The Apple of His Eye - A poem in an essay

Deuteronomy 32:10 (KJV) “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.”

Psalm 17:8-9 (KJV) “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.”

Zechariah 2:7-9 (ESV)“Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye:“Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me.”

Strong’s Definitions

בָּבָה bâbâh, baw-baw'; feminine active participle of an unused root meaning to hollow out; something hollowed (as a gate), i.e. pupil of the eye:—apple (of the eye).

I am the apple of  Elohim’s eye. He follows me everywhere I go. He sees everything: what is behind me, and what is in front.  I am like his cherished infant, his beloved wife, his greatest treasure. He never lets me out of his sight.  

He sees me from all directions at once- inside and out. What I feel; where I walk. Since I walk in his sphere, his influence is everywhere. Each person I connect with, each object that I touch all exists within him.  If an accident should befall me, it would only be by his permission, in his purpose, and for his glory. 

When I remember the Lord in this life, he is pleased.  The yellow snapdragons that delight my sight are for me.  The lilacs fragrance the air for me.  The warmth of my blanket upon my lap, the light of the lamp at my side, the friend who calls me on the phone - are all his good and perfect gifts.

The mystery is how does God see all the apples of his eye at the same time? When we meet with each other, are we not each chosen and precious in his sight?  It is like a circle within a circle -his eye on me and around me - yet also on all of those he calls his own.   My eyes upon him and upon those I love. So we circle round each other and live in interconnecting rings. Yet we are more than rings - we are three dimensional and full. Like polished stones built upon each other creating a living structure greater than our individual parts.  

How mysterious - how this takes me outside of myself and my own small world - Are we not also becoming transparent - seeing His Spirit in each other? Like glass stones filled with light? Like streets of gold and buildings bright?  Like fruit hanging from a tree? Or Christmas lights hung on boughs and eaves? Like stars flung across the night: we twinkle and dance and build the very structure of the great expanse called space.  Even in the tiniest cell of life, are we not still quarks of light?

So the universe becomes our playground, our building site, our garden bright, our amphitheater.

Praying to Saint Nick

I was thinking about the veneration of saints as practiced by Catholics and Orthodox believers.  To most Protestants, this is a strange custom and practice, but I think I understand its beginnings.

Let’s say my pastor is arrested for the sermon he gave this week.  A rather uncompromising exposition on Deuteronomy 22:5: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.”  As you can imagine, not a favored verse by the ‘transgender community.” Reverend Spratt explained that anything that messes with God’s image or human sexuality (which is made in God’s image) is called an abomination by the Lord.  Of course the thought police think that anyone who calls transgenders or homosexuals an abomination are themselves abominable.  Which puts us into a difficult dilemma - Do we believe God’s word or current cultural beliefs and practices?  

Let’s say the thought police have taken over all government offices (or have they done that already?).    My pastor is found guilty of hate speech and (after refusing “reeducation”) “accidentally” dies in prison.  The rest of the church is put on notice.  We would certainly have the greatest respect and reverence for our martyred pastor who basically died for preaching God's Word.  We might even put a photograph of him on a wall in our church.  We might even have a yearly remembrance of his bravery and sacrifice.

I am sure this is how the veneration of the saints began.  Early Christians remembered their leaders who stood firm and loved not their life unto death.  Some of my former Soviet Union students - adults and mostly Baptists - have told me that in their churches in Ukraine and Russia, they fasted on Fridays for all of their loved ones who had been sent to Siberia and were never heard from again. Remembering our brothers and sisters in the faith who have sacrificed much is a good thing.  It puts our lives in proper perspective.  It reminds our children that at many times in history, being a Christian has required great sacrifice. It gives us courage to stand for difficult and unpopular positions.  There is one potential problem with this kind of veneration however.  

Synonyms of venerate include regard highly, reverence, worship, hold sacred, exalt, adore, honor, respect, and esteem.  The multi-faceted definitions of this word are part of the problem. To regard highly, respect, and honor a Christian (and fellow saint) who has lived and died for the Lord is good.  To worship, hold sacred, or exalt this person is not.  We are to only worship our God and creator. We are to only pray to him.  Praying to a fellow servant of Christ is idolatry. Jesus told us and showed us how to pray - we are to pray to our father in heaven, not to our brother who died before we were born.  Worshipful veneration of a human being does not happen in a person's life time. It takes time - at least a generation or two after a person has lived when most of his/her friends and family are dead - before one would consider praying to this person to ask for assistance. Because our acquaintances are well acquainted with their friends and families' many shortcomings. Even though I think my Pastor Spratt is a very nice man, if you actually knew him, it would probably not occur to you to pray to him.  Human beings only get that kind of reverence if no one actually knows them.

This extends to all the saints who have passed before me.  Even the Lord’s mother - who perhaps I would be tempted to kneel before if I ever met her - but I am most certain she would refuse this kind of attention as do the angels from heaven (Revelation 22:9).  “Look to my son,” she would say.  “Pray to our father in heaven.”

The Great Tribulation

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).

The term tribulation comes from an ancient agricultural tool that was used to separate the wheat from the chaff. The tribulum is a thick rectangular board that has sharp razor like blades which are used to cut up the wheat so when it is winnowed, the wheat kernel is easily separated from the straw or chaff.  The Greek word thilipisis is used 42 times in the New Testament.  The King James Bible usually translates it as tribulation, but other translations often use the terms affliction, anguish, burdened, persecution, pressure, and trouble instead. Besides wheat and barley harvest, thilipisis is also a term used for the grape harvest when the grapes are pressed down to release their juice.  Breaking up grains and crushing grapes is what humans do to increase their enjoyment of these crops. However people do not usually want to experience any breaking or crushing in their own lives because that sounds painful!   Very few among us volunteer for afflictions, burdens, and troubles except maybe those headed to the mission field.   However, if we view our Lord as the harvester who wants to enjoy his crops (his followers), perhaps we can see our problems in a better light.

When Jesus told John that in the world we (the followers of Jesus) will see tribulation this is an observation for all believers in all times.  Life itself is filled with trouble and pressure that beats us down.  When burdens, affliction, and persecutions are added to this we can feel the metaphorical blades of the tribulum cutting us up into small pieces.  The greater the trial, the more superfluous the worthless chaff in our life becomes.  We experience a divorce - how important is the steak we planned for dinner?  We find out a parent is dying - Do we even think about whether we can afford to buy the latest gizmo in those times? Sometimes it is not a sudden problem but a small trial that has been festering for a long time.  When unexpected troubles hit our faith either grows or shrivels up.   Has the word of life been planted in good soil or in rock?  If our faith grows, then we trust that when God is done winnowing us there will be something of value left behind - some wheat that can be ground into flour to make bread that nourishes others.

The most difficult affliction may come from circumstances out of our control.  Tribulation for believers is now occurring throughout the world.  Christians are being persecuted in many countries and even in the US, many see increased persecution in the near future.  However without the tribulum, we get no wheat.  The winnowing not only works within our life but also in the greater body of the church.  Tribulation separates the casual Christian from those who are willing to give up their lives.  And persecution gathers together those who claim to follow Jesus Christ.  When the chaff is blown away by the wind, I expect we will be delighted and surprised at who remains - especially those who worship in a different houses on Sundays.

Tribulation is a gift to the church and in our own life.  Tribulation tests our faith. It spots our weaknesses and our sins that yet need to be burned.  For the chaff that does not get blown away gets burned in the fire.  This shaking of the church is leaving behind what is true and good.  Yes, an occasional stone is left in the wheat, but this too will get picked out before the final grinding.  That grinding when flour is turned into bread and our lowly bodies are transformed into something beautiful and eternal.

The uniting factor of tribulation is perhaps the most exciting aspect, for although we strive for unity, it is really a work of the Holy Spirit.  Our unity will not be found in church affiliation, but in our our love and obedience to Jesus Christ.  This love and obedience is most evident when we stand together on his word and his creation.  In our day and time both marriage and gender seem to be the defining issues that bring us together or divide us.  For the Christian the issue is not political or cultural  but a matter of trust in God’s good and perfect design and in his word.   The instruments that the Lord uses to thresh us are different in different ages and cultures, but these instruments help us to grow in faith.  Faith in the final work of our bloody savior, his resurrection from the dead, and his glorious ascension to the right hand of the father.