Unclaimed Luggage, Cash, and Promises

Unclaimed Luggage, Cash, and Promises

by | Dec 16, 2018 | Positive Living


​Have you ever travelled through an airport and seen unclaimed suitcases sitting on or next to luggage carousels?  We might think that it would be hard to forget a suitcase after a flight (depending on how bad the flight was, of course), but astonishingly, millions of bags are unclaimed each year worldwide – sometimes after being misdirected but other times just forgotten and left in the airport to which they were flown.  Unclaimed luggage in the United States over the last few decades has included bags containing incredibly valuable things such as a 40.95-carat natural emerald, a 4,000-year-old Egyptian burial mask, and even an Air Force missile guidance system.

Perhaps even more amazingly, what is true of luggage is also true of many people’s money.  People forget that they have old or dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, bonds or other financial holdings, and these funds often go unclaimed after their owners’ deaths,  despite the fact that they may sometimes represent very large amounts. In fact, it is estimated  that in the United States alone there are over thirty billion dollars of such unclaimed funds at a given time.

This may seem strange to most of us – especially when we realize that all the owners had to do to obtain their unclaimed possessions was to show two forms of identification to claim what was rightfully theirs. Yet hard as it may be for many of us to understand the huge number of suitcases and the massive amounts of money that go unclaimed each year, we too may be guilty of forgetting to claim some of the spiritual things –  the standing promises found in God’s word –  to which we are entitled.

How many promises does the Bible contain?  Different estimates have been made by different people. Many who have tried to count the Bible’s promises feel that there are well over 3,000 and some feel that there are actually more than 5,000 or even 7,000. The 20th century Bible writer Dr. Herbert Lockyer published a book titled All the Promises of the Bible which claimed that there are actually some 8,000 distinct promises waiting to be claimed between the pages of the Bible.

However many promises the Bible may contain, the point is that there are ones applying to almost every conceivable situation in life. Most of them are clearly stated and waiting for us to claim them.  But biblically, we do need two forms of identification, and many people are disappointed or disillusioned when they try to claim the Scripture’s promises without them.

The Bible shows that to claim its promises we must be the people to whom the promises belong and the first identifier is that of obedience.  Notice what the apostle Paul says specifically about this form of spiritual identification needed for promise claiming: “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).   While these words may sound somewhat formal to our modern ears, it is the same kind of formal language found in a passport or other form of identification, and its meaning is clear. To claim God’s promises we need to be as obedient as possible to what God reveals to us regarding his way of life. 

But a single form of identification is often not enough to retrieve your unclaimed suitcase or financial account, and the same is true of biblical identification.  The Scriptures specify a second form of spiritual ID that we need to claim its promises –  that of perseverance.  The book of Hebrews makes this clear: “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10:36 and see also Hebrews 6:12).
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Just as we may have to wait a little while in the line at the airport luggage office or we may have to wait patiently till we hear back from the bank from which we try to withdraw our unclaimed funds, spiritual promises sometimes require a little patience before they are fulfilled – but a promise is a promise and the God who gave the Scripture’s promises knows that better than any of us and he will fulfill them (Numbers 23:19). Our responsibility is simply to know, remember and claim the promises he has given us.

Yet so often we do not claim promises we have been given or utilize them even when we need them.  A historical example comes to mind. In the 1800’s the great warrior chief Isapo-Muxika, or Crowfoot, of the Blackfoot nation in southern Alberta, gave the Canadian Pacific Railway permission to lay railroad tracks through his people’s land.  The grateful railroad officials gave Crowfoot a lifetime ticket to ride the trains, and the chief wore this ticket in a pouch around his neck –  but never once used it –  throughout the rest of his life. 

That is a human trait all of us can display to some degree –  to be aware of promises and perhaps even to treasure them, yet to not always actively claim them. That is why, like many suitcases and bank accounts, there are so many spiritual promises that go unclaimed. But the Bible is clear. As long as we have the two identifications of obedience and perseverance, we are eligible to claim what has been spiritually promised to us and what is rightfully ours.

Has Archaeology Discovered the Ring of Pontius Pilate?

Has Archaeology Discovered the Ring of Pontius Pilate?

by | Dec 1, 2018 | Archaeology & the Bible

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Photograph and drawing of ring bearing the name of Pilate (drawing: J. Rodman; photo: C. Amit, IAA).


​A small finger ring found in the ruins of the Fortress of Herodium in Israel some 50 years ago has now been cleaned, studied and identified as very possibly being the ring of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate who governed what was then the Roman province of Judea in the time of Christ from AD 26–36. It was Pilate, of course, who famously tried Jesus and turned him over to be crucified.

The ring was found along with a great many other artifacts in excavations conducted at Herodium in 1968–1969 by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, but it was not thoroughly cleaned and its inscription read until only recently at the request of the current excavation director, archaeologist Roi Porat.  The results of this cleaning were published just this last week.

In addition to the image of a large wine vessel, the ring was found to bear a simple inscription in Greek – which the Romans used to communicate with the people of the Eastern Mediterranean areas that they controlled. The inscription reads “of Pilate” meaning “belonging to Pilate.” Could this be the Pontius Pilate of biblical fame?  Although the name of Pilate is known to every Christian today, Pilate was a somewhat rare name in the 1st century. The name is derived from the Latin “pilum” (armed with a javelin) and is a Roman cognomen – an extra name sometimes given to Roman citizens.  But there was only one Roman Governor of Judea called Pilate, and it is perhaps unlikely that the ring would have belonged to another individual of the same name.   
 
In fact, only one other artifact has been discovered in Israel bearing the name of Pilate – the so-called “Pilate Stone” – a massive inscribed building block discovered in 1961 excavations at Caesarea which was a Roman headquarters in Judea.   That stone bears four lines of text, two of which read, “[Po]ntius Pilate … [Pref]ect of Juda[ea].”

But what of the newly identified ring – could it be an item personally worn by Pilate himself? The answer is that this is unlikely.  The ring is made of relatively inexpensive copper alloy and its workmanship is somewhat rough (see photo) – not what we would expect of the personal ring of the most powerful man in ancient Judea at that time.   

However, the fact that the ring probably was not worn by Pilate himself is of little importance.  Kings, governors, and other rulers of that era commonly wore signet rings by which they impressed seals on the documents they sent out in order to “sign” them – just as we sign letters or official documents with our names today.  Ancient rulers of that time also often gave, loaned, or had cheaper copies of these rings made for their highest-ranking assistants so that they could issue commands and seal official documents on behalf of the ruler himself (for an Old Testament example, see Esther 3:10; 8:2). 

The newly identified ring is very likely such an assistant’s seal – a secondary ring entrusted to an individual who had been given the authority to relay or issue commands or statements on behalf of Pilate himself.  But this does not make the connection between the ring and the biblical figure of Pontius Pilate any less real.    

The “Pilate Ring” joins the already known “Pilate Stone” as further confirmation of an individual mentioned in the Bible –   in this case, an otherwise little-known Roman governor who, through his mention in the New Testament, would become one of the most famous or infamous Romans of all. 

After Thanks … Giving?

After Thanks … Giving?

by | Nov 25, 2018 | Giving

Originating in the United States in 2012, “Giving Tuesday” has become a global movement that encourages individuals, organizations, and communities to focus on year-end giving to good causes rather than just to ourselves and those we know, as so many do around the holiday season. 
 
Giving Tuesday is scheduled to closely follow the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on the last Thursday of November each year and the immediately following shopping-frenzy days of “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday.” In strong contrast with these totally consumer-oriented days, Giving Tuesday focuses on the way of giving rather than getting, so it is something that deserves our thought and support.

Naturally, the concept of Giving Tuesday does not suggest that we should only give to those who need help on this one day of the year. But it does focus our minds on needs we can perhaps alleviate at a time of year when support for charities and other ways of helping others typically falls off as many people spend the greater part of what they receive on themselves and their family and friends.

Now in its seventh year and fueled by press coverage, social media, and internet discussion, Giving Tuesday has been tremendously successful in bringing a great deal of funding to many excellent causes around the world.  However, so many charities exist that it can be confusing and somewhat overwhelming to try to decide where to give if we do want to participate.  That’s how a good online charity rating site can prove tremendously helpful. We recommend CharityNavigator.org. Although there are several similar sites, Charity Navigator clearly shows what percentage of the moneys received by various aid organizations go to their claimed targets –  and the site also provides an advisory  about charities that are suspect in terms of what they are doing or how much of their funds they are using on administration. A few minutes spent checking charities on a site like this can help guarantee that what we can give gets to where it needs to go.*

But of course, giving doesn’t always have to be about money.   Although this day may be a great opportunity to think about how we can give financially, as we are able, there are other ways we can give that are just as valuable.  Giving of our time, assistance, concern, and encouragement can be just as valuable as giving money in many circumstances – and even better in some.  The end of the year holiday season is often a particularly hard time for those who are by themselves, single parents, widows, widowers, and others.  Ironically, the “season of good will” is often a time of heightened levels of loneliness, depression, and even suicide.  

Thinking about Giving Tuesday provides us not only an extra incentive to give of what we ourselves have received, but also an extra opportunity to think about those we may know who could use some extra encouragement or help as we go into the winter season.  These are things which should continue to be concerns for us throughout the year, of course, but Giving Tuesday provides a valuable opportunity to begin or to focus on our ongoing efforts in the area of giving.
 
*See also our article “The Savvy Samaritan” here.

One Feather at a Time

One Feather at a Time

by | Nov 18, 2018 | Encouragement, Growth

Eagles are magnificent birds. It is easy to see why they are called the “King of the Birds” and, as a result, why various myths have grown up around them.  One of the most commonly heard myths is that after a number of years of life, eagles fly to remote mountain areas where they pluck out all their feathers (and in some versions of the story, even their talons before breaking off their beak) in order to grow new ones over a few months before rising as renewed creatures. 

It may be an inspiring image, but it really has nothing to do with reality.  If eagles lost all their feathers at one time – or even just their large wing pinions – they would be unable to fly, and as raptors they would not survive while the supposed process of transformation took place.  Ornithologists know that eagles do not lose all their feathers at once and become transformed in such a short space of time. In fact, the story really tells us nothing about eagles, but it does tell us a lot about human psychology.  

The process of transformation is not easy. It’s a painful and tiring one that most humans dislike and would gladly avoid if it were possible.  Hence there is appeal in the stories of eagles that are completely renewed in a few months, mythical Phoenix birds that rise, transformed, overnight from their ashes, and so on. They are great stories, but they mainly show how much humans would like transformation to be quick and easy. We want to fast-track the process, skip to the end of the story, and avoid the pain of the slowness of actual change.

So how are eagles transformed? The answer is simple: one feather at a time. Feathers do become worn over time, but eagles and other raptors generally do not pluck them out. Like all other birds, they go through a slow, ongoing process called a molt in which each feather is replaced, one or two at a time. And that is really how we change, too.  And change we must. Christian change or “transformation” is not seeking salvation in works, but seeking to please and honor God in our lives.

The apostle Paul wrote: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2), and: “… we all … are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord …” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Being changed to reflect the nature and character of Christ is one of the great goals that every Christian aims for, but we must be realistic about it.  It is a process of transformation that takes time. Notice that in 2 Corinthians 3:18, above, the ongoing, “ever-increasing” nature of the change is made clear.

It’s easy to become discouraged when we don’t see change occurring quickly in our spiritual lives.  But it is the nature of all real change that we don’t always see it happening before our eyes. The part of our nature we seek to replace is worn away slowly like a stone in a stream – but it is gradually worn away. The part of our nature that is growing to what we want to be is growing like the seed in the earth – we don’t see the growth, but it is happening nonetheless (Mark 4:26-29).  We may know this intellectually, but it is a great key to encouragement to realize at the end of each day, no matter how discouragingly slow our growth may seem, as long as we are continuing to fight against what we have rejected and to work for what we believe – the stone is being worn away, the seed is growing.

We know that according to the plan of God, eventually “We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and Philippians 3:21).  That is something to which every Christian looks forward. But for now, until we get to that point, transformation comes slowly, with patience: one feather – one small change – at a time.

A Window and a Mirror

A Window and a Mirror

by | Nov 11, 2018 | Bible Study

We take glass for granted –  it’s everywhere in our lives, in windows, windshields, mirrors, bottles and so many other things. But glass is one of the very few solid substances that have the ability to both reflect and transmit light.  We all discover this at an early age, of course, when we catch a glimpse of ourselves or some reflected object in the window we are looking through –  because glass can function both as a window and as a mirror.

The word of God has both those abilities, too.  We can see things “through” it – the stories, lessons, and events it records –  and we can also catch occasional glimpses of ourselves in the way it describes our own human natures and tendencies. 

This dual nature of the Bible –  as both spiritual window and mirror –  is something the Scriptures themselves describe.   The well-known words of the apostle James speak directly about the Bible’s ability to act reflectively as a spiritual mirror, of course: “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1:23-24).

Many other scriptures talk about our ability to see things through the word of God, as well.  Paul’s words regarding his own letter to the Ephesians are an example of this: “In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). Elsewhere Paul speaks even more specifically about the things we are able to see through the Spirit-inspired word of God:  “… these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).

So it is clear that the two great purposes of the word of God are to teach us about God and what he has done for humanity, and to teach us what we need to know about ourselves.  And that, of course, is why we study the Bible.   But that is also where we sometimes fall down in not studying as effectively as we could. Often, even devoted Christians fall into the habit of either looking at or through the word, but not both.

For example, if we are not careful it’s easy to just read through the Bible by reading its stories and focusing on them, but not seeing the reflections of ourselves that we frequently need to see.  To do that we have to keep “two hats” on at once, so to speak –  to  be able to read about events, stories and descriptions while constantly watching for aspects that “reflect” on us –  things that are condemned or encouraged that we need to change or to develop.

On the other hand, it is just as possible to focus too much on ourselves in our Bible reading, to mainly think about scriptures that encourage, guide, or even correct us, but at the same time to not focus on the real subject of God’s word – God himself.  God certainly desires to speak to us through his word, but his message is not primarily about us, it’s about him and his plan for his whole creation. 

So if we are mainly looking at our own reflection in our study of the Bible, we are not seeing a major part of its message; though on the other hand, if we are only looking “through the glass” we are missing something very important, too. Effective Bible study consists of a careful balance of these two ways of looking.  If at the end of a session of Bible reading we have only been personally encouraged or corrected but have not learned or been reminded about some aspect of the nature of God, we may have missed seeing something or may need to read a little further.  If we feel we came to better understand some aspect of God’s nature and his dealing with humanity but missed any application in our own lives, we may have missed something, too.

As the apostle Paul wrote: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Scripture gives us both doctrine – things to know – and instruction – things to do.  In order to get both those intended results we need to continually remind ourselves to look both at the glass and through it.