So after thinking over the last post (ok, maybe the last few, maybe this whole ridiculous thing) I realized it seems so mundane, so provincial and self-referential. Complaining about a minor cold when there are REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS GOING ON IN THE WORLD. Right? Things more important than minor marital issues or disgusting soup. I’m a big complainer, and I am trying to be better. Really and truly.
But (sort of). I’ve been reading Leviticus recently, and it’s been making me think about how grace (atonement, hesed, cleanliness) comes right in the middle of the family quarrel (ch. 3). When we make those stupid mistakes (ch 4). When babies are born (ch 12). Fingers of grace touch the diseased skin, wipe the runny nose, maybe even listen to the trillionth sniffle (chs 13-14). Healing comes into the messed up homes (14:33ff), with cedarwood and hyssop. and they’re not just symbols, they really make things better. The Lord doesn’t require his people to elevate themselves to lofty heights (fancy careers, shiny cars, noble pursuits, sinlessness, perfection). He comes right down to the broken places. The accidental words spoken. The thing we knew better than to do but did anyway. The sores in our flesh that we can’t just wash away. Nothing is off limits to the Lord. Nothing is too ordinary. He even enters closed bedroom doors (ch. 15) and claims sex. Our visions of romance. What we do with our bodies. The beauty of the Pentateuch is that even the pots and pans and donkeys and birds are included. If Jesus really is the “more perfect tent” (by my reading of Hebrews 9:11 the OT system was already perfect) and the perfect high priest, then we can actually learn what salvation means by reading Leviticus. The whole Christian “Jesus died to save you from your sins” can become kind of flat if we’re honest. It’s true, but not the whole, deep, full, fleshed out truth. What if Jesus died to heal our skin diseases and scour our homes and come deal with bodily fluids and the things that happen in bedrooms and bathrooms and kitchen sinks. Anyway, crap, John is making me take a shower (haven’t done that in maybe 3 days…….) and go to the grocery. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Tending the Garden 