My car was pinged a few times in the storm a few weeks ago that brought hail. At first I thought I wouldn't take it in- it's getting older and I've been parking it outside too much in the last few years. The doors, hood and truck have their fair share of scratches and tree sap. I had a brick from my chimney fall on it a few months ago that left a fairly large dint in the side and a small crack in the tail light. It's a well loved car.
But there is some hail damage and so I decided to take it in for the estimate. My initial thought was (and still is) a hope that maybe some of the other wear and tear will get fixed too because they're on the same parts damaged by the hail. And then I thought about the brick ding. I hoped they'd include it on the insurance claim- get it all fixed at once. After all, it happened in a storm too.
Ah yes, but it didn't happen in the same storm or at the same time- and I chose not to fix it several months ago. But, my internal justifier says, I can answer truthfully and tell them it happened in a storm (notice the "a" and not "the" but they'll never notice) and get all my mistakes fixed in this one insurance claim.
"Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me" Psalm 131:2.
We spend so much of our time justifying our actions. We mull over phrasing of words and manerisms until we've crystalized our truth. We can explain away how our mistruths frankly were for the greater good. We get away with things because "they don't hurt anyone" and so they're ok.
Several years ago I was down on the Gulf Coast repairing a few churches with some friends. We started in the main-hub church and most groups went out to other churches. My group stayed to help bring some organization to the operation. The pastor met with us shortly and went into a meeting, leaving instructions with the assistant that we needed to pull up the carpet in the sactuary because it'd been damaged by the storm.
Other than wear and tear nothing was wrong with the carpet. The church had only sustained minor exterior damage in the hurricane, no interior flooding or problems. With my suspicions about me, I spoke with several qualified people who verified my story of no interior claims. They were committing insurance fraud, trying to pull up the carpet and dispose of it before the adjuster got there so they'd get to claim it as damaged.
Fraud. That's a heavy word. No chance that pastor said to himself, "I'll commit fraud today so we can get new carpet." No, they needed new carpet and what was the harm, he probably thought. He'd justified his actions and probably had pushed it out of his mind enough that he felt fine. At the time, to say I was angry was an understatement. I wanted to storm in and tell this guy off- how dare he abuse power, particularly as the shepherd of not only this church body but of this whole reconstruction undertaking. I was disappointed.
God has this amazing way in my life of showing me exactly how other people feel in their lowest points. Not always at the time, sometimes years later, but I get there, eventually. I know how he feels now. What's the harm? Insurance is too expensive anyway, they owe me. I'll tell them it's all one claim. And I may be overly legalistic about all of this and I probably won't argue if they do end of fixing everything- but I hope I won't lie or even mislead them about it (which is the same as lying). "Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." From my understanding, weaning is a hard thing. The child is used to mom being around all the time and making all the decisions. The child trusts mom and whatever she does is what happens.
But when you wean a child he's got to learn to live independently to a large extent. He can still be apart of mom's life but he's now got his own life and his own choices. Isn't that the perfect picture of the soul verses the human condition? We got to pull our souls away from our human depravity. We've got to separate these evil thoughts we have of manipulation and cheating. We've got to wean ourselves from our sinful nature. We won't ever be totally disconnected while we're in these human shells but we've got to live independently as much as we can. It won't be easy just like weaning a child is most unpleasant. But we've got to commit and do it because can you imagine a child that was never weaned? Much like a Christian that's still living in and of this world.
A child that's never weaned would never do well in this world. A Christian that's never weaned would never do well in this world or the next.
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Sacrifice Costing Nothing
"Then King David said to Ornan, "No, but I will surely buy it for full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing" 1 Chronicles 21:24.
"Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing" 2 Samuel 24:24.
This idea of sacrifice which costs nothing is of high value in our society today. We tend to do as much as we can to be seen or spoken positively of by others, even at the expense of hard work and true service. We thrive, even in Christian society, on what others think of us and frankly care very little about God's opinion. If we're all being honest, we only really care when we need something from Him.
I just finished reading these two chapters of Samuel and Chronicles, paralleling one another on the very same story. There are minor discrepancies in the authors' retelling of these stories but that's of no value. Hebrew society was an oral traditions society, caring less about factual details and much, much more about contexts and application. These particular verses struck me though with this thought of sacrifices which costs me nothing. David has wrongly numbered the people and God punishes Israel. To end the plague that's killed tens of thousands already, David is to erect an alter and sacrifice to God on it. One could argue, as we do in our day-and-age, that God has already "put them through" so much and they "deserve" for the plague to end and God to bestow kindness once again on them. After all, even David calls them lambs who have done no wrong. What did they do to deserve this punishment?
Interesting our similar we are to all mankind. We're defensive and think highly of ourselves. Deep down, self-confidence issues or not, we're pretty prideful. We deserve heaven, we deserve good things in this life, we deserve wealth and good health. Right? But despite this horrible plague that God reigns down over Israel killing tens of thousands, David still has to build an alter and worship God through sacrifice. And despite even this, David realizes sacrifice has to cost something.
If someone does the work for you but you get the credit, you don't learn true sacrifice. You don't learn the high cost of doing things for others as a service to God. You miss out on glimpsing a piece of the sacrifice Jesus gave to come, live, die and reign for us. If it costs nothing, you learn only pride because only the world thinks you did a great deed. David knew this all too well and knew if this sacrifice to end the plague was to be, he'd had to purchase the alter and all necessary supplies.
That which costs little usually means little but those things which cost much tend to be our priceless treasures. Are you authentically sacrificing for the kingdom? Do you believe it's worth the eternal reward?
"Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing" 2 Samuel 24:24.
This idea of sacrifice which costs nothing is of high value in our society today. We tend to do as much as we can to be seen or spoken positively of by others, even at the expense of hard work and true service. We thrive, even in Christian society, on what others think of us and frankly care very little about God's opinion. If we're all being honest, we only really care when we need something from Him.
I just finished reading these two chapters of Samuel and Chronicles, paralleling one another on the very same story. There are minor discrepancies in the authors' retelling of these stories but that's of no value. Hebrew society was an oral traditions society, caring less about factual details and much, much more about contexts and application. These particular verses struck me though with this thought of sacrifices which costs me nothing. David has wrongly numbered the people and God punishes Israel. To end the plague that's killed tens of thousands already, David is to erect an alter and sacrifice to God on it. One could argue, as we do in our day-and-age, that God has already "put them through" so much and they "deserve" for the plague to end and God to bestow kindness once again on them. After all, even David calls them lambs who have done no wrong. What did they do to deserve this punishment?
Interesting our similar we are to all mankind. We're defensive and think highly of ourselves. Deep down, self-confidence issues or not, we're pretty prideful. We deserve heaven, we deserve good things in this life, we deserve wealth and good health. Right? But despite this horrible plague that God reigns down over Israel killing tens of thousands, David still has to build an alter and worship God through sacrifice. And despite even this, David realizes sacrifice has to cost something.
If someone does the work for you but you get the credit, you don't learn true sacrifice. You don't learn the high cost of doing things for others as a service to God. You miss out on glimpsing a piece of the sacrifice Jesus gave to come, live, die and reign for us. If it costs nothing, you learn only pride because only the world thinks you did a great deed. David knew this all too well and knew if this sacrifice to end the plague was to be, he'd had to purchase the alter and all necessary supplies.
That which costs little usually means little but those things which cost much tend to be our priceless treasures. Are you authentically sacrificing for the kingdom? Do you believe it's worth the eternal reward?
Friday, May 13, 2011
Be of Good Courage and Strong
“Be of good courage and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight” 2 Samuel 10:12.
If I were in this situation that Joab finds himself in, sadly I’d be pretty nervous. Joab, the commander of the army and all the mighty men have been ordered by David to go out and fight. And the numbers are against them and Joab knows it. Previous to this moment David sent, in from what I can tell all sincerity, men to comfort the new King of Ammon, whose father had just passed. David was friends with the father and thus wanted to extend the invitation. But whether Hanun the son was still of young age or not wise enough to ignore his friends, he listened to their paranoia and couldn’t see the kindness of David’s actions by sending men to comfort him in his distress. Instead Hanun shamed these men and sent them away.
So of course, the nations are mad at one another. As I read this I think how absurd all the events are leading up to this battle. Silly people putting false meanings behind other people’s actions and because of overthinking they are now looking at thousands of people dying. I realize I probably have a higher view of the sanctity of life than they had back then but come on people. In my opinion (whatever it’s worth) many wars are fought over a great deal of overthinking and miscommunication between parties (and terrible people in those pivotal spots leading everyone else astray). However, I do sympathize with Hanun because I wonder how often I’m lead astray by popular opinion.
But Joab is preparing to fight. He’s split the army in two with his brother leading the other half. If one needs help the other will assist. I love the idea behind what this verse says- “Be of good courage and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” I love his strength, his calm, his enduring belief that if God wills, God provides. I love his confidence. But what I really love is his willingness to do what he can to make the situation better.
Too often we look at dire situations and we’re prone to give up. When we see the odds against us we’re far too quick to throw in the towel and run away. But David and Joab pray. They know God and they believe that if He chooses to, He can. But they believe in a practical sense knowing they still have responsibility here. There’s no pouting from Joab, no whining to make sure God’s actually paying attention and knows what’s going on. He’s pledged loyalty to God and will complete his task. He’s going to be strong and courageous just like God challenged Joshua to be. But Joab’s final word isn’t a plea for help; it’s a statement of faith in God’s plan being bigger than his.
“And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” Do I have this kind of faith? Not my will Lord, not mine but Your will be done. Not what seems good to me or what’s popular but what’s good to You, do that. Do I know God well enough to deeply trust that what’s good in His sight is actually good?
We spend our prayer lives asking for this and that, money, jobs, health, marriage and a laundry list of other services. But I wonder how much time we spend with God, learning from Him, listening to Him, to find that what’s good in His sight is what’s good for us and we can trust in His goodness. I wonder if we actually believe He knows what’s going on all the time and our whining, complaining and sobbing before Him may help us feel better but I’m not sure how much good it actually does to teach us. We have this amazing God before us, longing to be in intimate relations with us, longing for us to know His goodness so that we can find His confidence, even in dire situations.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Laughter and Might
"Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, 'Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.' He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision...Yet the Lord has said to me...'Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession'...Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling...Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him" Psalm 2, select parts (but feel free to read the whole thing).
Seems like our God is much smaller and much less capable than this passage infers. Not only does it infer He's pretty might but it says God laughs at the mightiest people on the planet when they try to plot harm on His children. But our god is too often in a box- he's shoved in the corner or left at home or kept in your hip pocket for an emergency. He's a safety net only guy that we call out to in desperation when we've gotten into another situation. We don't spend quality time with him and when we talk to him it's the laundry list of needs, mainly including "bless her, bless me" and "be with her, be with me." I read a book about a month ago where the author, Daniel Henderson, said he thought most people's prayer lives would be quite silent if we took out those two phrases.
Picture this passage. The kings and rulers of the earth are plotting. These powerful, ruthless, tyrannical men of the world who everyone probably was deathly afraid of angering were setting themselves to destroy God's anointed. They had decided and the death of many was near.
But before God held them in derision, He laughed at them. In my head He shakes His head in sadness that they hadn't grasped His authority and dominion, that they were so illogical as to think they could do what they want and overpower God. But I wonder how different, even as Christians, we truly are from these men.
Our god-in-a-box isn't powerful. He isn't mighty or strong. He's an idol and He isn't real. The real God is this God, the mighty God who sees that we are dust and not even a dot on the map of eternity. He doesn't need us and He doesn't get confused or flustered when we make plans. But despite our nothingness God makes us very much something. He calls us His people and says when other people plot against us it's like plotting against God and Jesus directly. And He doesn't tolerate that.
And beyond all this fighting for us and His mighty hand covering us, He still says "Ask of me." Ask of me and I'll give you everything. You think you'll never get a job? You think you'll never get out of the miserable relationship you're in? You think you're stuck and life isn't worth it anymore? He gets it and He's saying "Ask of me." If He is who He says He is, if the Bible is correct then what are we doing mucking around in all the earthly stuff? Don't we believe God can do anything? Don't we want a God who is all-powerful? If He can go head-to-head with the greatest forces of the world and laugh because it's not even a challenge, I'm pretty sure He can also help you. It just takes faith to believe He will- and the amazing thing is He supplies that too.
Seems like our God is much smaller and much less capable than this passage infers. Not only does it infer He's pretty might but it says God laughs at the mightiest people on the planet when they try to plot harm on His children. But our god is too often in a box- he's shoved in the corner or left at home or kept in your hip pocket for an emergency. He's a safety net only guy that we call out to in desperation when we've gotten into another situation. We don't spend quality time with him and when we talk to him it's the laundry list of needs, mainly including "bless her, bless me" and "be with her, be with me." I read a book about a month ago where the author, Daniel Henderson, said he thought most people's prayer lives would be quite silent if we took out those two phrases.
Picture this passage. The kings and rulers of the earth are plotting. These powerful, ruthless, tyrannical men of the world who everyone probably was deathly afraid of angering were setting themselves to destroy God's anointed. They had decided and the death of many was near.
But before God held them in derision, He laughed at them. In my head He shakes His head in sadness that they hadn't grasped His authority and dominion, that they were so illogical as to think they could do what they want and overpower God. But I wonder how different, even as Christians, we truly are from these men.
Our god-in-a-box isn't powerful. He isn't mighty or strong. He's an idol and He isn't real. The real God is this God, the mighty God who sees that we are dust and not even a dot on the map of eternity. He doesn't need us and He doesn't get confused or flustered when we make plans. But despite our nothingness God makes us very much something. He calls us His people and says when other people plot against us it's like plotting against God and Jesus directly. And He doesn't tolerate that.
And beyond all this fighting for us and His mighty hand covering us, He still says "Ask of me." Ask of me and I'll give you everything. You think you'll never get a job? You think you'll never get out of the miserable relationship you're in? You think you're stuck and life isn't worth it anymore? He gets it and He's saying "Ask of me." If He is who He says He is, if the Bible is correct then what are we doing mucking around in all the earthly stuff? Don't we believe God can do anything? Don't we want a God who is all-powerful? If He can go head-to-head with the greatest forces of the world and laugh because it's not even a challenge, I'm pretty sure He can also help you. It just takes faith to believe He will- and the amazing thing is He supplies that too.
Friday, May 06, 2011
Mistaken Prayer
"Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord" Psalm 107:43.
I've often thought there are many parts, particularly in the Old Testament, where God is a very severe God, a wrathful God that sometimes takes a long while to relent if He does at all. And can we believe the Bible teachers that say He's a God of mercy who disciplines those He loves? Psalm 107 beautifully answers all those questions and provides deeper insight into the human condition.
Psalm 107 paints this tragic portrait of humanity and actually the very opposite idea of how severe we often think God. It points to God's extreme goodness and mercy and shows humanity to blame for all chastisement and correction. It's tragic to me because the human condition is so poignantly independent, and that to our demise. This whole chapter is about God's people, His chosen people, wandering off in pursuit of lesser things that lead to darkness and emptiness. And four times it says "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses" (vs. 6,13,19,28). I look at the Israelites and I think "When will they learn?" God verbally talks to them, how hard could it be to just do what He says? But it must have been infinitely hard, and the more I live life the more I understand their humanity. God doesn't speak audibly to me, not that I doubt His ability, but yet He's provided me with these guides, the Bible and the Holy Spirit, that likely have greater ability to pull me in the right direction than even the Israelites knew in Psalm 107's reflection of events.
But the point I want to make here is the deep sadness I feel in relation to their plight. They call out to God AFTER they've dug themselves into a hole so deep they needed the supernatural to rescue them. It's this continual loop of giving thanks to God for His goodness and praising His name, then slinking downwards rather quickly to set their hearts on lesser things. Then getting too easily caught it darkness and death and needing to be rescued to THEN call out to God. But He rescues anyway. He rescues knowing they'll be back in this position in no time at all. He rescues because He is God and He is good and He is abundantly merciful. He's not accepting of our human condition but He's our Creator and He's chosen to love us and rescue us from ourselves.
I find it intriguing that we often don't learn from experience to experience. We too quickly cast off the trying times in our lives because we don't want to remember the painful memories of oppression and sadness. But really, if we allowed those things to remain as a gentle reminder of His goodness to bring us out, not remain as a crippling to our souls, then we might, just might learn and rely on Him in the good and the bad so that maybe we wouldn't have to endure so much of the bad--or at least we wouldn't view those trying times as bad as before. I think God wants to offer us infinitely more than we even know and we're holding ourselves back from that life of pure joy and peace by turning so quickly away from Him to lesser things.
Prayer is not meant as a last resort. It's not intended to be used solely in the depths of despair and trial. It's meant to praise God, to commune with Him, to meet Him in the stillness and find the right way, the way He'd have us travel so that maybe we wouldn't need or even feel so many moments of despair and helplessness. Maybe the Psalmist is right in this chapter in his deep longing for the people to "give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (vs 8 and others). He pleads for that to happen so that they can follow the right way and know God's goodness. I wonder what it would look like if we prayed without needing something- what kind of a world would that be and what kind of works would God perform in that world?
I've often thought there are many parts, particularly in the Old Testament, where God is a very severe God, a wrathful God that sometimes takes a long while to relent if He does at all. And can we believe the Bible teachers that say He's a God of mercy who disciplines those He loves? Psalm 107 beautifully answers all those questions and provides deeper insight into the human condition.
Psalm 107 paints this tragic portrait of humanity and actually the very opposite idea of how severe we often think God. It points to God's extreme goodness and mercy and shows humanity to blame for all chastisement and correction. It's tragic to me because the human condition is so poignantly independent, and that to our demise. This whole chapter is about God's people, His chosen people, wandering off in pursuit of lesser things that lead to darkness and emptiness. And four times it says "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses" (vs. 6,13,19,28). I look at the Israelites and I think "When will they learn?" God verbally talks to them, how hard could it be to just do what He says? But it must have been infinitely hard, and the more I live life the more I understand their humanity. God doesn't speak audibly to me, not that I doubt His ability, but yet He's provided me with these guides, the Bible and the Holy Spirit, that likely have greater ability to pull me in the right direction than even the Israelites knew in Psalm 107's reflection of events.
But the point I want to make here is the deep sadness I feel in relation to their plight. They call out to God AFTER they've dug themselves into a hole so deep they needed the supernatural to rescue them. It's this continual loop of giving thanks to God for His goodness and praising His name, then slinking downwards rather quickly to set their hearts on lesser things. Then getting too easily caught it darkness and death and needing to be rescued to THEN call out to God. But He rescues anyway. He rescues knowing they'll be back in this position in no time at all. He rescues because He is God and He is good and He is abundantly merciful. He's not accepting of our human condition but He's our Creator and He's chosen to love us and rescue us from ourselves.
I find it intriguing that we often don't learn from experience to experience. We too quickly cast off the trying times in our lives because we don't want to remember the painful memories of oppression and sadness. But really, if we allowed those things to remain as a gentle reminder of His goodness to bring us out, not remain as a crippling to our souls, then we might, just might learn and rely on Him in the good and the bad so that maybe we wouldn't have to endure so much of the bad--or at least we wouldn't view those trying times as bad as before. I think God wants to offer us infinitely more than we even know and we're holding ourselves back from that life of pure joy and peace by turning so quickly away from Him to lesser things.
Prayer is not meant as a last resort. It's not intended to be used solely in the depths of despair and trial. It's meant to praise God, to commune with Him, to meet Him in the stillness and find the right way, the way He'd have us travel so that maybe we wouldn't need or even feel so many moments of despair and helplessness. Maybe the Psalmist is right in this chapter in his deep longing for the people to "give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (vs 8 and others). He pleads for that to happen so that they can follow the right way and know God's goodness. I wonder what it would look like if we prayed without needing something- what kind of a world would that be and what kind of works would God perform in that world?
Thursday, March 31, 2011
God's Promises are Always True
“Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in His grace gave it to Abraham through a promise” Galatians 3:15-18.
This is so interesting to me; hopefully you’ll find it the same. As you may know, Paul writes this letter to the Galatians for 2 specific purposes. People are coming against Paul and, in his opinion, slandering the Gospel he has put forth. So, he writes to prove his apostleship and to prove that the way to salvation is by faith alone, not by the law. I’m not going to get into all the details today but this letter is truly fascinating. So much of the “how to” of Christian life can be found here. So much of the simplicity, the turning away from all the crazy things we sometimes do and follow and just “putting on Christ” as Paul continues to say in his letters. But listen to these specific verses above. He uses something apparently very common to them. Scholars don’t have a specific example of this human covenant but they think it’s something like a binding contract or final will of a person. We do know that it’s something that’s in stone, meaning it absolutely, positively cannot be changed or altered in any way. So Paul says here that the promises [notice the plural] that were made to Abraham have remained unaltered. This matters sooo much both then and now. The Judaizers of the time, the people going against Paul, were telling the Galatians that if they wanted to fully come into the fellowship of Christ [become a full believer] then they had to take on the Jewish Law AND have faith in Jesus. Essentially, the Gentile believers had to convert to Judaism and then believe in Jesus, while still keeping the Law. Paul sights all sort of issues with this but we’ll save that for another time.
Here’s Paul’s point: The covenant God made with Abraham was unchanged, as it had to be because a covenant could not change. Just because He was God and could change anything He wanted to, He did not change His promise [because He is God and perfect!]. The Judaizers wanted to say God had added the Law to the Abrahamic Covenant. The Covenant can be found in Genesis 15. Look here though, it says promises. And as you read through Galatians Paul handily supplies in that same chapter several of these promises. God promises Abraham that ALL nations will be blessed through him (Galatians 3:8; Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18). It says “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Galatians 3:6; Gen 15:6). This is faith in one of its first presentations. Abraham had faith and God gave him His righteousness because of it. This is Paul’s main point- that the law didn’t add, didn’t tack on to Abraham’s faith leading to righteousness. Again, the Judaizers were saying that yes, you have to have faith but you also have to obey the Law because God said you have to. And you know what? I bet that made plenty of very reasonable sense at the time. But Paul backs up his argument with the fulfillment of scripture. If God made this covenant with Abraham and then added the Law or added anything at all, it wouldn’t be a covenant. He would be breaking His promise if He added anything to it. This is HUGE. You can say what you want, there are plenty of evil people out there that pervert the gospel, but I think many of the Judaizers might have really wanted to follow Jesus rightly, they just thought the wrong thing (but I’m sure some were false too). But this is big! Paul’s saying that by making Gentiles follow the Law they are essentially saying God is a liar that couldn’t keep His covenant so He broke it by adding the Law to it. Do you see how crazy that is? It makes me wonder how often we add to His scriptures or try to make it say things it doesn’t. Makes me wonder if I’ve ever called God a liar. Look how easily they did it!
God didn’t change the promises. They stayed the same. The Law was a gap filler, essentially. It was a way to make sin evident and more prevalent. It was a way to make people see, without doubt, that they needed God desperately. We’re free from the Old Testament Law, all of it. Every single last letter of the Law was abolished on the cross and Jesus brought His own Messianic Law with Him that brought life, not death. God isn’t a liar. The Christian life is infinitely hard but the how-to is simple: have faith in Jesus. By believing in Him we will follow Him, which means we’ll learn about Him, get to know Him and do what He did and does. God’s promise from Abraham is extended to us: believe in Jesus and you’ll receive His righteousness [and so be able to enter eternal life with Him].
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Mud Pies
"You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire...But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all the tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go...You shall not at all do as we are doing here today--- every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes--- for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide." Deuteronomy 12:2-11 (parts).
I'm tracking the journey of the Israelites and have come to the place where they're about to enter the full promised land. They're about to cross the Jordan so the other 9 1/2 tribes can gain their inherited land as well. Deuteronomy is a fantastic book in that it so far summarizes the Israelite journey, standing as a great pillar of reminder of the good God has done and the miraculous ways He has brought His people through the hard things of life to mold them and shape them to enter His goodness (which is coming soon!).
And as I read this particular passage I find myself once again understanding similar emotions these people must have felt. At a summary level it's very easy to quickly draw the conclusion that these people were ignorant, self-serving, small-picture people who were too stuborn to follow God because they wanted the blessing immediately and wanted it without fear and possible heartache. It's easy to draw the conclusion that it was easier back then to know the Will of God because He spoke it directly to them. I often find myself thinking that even I could have followed God fairly successfully (at least more successfully than they did) back then. But then in passages like this I'm reminded that we're all human, and therefore so very similar. You'd think we've evolved over the centuries but the heart and emotional matters, the cares and concerns, haven't really changed too much, as I now see.
They didn't want the hard times, the sadness, the pain and trouble. They didn't want to spend all their time honoring God and supressing all their humanity. They didn't want to persevere, they wanted the blessing immediately. It reminds me of the psychology study done years ago with the small children. The adult tester put some type of treat (like a hershey kiss or something) in front of the child. The adult then left the room, telling the child that if the treat was still there when the adult got back the child would get double treats. The idea was to see if the child could hold out and be disciplined enough to get more in the end. If you watch the video you see kids struggling to hold out, trying their best but odds were good they'd eat the candy before the adult returned.
It reminds me because far too often we're that child that tries for a short time to do good, to act justly and to love mercy but we get off the path. We start to see the gray areas and we take baby steps off the narrow road without even realizing the cost. We focus on that one piece of candy (immediate pleasure and ease to our desires and wants) instead of focusing on the long-term, better reward. And in our case, that long-term reward is eternal, not just double the immediate pleasure with 2 candies.
But I look at the Isrealites and that's the exact summation of their problems.God had promised them this grand inheritance filled with peace and prosperity. He promised them abundance. And I pity them because so many times it was within their grasp and they still couldn't set aside their humanity for long enough to take up God's free gift.
And then I take a step back and realize I'm to be pitied too. I can't set aside my earthly pleasures for the eternal reward. I've sunk too far into the American way of life and grown too accustomed to luxury and ease. We want our cake and we want to eat it too- right now. And yet we think these things will make us happy; we think they'll satisfy us, even if just for the moment until we find the next thing to work. But as C.S. Lewis says, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and immorality and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like a ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
They had no idea the actual glory God had in store for them if they'd just obey Him. If they'd just follow Him and trust Him He had exceedingly great joy in store for them. And yet we, like they, continue to fool about and seek pleasure here, too often forgetting we're setting our bar way too low.
I'm tracking the journey of the Israelites and have come to the place where they're about to enter the full promised land. They're about to cross the Jordan so the other 9 1/2 tribes can gain their inherited land as well. Deuteronomy is a fantastic book in that it so far summarizes the Israelite journey, standing as a great pillar of reminder of the good God has done and the miraculous ways He has brought His people through the hard things of life to mold them and shape them to enter His goodness (which is coming soon!).
And as I read this particular passage I find myself once again understanding similar emotions these people must have felt. At a summary level it's very easy to quickly draw the conclusion that these people were ignorant, self-serving, small-picture people who were too stuborn to follow God because they wanted the blessing immediately and wanted it without fear and possible heartache. It's easy to draw the conclusion that it was easier back then to know the Will of God because He spoke it directly to them. I often find myself thinking that even I could have followed God fairly successfully (at least more successfully than they did) back then. But then in passages like this I'm reminded that we're all human, and therefore so very similar. You'd think we've evolved over the centuries but the heart and emotional matters, the cares and concerns, haven't really changed too much, as I now see.
They didn't want the hard times, the sadness, the pain and trouble. They didn't want to spend all their time honoring God and supressing all their humanity. They didn't want to persevere, they wanted the blessing immediately. It reminds me of the psychology study done years ago with the small children. The adult tester put some type of treat (like a hershey kiss or something) in front of the child. The adult then left the room, telling the child that if the treat was still there when the adult got back the child would get double treats. The idea was to see if the child could hold out and be disciplined enough to get more in the end. If you watch the video you see kids struggling to hold out, trying their best but odds were good they'd eat the candy before the adult returned.
It reminds me because far too often we're that child that tries for a short time to do good, to act justly and to love mercy but we get off the path. We start to see the gray areas and we take baby steps off the narrow road without even realizing the cost. We focus on that one piece of candy (immediate pleasure and ease to our desires and wants) instead of focusing on the long-term, better reward. And in our case, that long-term reward is eternal, not just double the immediate pleasure with 2 candies.
But I look at the Isrealites and that's the exact summation of their problems.God had promised them this grand inheritance filled with peace and prosperity. He promised them abundance. And I pity them because so many times it was within their grasp and they still couldn't set aside their humanity for long enough to take up God's free gift.
And then I take a step back and realize I'm to be pitied too. I can't set aside my earthly pleasures for the eternal reward. I've sunk too far into the American way of life and grown too accustomed to luxury and ease. We want our cake and we want to eat it too- right now. And yet we think these things will make us happy; we think they'll satisfy us, even if just for the moment until we find the next thing to work. But as C.S. Lewis says, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and immorality and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like a ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
They had no idea the actual glory God had in store for them if they'd just obey Him. If they'd just follow Him and trust Him He had exceedingly great joy in store for them. And yet we, like they, continue to fool about and seek pleasure here, too often forgetting we're setting our bar way too low.
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