We all use labels to help us define and evaluate others.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Why all the fuss about labels?
Last time, we discussed how labels are a technique we use to (try) and make sense of our world. They provide us with a certain measure of stability, certainty, comfort, and security. Labels can be problematic because they are formed in the crucible of our limited understanding and emotional needs, yet once formed, they are often “cast in stone.” When we find that a trusted label is being challenged, we usually fight hard to defend it – especially when it is a core belief. When a core belief is proven wrong, we may suffer from depression, a feeling of losing control, or a major reevaluation of our life and what other labels we may have wrong. As a result, we tend to cling to our core beliefs “as if” our life depended upon them. Labels not only define who we are, but they also help us define our view of the world and the people in it. In that sense, another phrase for some “labels” might be “core belief.”
What are your core beliefs?
When was the last time you conducted an inventory of them – much less challenged them? Many of us are afraid to go down that trail because we don’t want to face the possibility that we may have gotten it wrong. This is why I love the Bible so much! Only God has the ultimate perspective on everything! He sees every issue from every angle and never labels any of it incorrectly! (Probably because He set up every issue and every label and defines the rules by which they operate). I’ve been studying the Bible for over 60 years now, and, as so many have said before me, every time I open up that book and read it, I see something new. How is that? I would contend that when that happens, God is providing us with another view from His perspective! Because God is infinite, I imagine that I will never stop seeing new revelations in His word!
The Bible has an Infinite Number of Layers
I wanted to make this point because I believe that God’s Word is constantly revealing itself to us (both individually and collectively) as time progresses. As Amos 3:7 (NIV) says: “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.” Or, as Titus 1:3 (TLV) put it, “But in His own time He made His message known, through a proclamation with which I was entrusted, by the command of God our Savior.” Do you believe in the concept of progressive revelation? Don’t confuse this with the lie that some put forth that God needs to occasionally “update” His Word because the message has changed. That is never the case. God is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow. But, as the Bible makes clear, not all messages are revealed simultaneously. Think about how God slowly revealed Jesus over many centuries. Even today, there are many widely varying thoughts on how to interpret God’s prophetic messages about the End Times (as well as a host of other topics).
That last sentence is crucial. All interpretations of scripture are just that, interpretations. Some may be more informed than others, but all are just an attempt to get into the mind of God and make sense of His message. With that in mind, let’s address the question I closed my last blog with – Does God see the Jews as:
- His (still) Chosen People?
- His guinea pig (or trial balloon) people (e.g., a people He sacrificed to make a point)?
- His great embarrassment people (e.g., a people who blew their chance to please God)?
What do you think? Do you think God’s answer has changed over the years? I think not. Psalms 146 is just one of many examples where God answers this question (NIV):
5Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
The Jews are still God’s Chosen People! That label remains a constant in God’s mind and in His plan – not only for them – but for the whole world! Yet, we Christians have a hard time reconciling that label with our label that requires everyone who will be saved and go to heaven must be a Christian. Will God let those Jews who do not accept Christ perish? What does your gut tell you? Mine says that God must have a plan to rescue those He has chosen from the beginning of the world. Anything less would be inconsistent with the God I know – who loves all His people with a passion and who works every day to ensure that no one will perish without a fight! The interpretation I propose in my book of God’s plan for the Jews may differ from other Biblical scholars. Yet, it has always been the case that both scholars and laypeople have found many ways to decipher the meaning of God’s holy scriptures (45,000 ways?!?) I believe that God expects that because, to put it simply, none of us are God, and only God can explain or interpret what He truly means. God expressed this very clearly through His prophet, Isaiah.
13 Who has known the mind of the Lord
or been able to give him advice?
14 Whom did he ask for help?
Who taught him the right way?
Who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way to understanding? Isaiah 40: 13-14 (NCV)
If you believe in your heart that God will not and has not abandoned His people, then the question is – “How will He do it without bypassing Jesus – a known requirement for their salvation?” That is the message God has given me to share in my book, “God (still) has BIG plans for the Jews!”
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