“Do you love me?”

04/30/2006

“The Da Vinci Code” is coming out soon, as a movie. Most already know that, and most already know that there will be some upset in the Christian community about this movie. Personally, I’m saddened to think that little Opie, AKA Ron Howard, has decided to invest so much time and energy to produce something that tries to disprove the reality of Christ.

It seems we grew up together, Opie and Andy and Aunt Bee and I. My brother still watches the reruns of the “Andy Griffith Show” to this day. It’s his favorite. And who could ever forget Barney Fife? What a character he was! One bullet for his gun, carried in his pocket…just in case! Now Opie’s a grown man, having done so well in the TV/Movie industry. He even made one of my favorite stories into a movie, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.” He did such a good job with that! And now “The Da Vinci Code” will soon be released. I’m sure it will be an amazing movie, effects wise, and I’m sure many will go to see it. With Tom Hanks as the star, it’s bound to draw big crowds. But I wonder, with all the amazing effects, what will be the effect on those who go? Will their lives be enhanced by it? Will they find joy in it? Will it fill them with hope, or simply leave them confused and doubting?

I guess what bothers me the most is that life is tough enough, and in a time when so many are searching for truth and for hope, this movie could have the opposite effect. It could call into question who Christ is, what His life really meant and if Christianity is all just a hoax with cover-ups and deceptions and lies…

Now, there’s nothing wrong with searching for the truth, and uncovering anything that might be false, but I wonder if with a movie like this, with a book like this and many others that have been written throughout history, if those searching for “truth” are searching in the wrong place? If we dive into a pile of trash looking for a sparkling diamond, we’re not likely to find one. But if we go into a diamond mine, looking for even just the rough beginnings of what can be mined, cut, and polished into a finished diamond, our chance of succeeding is far greater.

Why do so many who are looking for truth, not look in God’s Book of Truth? Why not go to what “could be” the source of all life, to the Bible, and at least give God a chance? Why not open up our heart to the greatest Hope of all mankind, Jesus Christ, and see if His gift of saving grace applies to our life? Is it so much easier to open up our minds to a book of fiction than to a book of Truth?

Why are we so afraid to perhaps discover that Jesus Christ is exactly who He says He is? That’s certainly not something we should fear, but instead, hope for!! Why would we not hope for a Savior who wants to forgive us for anything we’ve ever done wrong or will do wrong, and who wants to welcome us into His Eternal Kingdom when our life on this earth is through? What’s so horrible about that? What are we running from?

If those willing to see “The Da Vinci Code” also saw “The Passion of the Christ,” then we might have a discussion. The reason I would see “The Da Vinci Code” is so that I could be part of those discussions. To be aware of what those questioning the Truth of Jesus Christ have been distracted with along the way. The movie is not something to fear, but something to be informed about. Christianity will not be destroyed because someone wrote a book and made a movie trying to disprove it. If God is true, then God is true, and nothing will ever change that fact.

In Acts we can read about that very thing. As the Apostles were out spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, the high council was furious and tried to kill them. There was a man named Gamaliel who was an expert on religious law. His advice was, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men! Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About four hundred others joined him, but he was killed, and his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing…so my advice is, leave these men alone. If they are teaching and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
(Acts 5:35-36 & 38-39 NLT)

Our job is not to fight the movie, but to keep on “feeding the sheep.”

When Jesus was about to leave earth for Heaven, after His resurrection, He asked Peter three times if he loved Him. (John 21) Peter got a little upset at being asked three times, but Jesus was being emphatic about something here. He asked Peter, “Do you love me?” And when he answered that of course he did, Jesus then asked Peter to feed His sheep. Why did Jesus do that? And who are Jesus’ sheep?

We are the sheep, and Jesus is the Shepherd. He wanted us to be taken care of by those who love Him. Jesus wants those who know Him and love Him to help others know Him and feel His love. He wants those who love Him, to encourage those who are hungry and thirsty in this world, to feed those who are empty something more than what this world has to offer. He wants us to offer each other hope and joy and peace through all the trials of life.

A perfect example of this is the day I arrived at church on a cold, wintry morning a few years ago…a woman I don’t know very well came up to me. She looked me in the eye, and she said, “Do you think they’re cold?” I knew exactly what she meant. There was not a question in my mind, either about her question or about the answer Jesus would want me to give her. I said, “No, they are not cold…” You see, her son was also buried in the ground, as ours was, and she was worried about him.

When I think about that question to this day, and the answer I gave her, I think about Jesus hanging on the cross next to the criminal, the one who acknowledged Him as Lord. The criminal said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assured you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43 NLT) Jesus didn’t say, “Look, I’m going to die today, and rise again in three days, but you’ll die today and in about 2,000 plus years I’ll see you again in heaven. He “assured” him that today he would be with him in paradise. He would not be buried in the cold, hard ground and wait it out there. My job, as a believer in Jesus Christ, is to encourage mothers, or anyone else who is worried, that what is buried in the ground is not their child or their loved one. My job is to remind them that what is buried there is only the tent they inhabited here on earth. Their soul/spirit lives on, as Jesus does, in a much better place than we can imagine.

Do we love Jesus? If we do, we will do this! We will do everything we possibly can to spread the Good News Jesus left us with! Jesus “fed” us when He walked on this earth with His love, His miracles, His life, His death and His resurrection. He now asks us to do the same, to love one another with His love so we can endure the trials that come, and arrive safely Home when our time on earth is finished. True friends will help to feed one another along the way.

The other day I was having a discussion with a young woman I work with. We were talking about many things, but one of the things I said in that discussion was that if I were not absolutely convinced that I would see my son again, I would have no joy in this life. When I start to waver in my faith, I start to question what we’re all even doing here. The enemy, Satan, is still alive and well and working hard to distract everyone on earth, so these battles still rage. The Word of God brings me back to what is true.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love.
Death can’t, and life can’t. The angles can’t, and the demons can’t.
Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers
of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Romans 8:38 (NLT)

When we’re facing the worst moments of our life, these are the words we need to hear. This is the Truth we need to cling to. If we go digging around in the garbage can, things can get pretty messy! The Good News is the “food” we are to feed each other that Jesus talked about.

Lately, as I’ve been thinking about “The Da Vinci Code” and other such movies, articles, books, and even those I might simply have a discussion with about the reality of Christ and eternity…I wonder, why would anyone try to persuade others that a belief in something so magnificent is wrong? Why would anyone want to sit a mother down, one who has said good-bye to a much loved child, and convince her in any way, shape or form that all that she clings to, all that she hopes for, all that brings her joy, is hogwash? Why would anyone want to cause a devastated heart any more hurt than has already been inflicted in their life?

Isn’t that what is happening with those who will argue against eternal life with Christ? Aren’t they saying to my face, “You will not see your child again. Don’t even hope for that!”? Isn’t that what Ron Howard is saying as he pours all his time and energy into this movie? Isn’t that what the author Dan Brown is saying as he spends valuable time writing a book of fiction that causes doubts to fill a generation of people? Wouldn’t it be so much more worthwhile to make movies and write books that bring hope beyond all hope? To create something that can help the hurting, the depressed and the downtrodden—helping others discover that God’s Promises are true instead? Why would some work so hard to bring everyone bad news instead of the Good News of Jesus Christ?

The Bible does not flinch on these issues, why should we as Christians? The Bible says, “…if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless….And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished! And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world!” 1 Corinthians 15:14 & 17-19 (NLT)

“But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again.” 1 Corinthians 15:20 (NLT)

And the more we are in the Word, and the more we are fed the food of Christ from other believers, the more we fall in love with our Lord, are filled with His Hope, and long to follow Him all the way Home to Heaven!

In all that I have experienced in losing Phil, in walking through his battle against cancer with him, in helping him during his final days on this earth, in being with him during his departure and in crying bucket-loads of tears since that time, if I have learned nothing else, I have learned that Jesus Christ is true! I know that others came along to “feed” us during this time, just when we needed it. I know that what Jesus’ asked Peter to do, is what Jesus is still asking those who love Him to do to this day. To help them know that Jesus Christ has made a way through all the circumstances of life! That He is our Hope! Our Eternity! Our Joy! If we’re looking for a purpose in life, there it is--to feed everyone we know and have yet to meet with this eternal food of Hope.

Why would we not? Why would we not share something that can comfort, heal, give hope, restore and give great joy to someone’s life? I will not be quiet about who the Lord is now that I know Him! Now that I’ve seen what He can do with a broken heart, with a broken world, one person at a time.

When Phil died, I didn’t go searching out all the things that would disprove heaven. How dumb would that be? To go looking for something that would devastate me more? I didn’t go digging in the garbage to make myself more miserable. I dove into God’s Word, hoping that all of God’s promises were true. I went where encouraging words were spoken, I listened to music that spoke to my soul, I gathered with friends who knew the Truth and shared it with me. I wanted to know that what I believed was Absolute Truth, and if I found it to be true, I would depend on it to sustain me in this life that I now live without my youngest son here with me.

I found it to be true, and it not only sustains me to this day, it invigorates me, excites me and gives me a hope and a joy that nothing else on this earth can even come close to!

We need never fear diving headfirst into Truth. The deeper we dive, the more truth we will find. Just as the deeper we dive into “The Da Vinci Code,” the more falsity we will find. Oh sure, it can make for an interesting read, or an interesting movie, but there is no rock solid foundation there. It’s a work of fiction, by a man who writes great fiction! We love many movies that have super drama, great story lines and visual effects, but we don’t go away, as adults, believing it to be true.

Jim and I watched “Flight Plan” last night. A movie about a little girl who disappears on a huge airplane, and her mother searches for her throughout the whole movie--all over the airplane. After the movie, we watched how it was made and saw how they built the set, where they put the cameras, how they rigged it all so it could be filmed to look real, to make it dramatic--but in actuality it was all fiction, not something we would base our lives on. It wasn’t even a real airplane!

When things are false, there are so many cover-ups. So many things that are made to look real, but are not. There are many false religions out there that put up a good front, that sound good, but underneath there are hidden things going on that many are never allowed to see or hear. If that is true about what we put our faith in, we may want to dig deeper and make sure we are believing the Truth. With the one true God, we never need fear asking more questions, looking deeper into His Word, questioning and searching for more understanding. God will shed His light into any darkness we have, because in Him there is no darkness at all.

In a book I’m reading called, “Cracking the Da Vinci Code” by James L. Garlow and Peter Jones, they write, “Biblical spirituality is very different from Gnostic spirituality. There are no secret chambers, no drumming, dancing, drugs, or technologies to produce altered states of consciousness. In fact, Jesus commanded that there be no babbling of mantras (Matthew 6:7). There are no secret rituals or ceremonies. On the contrary, unbelievers are openly invited to participate in the church’s celebrations (1 Corinthians 14:22-25; an exception is made for the Lord’s Supper, which is for believers only). The tone of openness was set by Jesus, who stated, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in the synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret” (John 18:20 ESV). He commanded His disciples to preach from the rooftops (Matthew 10:27).

(Please note, the reason participating in the Lord’s Supper is for believers only, is because by taking the bread, and by drinking the wine, it is making a statement that we agree to this covenant with God. For those that don’t yet believe, it would mean nothing.)

Sometimes we fear. Sometimes we think if we question God too much, we may find that all that we believe is a hoax--that maybe we should just stay on the surface of our faith because if we go to deep, what might we find? And then we get nervous when anyone tries to disprove what we believe. Why? Because they start to rock the little boat with the “little god” we say we believe in. We get defensive and will argue our point, but do we even know what our point is? They come up with good arguments against the truth, just like in “The Da Vinci Code,” and many of us might even begin to question and fear where we put our hope.

So how do we stop this? We dive deep into the Truth, and make it our own. We draw close to our God, so He will draw close to us. We become friends with our Lord, get to know Him, and love Him as we begin to understand how much He loves us. We begin to understand that staying on the shallow surface will leave us on shaky ground, so we start to spend more and more time in the Word of God, and in prayer, and in getting to know what we believe. We begin to depend on God, and find that He can be depended on. We start to live our faith, and it starts to live in us.

Oswald Chambers writes:

“When you do get through to abandonment to God, you will be the most surprised and delighted creature on earth; God has got you absolutely and has given you your life.”

The temptation, in this world, is to dive into the garbage, to open up our hearts to all that is false and be tempted to believe that it is true. If we would do the same with God, dive into His Truth and open up our hearts to it’s possibilities, we would be so surprised and delighted at what we would find. It would be more gripping than any movie ever produced! The Bible would be more gripping than any book we have ever read! The stories would be more alive, more heart-warming, more inspiring than anything we have ever heard before! God is NOT a boring God! He is exciting, thrill-packed and sensational God!

A life in God is a life worth living!
Why would we want anyone to try and convince us otherwise?
Anything else falls way short of being fulfilling!

A true friend is one who cares. It’s someone who tries his/her best to help us in this life. They come alongside of us when we are struggling and give us words of encouragement. They help us have hope when we are hopeless, joy when we are sad, comfort when we are hurting…anyone who comes against that way of thinking is not here for our benefit. They are here for the benefit of instilling doubt, fear, confusion and probably their own agenda into our lives.

Why listen to those who are digging up the garbage all around and are wanting to spread it all over us, instead of those who are digging into the Truth and wanting to cover our lives with its joy?

“Do you love me? Feed my sheep.”
Not lies, not fiction, not things that will cause confusion and doubt--but truth, and hope and love and encouragement that comes from the promises of God.
That’s a true friend in our lives.

That’s the Friend we have in Jesus!

Amen!
Diane