grace given me

Getting this week’s post out a little late… Hoping everyone had a meaningful and restful Memorial Day weekend. Thank you to all who have served our country. We are truly blessed to live in the land of the free. Our celebration of freedom this past weekend included a mix of potlucks, parties, and time with family and friends. At one of the gatherings we joined were some friendly rounds of pickleball. This game is definitely having a moment. It has some interesting rules, but regardless of your athletic prowess, most anyone can play. Yet some still miss out – they may have an injury like my bum knee, think they’re too cool for a game called pickleball, or want intense tournament-like adherence to the rules. For them, backyard pickleball does not live up to the hype.

Connecting pickleball and Jesus might be a stretch, but stay with me. Last weekend during my quiet time, I landed in John 10 and found myself caught up in a few verses. Starting at verse 25, Jesus is speaking to a skeptical audience and says, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” He then seems to double down on the ‘work he does’ in verses 37-38 adding, “Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done…”

Then and now, skepticism remains. People still hesitate to follow Jesus. And – circling back to pickleball – some of the reasons are surprisingly similar: some hold back because of an old wound and do not trust God to heal it or bring any good from it. Some hold back because they are ‘too cool for God’; they cannot accept his authority over their lives or simply prefer self-reliance. Others who believe in his rules but forget the love and miracles part, burnout in performance mode.

American theologian James W. Fowler described six stages of spiritual development: from fantasy, to logic, to belief, then to disillusionment and skepticism, then paradox and finally, unity. Early on, people hear Bible stories with morals that make sense. They start to believe. But then comes what Pastor Henry Blackaby calls a “Crisis of Belief.” During a faith-shaking moment, some stop believing God is for them. Others willfully reject and separate from God, limiting his ability to move in their lives. Even those who try to follow the rules can struggle, beating themselves up for falling short. Blackaby once said, “If you have an obedience problem, you have a love problem.” We focus on trying to perform better for God, when the mystery is this: the more we love him – and receive his love – the more obedience flows naturally. We love because he first loved us. We keep in step because the Spirit helps keep us in step.

While we are not to test God by demanding outcomes without faith or trust, I do sense Jesus calling us to put him to the test in John 10. I feel him imploring us, “If nothing else, believe because of his works.” Which begs the question: Have you seen a miraculous work lately? Ever? Miracles will absolutely alter your faith walk. Are you in a position to see one? To receive one?

You limit God’s ability to move when you don’t get in the game – when you don’t live in relationship with him. Psalm 32:8 says, “The Lord says, I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” But he needs to know he can trust you to follow when he calls. You can trust him because he only does what the Father tells him, and we know the Father is perfect in every way. Jesus says he is the vine and we are the branches. God wants to relay miracles from Jesus to us. If we believe and listen, we will get to be part of more and more miraculous works.

Lord, you are the Good Shepherd. Help us to surrender and learn your voice. Fill us with your Holy Spirit to help us believe and obey. You long to put us on an upward spiral, just as Proverbs 15:24 says, “To the wise the way of life goes upward…” I believe in your miraculous works. I have seen them. I look in expectation for the next one. As we move in obedience to your voice, you move, and you make it wondrous and wonderful. Thank you. Amen.

*John 10 is also the chapter where Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd – which felt so timely to be in for Memorial Day. Verse 11 says, “The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.” Such a powerful echo of the sacrifice we honored this weekend. Thank you again servicemen and women, and especially those who gave everything.