being an orphan…
03/21/2011
It was their last night together. A bunch of grown men huddled around their mysterious leader. He knew what was going to happen. But they were not getting it. So Jesus looks at these close companions, these friends and He makes a very peculiar statement, I will not leave you orphans. (John 14:18) Huh? Adult men who know how to work and provide, most with families to help take care of“orphans? What does that mean? Orphans? Peter, James, and John-orphans?
An orphan is someone without either parent, and without protection or provision. In Zambia from where Kalyn and I just returned, there are 10 million people, and there are 1 million orphans. The hope of an orphan is a nurturer, someone who will take care of them. Sometimes it is an aunty, an uncle, a cousin, a grandparent, a sister, or a brother, or a kind neighbor. In the best of times in Africa, there is not much sustenance to go around. So there can be different feelings attached to an orphan: one left behind; one who takes something from another more deserving; one who is dependent on hand-outs. We love ministries and initiatives for orphans and vulnerable children. The right kind of ministries change a mindset, a worldview, and that is an awesome transformation.
But maybe even we, in the west, need that. I will not leave you orphans. Grown men. What was He saying? You will not be left alone to your own devices. You will not be without protection and provision. But we have families, homes, cars, jobs. Jesus knows, yes, Jesus knows: You will not be unexpectedly abandoned. What you really need you will have. In other words, do not let the feeling emerge in you that you are alone with no one to care for you. Jesus said this to adult men who had job skills and families! As Tom Mohn said many times, feelings are real“but they are not accurate. They don’t always tell the truth about us. If we trust our feelings they can lead us astray.
So you do not have to be a disenfranchised child out in rural Africa to be an orphan. You can feel like an orphan in suburbia. You can feel alone, neglected, uncared for. Not belonging. Not fitting in. Sometimes feelings scream at us. Feelings can lie to us. If we listen to our feelings we may not hear what the Father has to say about us. Jesus knew that these men huddled together in an upper room were: world changers. Jesus knew that. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13) These ordinary and unschooled guys were going to launch a movement that would change the world. Jesus knew that. So when he saw their forlorn faces He spoke to their feelings, and said, it is to your advantage that I go away.
Right. If I, Mr. Mike, was there, I would be thinking, Let me process this. It will be just great when you desert us. Perfect. I am so witty and clever and full of power that I will convince the crowds of people that expect great things and the religious rulers who really don’t like us. Yeah, right. Look out for me. Here I come. Except. Except Jesus believed in the power of the Holy Spirit in ordinary men and women to do mighty things. To change lives and destinies. It was the plan conceived in eternity. Sons and daughters coming into the family because an ordinary person told them about how their life had changed because of Jesus. And the Holy Spirit was there to confirm the message: We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (Acts 5:32) Hmm.
