears. He was sure. And when you're sure, you just do what you should. Not to be oversimplistic, but that's just foundational. Besides, faith means "you know even when you don't." Even as Eli was explaining it, you know he couldn't explain it well--but he did believe it and bet his life on it. And he journeyed through it all because of the voice he heard.

4. I can't imagine what it would be like to have just one Bible left. We have so many Bibles everywhere, and yes there's another example of how we have too much. But what good is it to have the Word and not read it, speak it, live it, treasure it?

I pray that we would be people of the Word. That it would be our Book, sinking into our hearts and changing our lives.

The Purpose of Gethsemane

As we meditate on the power of the Cross and Christ's Resurrection, I am struck by how important Jesus' time of prayer in Gethsemane was. In Matthew 26:36, Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray. He "began to be sorrowful and troubled" and he was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Matthew 26:37,38). He was fully God and fully human, and it's amazing how we see his human side here--he was troubled, sorrowful, overwhelmed.

And then he went to pray.

His first prayer was:

"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39)

After telling his disciples to watch and pray, he went away again and his second prayer was:

"My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." (Matthew 26:42)

These prayers seem very similar but today I was amazed at how different they are and how the tension and sorrow in Jesus' heart was dealt with through prayer. In His first prayer, He asked the Father that if it was possible, He wanted the cup to be taken from Him. But this was not about what Jesus wanted, He knew that. It was about what the Father wills. The tension here is obvious but the bottomline is clear--"not as I will, but as you will."

In the second prayer, the tension seems to have subsided a bit and now it's not about Jesus as much as it is about the Father. He says, if the cup can not be taken away unless Jesus drinks it, He will do it because He wants His Father's will to be done.

After this prayer, He went back to His disciples, and went back to pray the same prayer again. And after that, he was ready. Ready to go, ready to face His betrayer, ready to drink the cup, and ready for the Cross.

Matthew does not say that Jesus was not troubled or sorrowful anymore, but after Jesus prayed and talked to His Father, told Him what He felt and heard from His Father, He knew what He had to do. His time at Gethsemane was not just a break between dinner and the betrayal. It was the strength He needed from His Father to face His cup.

Like Christ, we all need to hear from God and bare our souls to Him in Gethsemane. As we remember and thank God for the Cross and the Resurrection, may we be like Christ and get our strength from the Father.

Thank You, Jesus--"the author and the perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).

Happy Easter!