Daniel N. Lee

A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow

Day 33: Zeal (John 2:16-17)

In the time of Jesus there was a sect of devout Jews who were patriots to the extreme. Rome would label them as terrorists. They devoted themselves to God and country, specializing in guerrilla warfare and stealth assassinations. They were militia men in civilian clothing. Ultimately they would be the last holdouts in a devastating war against Rome that would end with a mass suicide within the confines of the desert fortress known as Masada.

These were the Zealots.

Were they right? In their own eyes, obviously. As the name implies they were definitely zealous – meaning they were full of “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.” The objective was to bring about the kingdom of God and reestablish Israel as an independent nation by defeating and driving out the Roman occupation.

Zeal can be a virtue or a vice depending on where it’s focused. Many people across our nation are zealous about pro-life issues or environmental protections. Others are zealous about preserving tax cuts for the rich and upholding the causes of multi-billion dollar corporations. Some are zealous defenders of the status quo and will fight against any sort of change.

What was Jesus zealous about?

When he cleared the Temple of those clogging up the space with price-gouged sacrificial animals and rip-off rates of money exchange, his disciples couldn’t help but think of the Scripture that says, “Zeal for your house has consumed me.”

Jesus’ zeal, his cause or objective which he pursued with energy and enthusiasm, was not preserving the status quo. Jesus was passionate about opening up access to the Father as wide as he could. He wanted all people from everywhere to be able to worship God freely at the Temple. He wanted his followers to know and experience the Father just like he did. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, opening up access to everyone to come to the Father through himself.

What are you zealous for? When was the last time you felt zeal about something? Where are you directing your energy and enthusiasm? What cause or objective are you pursuing?

Let Jesus be our guide, to focus on the things that mattered most to him.

A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow

Day 31: Full of Truth (John 1:17)

John’s gospel talks a lot about truth, to the point where Governor Pontius Pilate asks point blank, “What is truth?” Little did he know Truth was standing in front of him.

Back in 2005 Stephen Colbert coined the term “truthiness.” I think we all know what he means by that, but in case you’re having a hard time with it, truthiness means “the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true.” Even as we the people cry out “I want the truth!” the new media and government officials spit back “That truth doesn’t fit my narrative, so I’m gonna spin and twist the truth to be whatever I want it to be!”

Sure it doesn’t flow as well as Jack Nicholson on the fictional witness stand, but you get the point.

People say they like leaders who “tell it like it is,” when in reality we like leaders who tell us what we want to hear. We’ve always been that way. It’s nothing new. But when we live in a world overrun with lies and spin and bias and “truthiness” how do we know who to listen to?

Jesus said his sheep know his voice.

Jesus wasn’t just full of truth, Jesus IS the truth. Jesus doesn’t just say that God’s word is true, he says God’s word IS truth.

The world needs both grace and truth. The world needs to hear “Neither do I condemn you, now go and sin no more.” We need to be better at “speaking the truth in love.”

Truth without grace is cold, judgmental, unsympathetic. It causes us to become defensive and argumentative. Grace without truth is wishy-washy sentimentality. It breeds a laissez-faire attitude about life and morality.

We’re prone to overcorrect to one extreme or another. That’s why we need Jesus. He was the living embodiment of grace and truth. The phrase “full of grace and truth” is straight out of Exodus 34:6-7, “The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.”

Jesus will really tell it like it is, but you won’t feel beaten up afterward. He is “grace and truth” in the flesh.

A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow

Day 30: Full of Grace (John 1:14 & 16)

We all love the song Amazing Grace, written by John Newton. What you may not know is although Newton would spend his later years in ministry working for the cause of abolition in Great Britain, his early life was spent as a captain of a slave ship. He sailed enslaved Africans across the sea to be sold off into a life of misery. It was only after a severe storm nearly sank his vessel that he began to pursue the divine. Eventually he left the life on sea behind and pursued a career in ministry. Reflecting on his life, he penned the words “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound! that saved a wretch like me…” while he was still financially supporting the slave trade.

It would take many more years for him to come around to the fact that the Atlantic slave trade was fully evil and needed to be abolished.

Where would we be without grace?

Sometimes the grace of Christ hits us over the head and immediately causes us to course-correct. I think of the story of Paul who went from persecuting Christians to becoming a missionary for Christ. I think of the blind man in John 9 who became a follower of Christ after regaining his sight, hence the famous line, “I was blind, but now I see.”

Sometimes grace is a bit slower, yet nonetheless persistent. We see this in people like Nicodemus who slowly grows in his commitment to Christ throughout the gospel of John.

In fact, the more time I spend in the gospels the more I realize that Jesus’ grace is the primary source of transformation. People rarely change their ways when their sins are called out. Deep down we all know the truth (we’ll get to truth in the next post). The woman at the well knew she didn’t have her life together. The woman caught in adultery knew she was guilty. The paralyzed man knew he had no other way to be made well.

That’s why John opens his gospel by confessing we’ve all received “grace upon grace.” That’s why Paul could say confidently, “by the grace of God I am what I am.”

I’ll leave you with this from Philip Yancey’s book, What’s So Amazing About Grace:

“The Christian life, I believe, does not primarily center on ethics or rules but rather involves a new way of seeing. I escape the force of spiritual ‘gravity’ when I begin to see myself as a sinner who cannot please God by any method of self-improvement or self-enlargement. Only then can I turn to God for outside help–for grace–and to my amazement I learn that a holy God already loves me despite my defects. I escape the force of gravity again when I recognize my neighbors also as sinners, loved by God. A grace-full Christian is one ho looks at the world through ‘grace-tinted lenses.'”

A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow

Day 29: Just (Luke 4:17-21)

When was the last time you read or heard about something our government leaders were doing and thought, “Yeah, that’s good. That’s the way it should be”?

Let’s be real, trust in government officials is about as low as it can get while still maintaining a society. Even those who vote Republican are disappointed with Republicans and those who vote Democrat are disappointed with the Democrats. We can’t rely on elected officials to keep any of their campaign promises, let alone go above and beyond.

Sometimes the most we can hope for is that they “Do no harm.” Maybe just not to be as corrupt as the last guy or gal. When we vote for the “lesser of two evils” we’re still voting for evil (as Geralt of Rivia reminds us).

But what about a leader who is truly “just” (based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair)? Would we want that? Would we respond well to someone who follows through on setting things right and making everything as it should be? You may say you want that kind of leader in power – until he/she challenges your own unjust notions and prejudices.

When Jesus began his public ministry, he started out reading a passage from Isaiah about a time when God’s servant, empowered by God’s Spirit, would begin to set things right – bringing healing and freedom and redemption. Then after reading this well known Scripture he informed his listeners that this very prophecy is being fulfilled in their hearing.

You would think they would be ecstatic. You’d think they would be parading him around the streets, cheering him on and praising God. But the story ends with them trying to throw him off a cliff! 

Why? Because he reminded them of their own history – how God is working to set things right not just for them as Israelites, but also for the Gentiles. He reminds them of the story of the Sidonian widow who was saved through Elijah. And he reminds them of the Syrian general Naaman who was healed of leprosy by Elisha.

In setting things right for the whole world, some of the Jews thought they were being shortchanged. But they weren’t being deprived of anything when others received God’s blessings, too.

Ultimately Jesus’ radical inclusion of everyone into God’s kingdom would lead to his death. But it’s through his own death and resurrection that Jesus was truly able to bring about the Kingdom of heaven here on earth.

A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow

Day 28: Discernment (Mark 12:34)

Discernment is a word we don’t use all that often. I think we should bring it back. Discernment, in my understanding, is where investigation and intuition meet. It’s the conjunction of evidence and emotion. It requires wisdom, knowledge, and insight with a little bit of “IYKYK.”

Some of my favorite interactions between Jesus and others are the debates with the religious leaders. They think they’ve got a trap question, like “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?” or “If a woman has seven husbands and they all die, then whose wife will she be in the resurrection?” But he always sees right through their ploy and knows their motives.

Sometimes he answers them in a way that shuts them up. Other times he simply refuses to take the bait.

But I also love the moments when an ordinary person is recognized by Jesus for their extraordinary faith or grasp of Scripture. The Centurion, the Canaanite woman, the Samaritan woman at the well, and the lawyer in Mark 12 all impressed Jesus. He knew they were genuine. He knew these people “got it” or were just on the verge of getting it.

John’s gospel gives us a little insight into this part of Jesus. He didn’t need to be told what kind of person someone was – he just knew. He knew the hearts of these men and women, whether they had strong faith or whether they were engaged in bad faith arguments.

Jesus had a way of finding a third  and better answer to a two-option question. He encouraged his followers to be more nuanced, to see things from a new perspective, to recognize the fruit of certain lifestyles. He told his disciples to be “as innocent as doves and as shrewd as snakes.” Otherwise they (and we) might be tossed about like a ship in a storm.

Keep your head on a swivel. Pay attention – eyes up. Really listen to what people are saying (and aren’t saying). Practice good judgment so you won’t get swept up in the latest outrage. Try to see things from a different, higher, more heavenly perspective.

A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow

Day 27: Responsiveness (Mark 5:30)

One indicator of good leadership, in my opinion, is the ability to respond rather than react. It’s something I’m trying to get better at, honestly.

Too many leaders today are reactive. There always has to be a hot-take, an opinion, a “heated discussion” about whatever is happening in the world. And our “leaders” are reacting with harsh words, thoughtless actions, and all kinds of negative emotions.

But there’s a reason EMTs are more respected and highly thought of than our politicians and newscasters. First responders are trained to do exactly that – respond. They have to know what to do in any given situation, no matter how intense, dangerous, or life-threatening. The last thing you want from a first responder is panic.

Just as Jesus was never rushed or hurried, he also never panicked. Storm threatening to sink the boat? No worries. A demon-possessed man running out to you screaming? Calm, cool, and collected. Crowd wanting to arrest and kill him? Ope, just gonna slip right past ya.

We want leaders who keep their composure, not panic. Who respond with a plan, not react in fear or anger. Who remain confidently in charge of the situation, not abandoning ship.

But there’s one story in particular where maybe Jesus should have been a bit more rushed, maybe even panicked. He was on the way to heal a little girl who was sick to the point of death. The crowds were pressing in against him as they tried to make their way to the house. But then Jesus stopped. He was so in tune with God’s power at work within him that he felt someone get healed by touching his clothes.

He stopped. Time is of the essence, and he stopped in the middle of the road and wouldn’t proceed until he figured out what happened. Finally a woman came forward, and Jesus commended her faith.

Jesus was responsive to the needs of others. She needed not just healing but restoration into the community. Jesus knew her story needed to be told.

But what about the girl? Oh, she died. But she got better.

Like Jesus, let’s be more responsive and less reactive.

A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow

Day 26: Comfort (Matthew 11:28-30)

We all like to be comfortable. Sometimes we take that to the extreme. How many of us stocked up on comfy pants during COVID lockdowns? You probably have a comfortable chair you always sit in. You develop routines because going through the same routines is comfortable.

There are definitely times when Jesus challenges this kind of comfort – take up your cross and follow me, and so on. But Jesus also offered comfort, too. The crowds were like sheep without a shepherd. They were living under an oppressive governmental system, made worse by an oppressive religious system, too. Life seemed bleak and hopeless for many.

The prevailing idea was that if they just tried hard enough and followed the religious laws closely enough, then God would act on their behalf to drive out the oppressors and reestablish Israel as an independent nation once again. It was a pipe dream. No one could live up to that level of religious perfection.

It was like a heavy yoke strapped around your shoulders weighing you down. You couldn’t win! There were no good options for the average Jew.

And then Jesus came along. He empowered people to break free from the yokes of bondage, whether political or religious. He offered a new way, a way that was difficult, yes, but it ultimately brought freedom and comfort.

If you’re weary, stressed out, riddled with anxiety, struggling under the weight of life – come to Jesus. No yelling. No judgment. No “you should…” No “if I were you…” No “I told you so.”

Just rest and peace and comfort. His yoke is easy – there is still work to do but he is no slave driver. His burden is light – take the weight off your shoulders and let him carry it for a bit. He’s humble and gentle, no drill sergeant. You’ll find rest for the deep part of you that’s always tired. Real rest.

A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow

Day 25: Power (Mark 4:41)

I don’t think most of us know what real power is.

We can get close. Maybe you’ve been to an Indy Car race as the drivers barrel down the track at breakneck speeds, engines roaring. Maybe you’ve been to a monster truck rally, as the vehicular behemoths fly through the air over a pile of crushed cars. Maybe you’ve seen a feat of athletic performance that left you stunned and speechless.

But what is real power? What would we even do if we encountered it?

We have the technology to predict a storm, but we are nowhere near powerful enough to stop a storm dead in its tracks. We can treat mental illness, but we are nowhere near powerful enough to cure someone outright. We can provide medical treatment, but we can’t bring the dead back to life.

Jesus could. He could do all those things. Mark 4:35 through the end of ch 5 contains the most prominent displays of Christ’s power while here on earth. He calmed a storm, drove out demons, healed an incurable disease, and raised a girl from the dead.

And how did people react? They were terrified!

Which is more terrifying: the storm or someone who can control the weather? the demons or the one who can command the demons? death or the one who can bend it to his own will?

When we come face to face with real power we can’t help but be dreadfully aware of our own powerlessness – and that’s horrifying. God’s power is something to be feared, revered, and respected. But God is good. Jesus is good. The Spirit is good.

Let’s reflect in awe and wonder on the one whose power is on full display around us and in us and through us.