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Recognition Is A Matter Of Life And Death

by Dr. Henderson Ward  
11/17/2015 / Christian Living


A little child, 4 years old and trusting as a lamb, happily walked away with a psychopathic pedophile; because he was nice and offered the kid some sweets. Nice people give sweets, the child might have thought, and so this man is nice. He is my friend.

You can guess what happened next.

As I am writing this article, the French police is searching ferociously for a prime suspect in the recent bombings, and slaughter, in Paris where 129 people, according to reports, were murdered. The prime suspect was stopped in a car at the Belgium border, questioned by the police, and allowed to go on his way. Now the frantic search is on because, at first, the police did not recognise him.

What happens next, will almost certainly be a matter of life, and death.

Be careful of women offering free food and shelter.

Sisera was a valiant soldier, fought well, but his army was wiped out. He fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, and she invited him in to rest, and have some grub. As he lay sleeping like a baby afterwards, something terrible happened.

You see, Sisera had every right to suppose he was safe with Jael, because Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite, and they were on good, peaceful terms with each other, "Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite." (Judges 4:17)

This horrible incident happened about 1400 BC, and we know precisely what happened, because the Bible states it most succinctly:

"Then Jael, Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died." (Judges 4:21)

The four-year old child, the French border police, the soldier Sisera; all were victims of the same common failure.

The failure of recognition.

Here in Barbados we eat a lot of fish, and we are famous for our love of chicken, but of late we seem to have a fascination for the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus.

Mushrooms.

Mushrooms are used extensively in some countries, and not so much in others, but mushrooms, although delicious to eat, can be deadly if the wrong type is consumed.

It all depends, when the mushroom is examined, on the correct recognition edible or poisonous.

The most appalling instance of the failure of recognition is recorded, as you might have guessed, in the New Testament.

There are many failures of recognition in the New Testament, and no doubt you may have your favourite, but the one that really grips me is related to the Ressurection.

Two disciples, and some Bible commentaries even think they were apostles, were walking on the Emmaus Road, the two lived there, and were in deep, troubled discussion about the events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion.

As they walked and discussed matters, Jesus suddenly joined them. This was the same Jesus that were with them for better than three years, the same Jesus that taught them, chided them, fed them and washed their feet. The same Jesus that just a few days ago they had supper with, and later they saw his crucifixion, and entombment.

And now here they were, walking and talking with Jesus; and they did not recognise him.

The same Jesus, the same height, size, voice and demeanour, no make-up of any description, and yet nothing. This is surely one of the most staggering failures of recognition.

At this juncture I could branch off and tell you why these two disciples were not able to recognise Jesus, why their sadness was total and their heads were down, eyes looking to the ground in a state of befuddlement, I could even hint of a divine power pervading the scene to enable some things to be manifested, but I am not venturing there because that would be to make these disciples the subject of this article.

We can look back on these, and similar failures of recognition and shake our heads, and yet, today, we are repeating the very same thing.

The world is in a grand slide towards increasing angst, intensifying misery, hopelessness and despair. This is happening because the solutions to these problems, and much besides, are here and accessible, but they are being ignored, almost as if these solutions are invisible.

This is a very old problem, this failure of recognition, and we can see its deadly effect even on our modern world today.

Jeremiah was scathing in his reproof and called Israel foolish, because of this very failure, "Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not." (Jeremiah 5:21)

Jesus, knowing how deadly this failure of recognition can be, you can almost sense the deep disappointment when he said to his disciples, "Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?" (Mark 8:18)

The plain truth is that the world is blinkered, some would say hopelessly inflexible, by its attachment to, and its fetish for unreasonableness.

It is unreasonable to make a statue with your hands; and then turn around and worship it as your God, as Israel did.

It is unreasonable to do something that proved ineffective, keep on doing the same thing year after year, for fifty years, hoping it will work; e.g. the U.S.A. and her sanctions against Cuba.

It is unreasonable for me to interfere with, harass, alarm and injure you and yours and not expect you to retaliate; as is happening so frequently between Israelis and Palestinians.

It is unreasonable to expect to resolve deep-seated social problems, and injustice, by increased military spending, more police and greater surveillance; as if these measures put food on tables, bring employment or upgrade the slums and pitiable schools.

It is unreasonable for me to see some fellow human beings as not made in the image of God, but me, and my acquaintances, and relatives are.

It is unreasonable to know that some things are unacceptable, I can change them, yet I go on accepting them day by day.

It is unreasonable to expect change; when I am not prepared to change.

And the list goes on.

The plain, troublesome truth is that the world is full of die-hard, unreasonable people.

It is not too late for the downwards trajectory of the world to change, but for it to do so, in a meaningful way, require enlightened leadership at all levels. Especially required are leaders that are compassionate and reasonable. Even Almighty God was predisposed to be reasonable, "Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord..." (Isaiah 1:18)

And Christians, everywhere, are reminded of their reasonable sacrificial commitment to the things of God, as Paul pleaded, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1)

Will we ever recognise that being reasonable is a matter of life and death? We shall see.

Enough said.

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Dr. Henderson Ward received his Doctor of Divinity in theology, with distinction, from Masters International School of Divinity, USA, where he is currently a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Ward's career involved pastoring, evangelism, and teaching. Copyright 2017

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