My name
is Doug Jeffrey and every time I introduce myself to people they repeat back to
me, “Good to meet you Jeff.” At first it
is a little perturbing and as an aside, why do they hear “Jeffrey” and presume
they can call me “Jeff?” Either way, the
point is that 90% of people completely blank on the “Doug” part and only hear the “Jeffrey.” Don’t cry for me, it has
been happening since I can remember and I am used to it by now. Trust me, there are bigger name catastrophes than
this one but I don’t want to risk offending any readers by giving
examples. You know who you are.
So how
did this develop into a theme for a blog post?
Well I began to wonder why that always happened. Was I saying my first name too quickly or too
soft? I even started introducing myself
as “DOUG Jeffrey” but was still met with the same disappointing results. I felt like this must be representative of a
deeper human condition. I needed
answers. To the Bible we go. And in the Bible I started noticing that the
same thing happens there. Well, not
exactly the same thing but evidence of the same human condition.
Example
#1: God created man and woman in His
image and He blessed them. Then when
they ate the forbidden fruit He cursed them.
So what ended up being the pervading influence on man? Genesis
6:5 “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and
that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Man completely skipped over the blessings and
delved right into the curse. Sin after
sin until the entire world was covered in floodwaters.
Example
#2: God delivered the Hebrews from
captivity in Egypt. He spared their
children from the Passover sacrifice. He
performed several miracles to cause them to be ordered to leave. He opened up the Red Sea to allow them safe
passage and swallow up their pursuers.
Then He caused them to walk across the dry desert to get them to their
new home. And during that walk, on what
did the Israelites focus? God’s
deliverance or His making them walk in the desert? Exodus
16:3 “The sons of Israel said to them ‘Would that we had died by the Lord’s
hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread
to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole
assembly with hunger.’” They focused
on the hunger and forgot the deliverance.
God constantly reminded them throughout the Old Testament that He was
the God who delivered them out of Egypt, and yet they time after time focused
on whatever menial struggle they faced in the present.
Example
#3: Still following this traveling band,
God again provided miracles of bread, meat and water. He defeated every enemy who dared to face
them, then He brought them to the gates of the promised land and showed them
the fortresses they would destroy. Do
you think that they focused on the miracles of provision which lasted them an
amazing 40 years in an uninhabitable land or on what looked like a difficult
task in their path? Numbers 13:31 “But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not
able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.’” Too strong for the miracle working God of
provision? They forgot the victories
already won and consigned themselves to defeat.
Over
and over this happened throughout the Bible.
Why do we so often forget the first in lieu of the second? And yet in all of these instances, God
provides for them an additional time putting another blessing on top of the
work He had already done. Example #1: First, He created and blessed. Middle, He cursed them. Last, He cleansed the world and started
again. Example #2: First, He delivered. Middle, He allowed them to get hungry. Last, He rained down bread and meat and water
for them continually. Example #3: First, He provided for their every need. Middle, He presented them with a
challenge. Last, He defeated their enemies
triumphantly. He sandwiched two great
blessings with a challenge in between.
In just these three examples we see God creating, blessing, cleansing,
delivering, feeding, providing and conquering.
But all they seemed to remember (we seem to remember) is the cursing,
wondering and challenge.
In this
way, God operates a little like and Oreo cookie. He comes on in three layers. First He proves Himself trustworthy, then He
challenges us to remember that trustworthiness, and finally after we fail He
proves Himself trustworthy again. But
still, all we remember is the challenge and the failure. Nobody really cares about the cookie part on
bottom and on top; we really just focus on the double-stuffed middle. Honestly, when you think about an Oreo that
is the first thing you think of right?
In fact, many people avoid the wafers altogether and just lick out the
cream. That may seem like fun in theory
but do you know what makes an Oreo so delicious? Not the cream. I can prove it.
Scientifically
80% of taste is smell. Do you know what
you smell when the Oreo enters your mouth?
The top chocolate wafer as it enters just beneath your nose. The reason you taste things as vividly as you
do is because vision stimulates your brain to activate your taste buds. Do you know the last thing you see when
eating an Oreo? The top chocolate wafer
as it enters just beneath your eyes. And
finally, smell induced, taste buds activated, do you know what your taste buds
hit first when eating an Oreo? The
bottom chocolate wafer plunging against the sweet receptors on the tip of your
tongue. Don’t get me wrong, the cream is
gooey good and it is necessary but it is just a conduit that combines with the
wafers and provides very little to that actual taste.
Why is
this relevant? Because we do the same
thing with Jesus. First, He lived with
us and loved us as brothers and sisters.
He gave us His example and taught us amazing things about His Father and
the power available to us through a loving Holy Spirit. Middle, then He sacrificed Himself on the
cross and took our sins upon Himself.
Last, He rose from the grave and ascended into heaven to sit at the
right hand of the Father; defeating death and making a way for us. He intercedes for us daily and prepares a
place for us in eternity. Can you see
where I am going yet?
Our
human condition can get us so fixated on the sacrifice of Christ (middle) that
we completely forget about His example to our lives, the place He is preparing
for us, the relationship He has restored with our Father, the authority He gives
us to overcome tribulation, the defeat of death, the life He gave us the right
to live in the fullest, the power He has unlocked in our daily walk, the
reliance on faith, etc. Don’t get me
wrong, the sacrifice was incredibly important but He didn’t die so we could
mourn His death and dwell on our dead Savior. He died so He could restore our relationship
with God and give us life that we could live!
Don’t
be an Israelite today; break the cycle of humanity. Don’t focus on the middle, remember the first
and the last, savor the chocolate wafers, live the life Christ died to give
you, and stop calling me Jeff.
