What's The Panic!
Some people have a way of asking questions that sound like everything is an emergency. We may often find ourselves asking, “What’s the panic?” Do you ever feel that sense of urgency about all the wrong things?
The New Testament is full of examples that warranted urgency: the friends who let a man down through the roof to receive healing from Jesus; the synagogue leader, Jairus, whose daughter had died; the woman with the issue of blood; or the centurion whose servant was deathly ill. Jesus patiently answered the call to heal them.
In contrast, there are Biblical examples in which urgency is absent due to a lack of discernment or disobedience: Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the forbidden tree; Eli who did not deal with his ungodly sons, Hophni and Phinehas; the house of prayer turned into a “den of robbers” by the temple money changers; and the unrepentant thief on the cross who did not understand the urgency of acknowledging that Jesus was the Son of God before entering into eternity.
We need the Holy Spirit to highlight what warrants our energy and urgent response. If we are not led by the Spirit, we can be easily distracted by crises that, in the light of eternity, are not about our Father’s business. Jesus’ model was, “whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19 NIV)
Our feelings are genuine and often warranted, no matter what the reality of the situation is. Our perspective and experience may influence our interpretation of what we see. A patient listener is helpful during our “panic” of the moment, but our choice of focus can be a life-or-death decision. We need the Holy Spirit to help us choose wisely and discern a proper response to each situation.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV) says, “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children my live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
One example of an urgent matter is the practice of forgiveness. When we choose to forgive, we choose life, not only for ourselves but for the next generation. Simon of Cyrene understood this assignment.
The Relevance of Suffering
2 In Mark 15, we see Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross for Jesus, and his sons watching in the crowd. The significance of his sons, Alexander and Rufus, in the crowd is that they are eyewitnesses to this account.
They saw their father get used, experience pain, suffer for someone else’s cause, and get treated poorly by another human being. Although Simon may have been willing to help the Lord, the guard is the one who inflicted pain on Simon. Simon chose to focus on his response, rather than focus on the guard.
In response to their father’s suffering, Simon’s sons could have easily rejected the faith. However, in Romans 16:13, Paul sends a greeting to Rufus referring to Rufus as “chosen of the Lord,” which indicates that Rufus was still in the Church. Rufus chose grace instead of bitterness, which kept him in the Church.
Simon of Cyrene chose to foster faith instead of resentment in his sons, even with all Simon experienced when carrying the cross for Jesus. He had to keep his eyes on Jesus for himself, but also for the sake of his sons. Simon did not get distracted by the urgency of his own suffering. He understood that the real urgency was his response, a response that would impact his sons for eternity. What had Simon taught his sons before that account, and what did he cultivate in them to know how to respond to suffering? He must have taught them the “theology of suffering,” which is “life is hard, God is good; life is unjust, God is sovereign” (Ingram, 2006, p. 139). Romans 12:12 (NIV) says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
The Holy Spirit
The next generation is watching, not for perfection, but authenticity. However, as much as they want us to be genuine and real, they want us to be “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4 NIV). This can only be accomplished through steadfastness and the work of the Holy Spirit. We will never be perfect, but we must humbly rely on the resurrection power of God. We cannot “white knuckle” our way through, willing ourselves to persevere.
In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV) we find, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
The matter of unforgiveness is urgent, but we are not without a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses. With the help of the Holy Spirit in focusing on the right areas, we can be set free from the sense of urgency over all the wrong things that distract us from what really matters. The next generation is watching our response and learning, because things are better caught than taught. That’s enough reason to panic!
Sheryl McNeill, an Elim Fellowship ordained minister, co-pastors Word of Life in Henrietta, New York. She and her husband, Elim Fellowship President Philip McNeill, have been serving as lead pastors for over three decades. Sheryl is a graduate of Roberts Wesleyan University, and is a mom to four daughters.
The New Testament is full of examples that warranted urgency: the friends who let a man down through the roof to receive healing from Jesus; the synagogue leader, Jairus, whose daughter had died; the woman with the issue of blood; or the centurion whose servant was deathly ill. Jesus patiently answered the call to heal them.
In contrast, there are Biblical examples in which urgency is absent due to a lack of discernment or disobedience: Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the forbidden tree; Eli who did not deal with his ungodly sons, Hophni and Phinehas; the house of prayer turned into a “den of robbers” by the temple money changers; and the unrepentant thief on the cross who did not understand the urgency of acknowledging that Jesus was the Son of God before entering into eternity.
We need the Holy Spirit to highlight what warrants our energy and urgent response. If we are not led by the Spirit, we can be easily distracted by crises that, in the light of eternity, are not about our Father’s business. Jesus’ model was, “whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19 NIV)
Our feelings are genuine and often warranted, no matter what the reality of the situation is. Our perspective and experience may influence our interpretation of what we see. A patient listener is helpful during our “panic” of the moment, but our choice of focus can be a life-or-death decision. We need the Holy Spirit to help us choose wisely and discern a proper response to each situation.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV) says, “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children my live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
One example of an urgent matter is the practice of forgiveness. When we choose to forgive, we choose life, not only for ourselves but for the next generation. Simon of Cyrene understood this assignment.
The Relevance of Suffering
2 In Mark 15, we see Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross for Jesus, and his sons watching in the crowd. The significance of his sons, Alexander and Rufus, in the crowd is that they are eyewitnesses to this account.
They saw their father get used, experience pain, suffer for someone else’s cause, and get treated poorly by another human being. Although Simon may have been willing to help the Lord, the guard is the one who inflicted pain on Simon. Simon chose to focus on his response, rather than focus on the guard.
In response to their father’s suffering, Simon’s sons could have easily rejected the faith. However, in Romans 16:13, Paul sends a greeting to Rufus referring to Rufus as “chosen of the Lord,” which indicates that Rufus was still in the Church. Rufus chose grace instead of bitterness, which kept him in the Church.
Simon of Cyrene chose to foster faith instead of resentment in his sons, even with all Simon experienced when carrying the cross for Jesus. He had to keep his eyes on Jesus for himself, but also for the sake of his sons. Simon did not get distracted by the urgency of his own suffering. He understood that the real urgency was his response, a response that would impact his sons for eternity. What had Simon taught his sons before that account, and what did he cultivate in them to know how to respond to suffering? He must have taught them the “theology of suffering,” which is “life is hard, God is good; life is unjust, God is sovereign” (Ingram, 2006, p. 139). Romans 12:12 (NIV) says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
The Holy Spirit
The next generation is watching, not for perfection, but authenticity. However, as much as they want us to be genuine and real, they want us to be “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4 NIV). This can only be accomplished through steadfastness and the work of the Holy Spirit. We will never be perfect, but we must humbly rely on the resurrection power of God. We cannot “white knuckle” our way through, willing ourselves to persevere.
In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV) we find, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
The matter of unforgiveness is urgent, but we are not without a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses. With the help of the Holy Spirit in focusing on the right areas, we can be set free from the sense of urgency over all the wrong things that distract us from what really matters. The next generation is watching our response and learning, because things are better caught than taught. That’s enough reason to panic!
Sheryl McNeill, an Elim Fellowship ordained minister, co-pastors Word of Life in Henrietta, New York. She and her husband, Elim Fellowship President Philip McNeill, have been serving as lead pastors for over three decades. Sheryl is a graduate of Roberts Wesleyan University, and is a mom to four daughters.