New Thoughts (10/10/08-10/14/08)
The clear focus for me has got to be upon the meaning of what Jesus has said, particularly to come to grips with the concept of the kingdom of God. The Scriptural picture of the kingdom clearly indicates stages of growth in that kingdom. In some ways, as we see in this passage, it was so thoroughly imminent then as to be certainly here already in our now. In other ways, it is clearly not fully here. The ultimate consummation of the kingdom of God on earth is certainly future even to us. But, before I focus in on this issue, and how it should be understood in the context of this message Jesus delivers, there is one brief aside I have seen fit to take.
That aside has to do with the matter of tasting and seeing. Of course I was put in mind of a chorus that was popular in our church for a time, although not so much of late. That chorus was drawn, in part, from the words of Psalm 34:8 – O taste and see that the Lord is good! Interestingly, when I scanned the concordance today for verses that spoke of both tasting and seeing, there were very few. There was the Psalm, of course, and these three versions of Jesus’ words about the kingdom’s imminence. Only one reference shows beyond that, and that is Hebrews 2:9, which not too surprisingly showed up among the parallel verses. We see Him who was temporarily reduced in status in order to taste death for everyone by the grace of God. O taste and see! The Lord He is good.
Look at this! Is there an intentional connection in these three pieces of information that God has provided? Can it be? Well, consider this: David, we are told, wrote those initial words at a time when he was playing the madman before Abimelech to save his skin. And, those words are surrounded by thoughts of rescue. “The Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He rescues them” (Ps 34:7). “How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him” (Ps 34:8)!
Now, slip forward to those standing, listening to Jesus in the passage at hand. Some of you shall not taste death until you see the kingdom. The taste we are saved from is because we have come into the reality of experiencing the King, we have seen His kingdom come and we have experienced citizenship in that kingdom.
Then, move on to Hebrews. We see Him. Notice, that’s in the present. We do see Him, and we see Him now. He is that One who voluntarily emptied Himself, becoming far less than He Is, so that He could taste death on our behalf, that we need not suffer the fullness of death. And, by doing so, He has redeemed us, rescued us from the just wrath of Himself, the due penalty of our sins, for we have taken refuge in Him.
O taste and see that the Lord is good! He has redeemed us, called us by name; we are His (Isa 43:1)! There will be trials. This has not been a transfer to easy street. There will be trials most severe, but in those trials “I will be with you” (Isa 43:2). So precious are you that “I will give other men in your place” (Isa 43:3). Indeed, the wicked will perish, as they always have. As with Noah’s day, so with the Lord’s. But, rejoice! The Lord is good. He has already placed you in your berth upon the ark of His covenant. Fear not, for I AM is with you. Taste and see! Taste not death. See! He has done it for you! Taste instead Life, for He is Life and His Life He gives to you. Surely, if in no other sense, we who know the life He has given burning within us can declare that in this, the kingdom has indeed come and been established within us.
Now, I turn to the main point Jesus makes here, because it seems to me almost impossible to accept, even now. Some of those who are standing there listening to Him will see the kingdom come. If I stick with Luke’s wording it becomes almost believable. But, then Mark adds that they will see that kingdom come in power¸ and Matthew includes the fact that they will see the Son of Man coming in that kingdom. Of course, all three of their own, or others’, memories of what Jesus actually said. Matthew being counted amongst those who had indeed been standing there might be assumed to be the more accurate in quoting. Mark, if he is listening to Peter, ought also to have a pretty good take on things. So, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think that both of those details these two bring up were part of the message. They will see the Son of Man coming in power in His kingdom, the kingdom of God.
That Luke’s account remains more vague likely reflects the uncertainty in those he interviewed for his account. Considering the doubts we see Paul addressing in Thessalonica, is it any wonder that those Luke talked to weren’t real sure how to take what Jesus had said? Wouldn’t they, too, have been suffering some degree of doubt? After all, if some had seen Him come, what were they doing waiting for Him still? But, they do believe and with a God-implanted faith. As such, they can hardly impute words to the Christ of God which they consider untrue. So, it is possible, I suppose, that they might reduce this message to something they could count as true. Sure, some of those who heard it might have seen the kingdom in some sense. We can mysticize it, or spiritualize it to the point that this is an almost powerless declaration. Oh, yes! They will sense that kingdom I represent. As its ambassadors, of course they will know the kingdom they represent. Paul called us citizens of that kingdom, so it is no great stretch to think we’ve at least had a postcard from the homeland, as it were.
It seems clear, though, that Jesus was saying something more shocking than that on this occasion. He has been talking about death, His death. He has been talking about all the pain and suffering that necessarily awaits Him as He completes His mission. He is doing His best to make certain they understand that what is going to be happening truly is a part of His mission, not some unexpected calamity that will derail all His efforts. But, to the ears of man, it surely sounded like He’d been preaching defeat. Think about Thomas’ reaction. Oh sure, let’s go ahead and march into Jerusalem. We can all die together! Won’t it be grand? These are not the thoughts of somebody looking forward to a major victory. These are the words of somebody resigned to abject defeat.
What Jesus is saying here flies in the face of that, though. No! He says. You will see the Son of Man coming in power! This does not change the fact that you will see Him abused, abased, and put to death. This does not change the fact that you will witness the guardians of the true faith rejecting Him outright, declaring Him a fraud and successfully calling for His execution. But, this points beyond all that. Look past Jerusalem! Look past the earthly! In spite of all that, after all that, there remains something to be seen. The mission is not ended there, only completed. You will yet see the Son coming in His kingdom!
The NET provides a footnote for this verse listing several theories as to what Jesus meant by this matter of some seeing the kingdom come. They offer the transfiguration, the account of which comes immediately after this declaration, and with this as a principle reason, suggest that this is most likely what Jesus was talking about. I think it would be more accurate to suggest that this is what the apostles tended to suppose He had meant. Then, they move on to list the Resurrection and Ascension of the Christ, the Pentecost outpouring, the establishment of the Church, the destruction of Jerusalem, and finally, the Second Coming.
Well, I think we can rule that last one out, unless by death Jesus is talking of that second death spoken of in Revelation. But, in that case, the point is more that some here would not taste that death even after His return. The point becomes more about the limit on the number who will know that second death than about the coming of the kingdom, and this runs thoroughly counter to the entire focus of Jesus’ ministry. He has always been about the kingdom, its eminence and its imminence. I don’t think He’s suddenly decided to switch gears here, and concentrate on death as the focal point of all creation. No! He is the Life! The only cause He has to focus on death is to abolish it as He establishes that kingdom which is defined as everything restored to perfect order!
As to the destruction of Jerusalem, I suppose one could view that as a demonstration of God’s power, as He lays hold of the army of Rome to fulfill His own prophetic word. But, I don’t see that as primarily displaying the coming of His own kingdom, only of His primacy over the kingdoms of man. Neither do I see anything in that destruction that would manifest the Son of Man having come down. I reject this interpretation.
The establishment of the Church? At first blush, that seems a real stretch, but OK, I can see it. The Church is, after all, the outpost of the kingdom of God on this earth. Where the Church is, and is in Truth, we could certainly say that there the kingdom of God is established. And, yes, the Son being the head of the Church, we could say, I suppose, that where the Church is established, there is the Son. Yet, all these same things can be more certainly stated of a single believer. For we are the Temple of God, indwelt by the Trinity. It is an established principle of the faith that the kingdom of God is within the heart of the believer. This, then, strikes me as too vague to be His meaning.
That would leave us with the Resurrection and Ascension of the Christ, or the Pentecost outpouring as His intended meaning. Of these, I would take the Resurrection and Ascension as most viscerally displaying what He has just declared. Yes, there, in His victory over death, we are shown the Son of Man come in the power of God’s kingdom. His power is, after all, victorious over death. That has already been shown in small degree as Jesus raised the widow’s son from his coffin. It will be shown in even greater degree when Lazarus is restored to life after three days in the tomb. But, it will be manifested most explosively when the carefully guarded tomb of the crucified Christ is found empty except for the grave clothes in which He was interred.
These were events that ‘some of those standing here’ would see the impact of. Some would see the rising Christ between the time of His Resurrection and His Ascension. Some would see Him personally, and thus be eyewitnesses to His victory. They may not have seen the battle, but they will have seen the result! In His victory over death, in His leading forth the captives freed from Hades’ waiting room, the kingdom has come in power, and He as its head. And some of those standing there listening to Him would be there to see it.
Sadly, the fact that He leaves it as ‘some of those’ suggests that there must be some who would not witness these events. Indeed, we could take it further and suppose Him to mean that some of those who were there listening to Him would be dead before all of this took place. That may be the clause that led to the idea that He was talking about the fall of Jerusalem, for some at least of the Apostles had gone to their rest before that occurred. But, I would still hold that it is more likely to be those events that close out the Gospel account that He has in view.
One thing we can hold as a certainty is that when Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God, He expected a degree of understanding on the part of His hearers. He knew He was speaking to Jews, and He knew from His own childhood how fully steeped they were in the word of God and the history of their people. One could not mention that kingdom without bringing Daniel’s prophecies to mind. Nor would anybody there be at a loss when it came to subsequent commentary and expectations around that prophecy. This was the very stuff of Messiah! This was the whole foundation for that which every good Jew was impatiently awaiting!
There, in Daniel’s writings, we find the kingdom predicted as being such as will never be destroyed and will never be passed to another people. Enduring forever, it will crush all other kingdoms (Dan 2:44), specifically, those other kingdoms which had been indicated in the king’s vision. Expanding on this later, we have Daniel’s view of the King. He was given dominion and glory along with that kingdom. Every people and nation, whatever their language, came to serve Him. His dominion is eternal. His kingdom will not be destroyed. Daniel, unsure himself as to what his visions meant, sought understanding from an angel nearby, who explained that the beasts he had seen in his vision were four kings who would trod the earth. But, the conclusion is that the saints of the Highest One will receive and possess the kingdom forever (Dan 7:14-18).
Pause there for a moment. That last bit about the saints: this is the part that stuck. Never mind the king. Never mind all that. We will receive it! This is the primary reason for all the anticipation in Israel during this period. Frankly, it’s still the primary concern of vast parts of the church today, not on any official level, I don’t think, but it still prevails in the mindset of the people in many cases. It is a sad commentary on human nature that this is how we tend to see matters, even matters of faith. We’re just not all that concerned with what God is looking for in this kingdom He is establishing. We’re too wrapped up wondering, “what’s in it for me?”
I was reading an article in Table Talk yesterday which spoke of pragmatism as being the first truly American philosophy, and it is this pragmatism, certainly, which has so infected us that we are still looking to our personal advantage even as we look to the kingdom of God. But, I am struck by the thought that while it may have been an American movement that codified the concept of pragmatism, it hardly originated here. I can see it in that request made by the mother of James and John. I can see it in the national expectations of an Israel expectantly waiting for Messiah. They wait for Him, but it’s all about me.
The last reference I am given into Daniel’s prophecy only serves to reinforce this wrongheaded perspective, for once again, he is told how all of these kingdoms, every kingdom under all of heaven, will be given to the saints of God. It remains His kingdom, and an eternal one. It remains true that all other dominions (being lesser) will serve and obey Him. But, the thoughts get caught on that ‘given to the people of the saints of God’ part (Dan 7:27). And there, Daniel says, the revelation ended (Dan 7:28).
Listen! This is what had been keeping Israel going lo, these many years. Through the centuries of heavenly silence, they were clinging to this promise. Through all the terrors that had befallen the land, through all the tyrants who had held sway over them, they held to this one great Hope. There would come this One who would establish His kingdom and give the existing kingdoms to His servants, His saints. What an incentive to be counted among the saints! But, as the imagination lays hold of this great gift, it loses sight of the great King. In the land of great riches, as you enjoy the benefits of work you never did, in your satisfaction watch yourself, lest you forget the Lord who brought you here (Deut 6:11-12).
These are words that we need always to be aware of. These are words that should ring out even more clearly in our ears as we consider the kingdom God is preparing for us. How dare we allow our focus to be on the material benefits? How dare we forget our King in our rush to enjoy His benefits? How dare we allow ourselves to be satisfied thinking about our ourselves, counting our lucky stars, as it were, while the world around us runs headlong into hell? In what way does this make us out to be servants of the Most High God? We are servants of self and selfish appetites! The kingdom is not about these things! Have we not learned a thing? The kingdom of God is not about food and drink and material blessings, it’s about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is when we serve the Christ in these ways that we are shown acceptable to God and man (Ro 14:17-18). The kingdom is not a thing of words, but of power (1Co 4:20). “My kingdom,” says Jesus, “is not of this world” (Jn 18:36). The picture ought to be clear, even from these few references, that the things that are so dangerously attractive to us in these promises are distractions from the true gift.
[10/13/08] Well, I’m still sorting out what exactly happened yesterday. There are so many aspects of it to consider. First, I might ask myself how I was made so absolutely stupid as to not notice the simple fact that I had my own mixer muted. Second, I really must ask myself why the response? Why did I allow anger to build to such heights? Why the despair, the near certitude that I was being told to quit? Were it not for that later event of God choosing to speak through a brother in the church, one whom I have no reason to believe was at all aware of the turmoil in my heart and mind, I should probably still be convinced that was the point of the whole mess, was to deliver the message that it’s time to move on. But, it seems clear enough from the word delivered that this is not the case at all.
So fine, I could beat myself up over the utter stupidity of my own behavior, and I have in one degree or another, for all the good that does. More interesting to me by far, though, is the why. Why did God so arrange things that this series of events should befall me of a Sunday? Were the technical cause of the issue not so ridiculously simple, my blindness to the obvious would not force me to see His hand at work in it. Were it not for that brother coming to speak not only to me, but to another brother whose heart was in a similar state, I should perhaps have broken my usual rule of thumb and started blaming the devil, if not simply wallowing in my sinful failures. To be sure, I am certain we could find the devil’s workmanship stamped on events if we were so inclined, but the purpose, as always with God was not to serve his hurtful plans, but to fulfill God’s good plan.
There are things we need exposed in ourselves, else we will never deal with them. This anger is one such matter for me. It has been a real problem of late. But, the reality is that it is not the anger itself that lies at the root of the problem. That anger is just the outward evidence of something more. It is the symptom, not the disease. Pride? Well, certainly there’s always a place for pride in these failures. Like the devil, its imprint is on every sin that one looks at closely enough.
I would dearly love to just write it off to a rather natural exhaustion given the events of the last year. I would love to say, well, you know, it’s perfectly reasonable that my patience is all but gone after the last week, the last month, the last year. I have a right to fall! But, that’s nonsense of the first order. Likewise, I’d like to just chalk it up to anxiousness over the state of things in the world right now. There, again, there is a large grain of truth, to be sure. Looking at the situations unfolding around me, there are plenty of causes for anxiousness, aren’t there? In Truth, no. There are none.
It is this which turns my thoughts, even in contemplating this abject failure of my renewed nature, to the very things I was observing regarding the kingdom yesterday. Indeed, much of my immediate reaction, while laboring with the question, ‘does God want me out of the worship ministry?’ was that of which I valued more, His will and purpose or my pleasure in music. That is, I have no doubt, one of the greatest points of danger for me. Music has always been very nearly the love of my life, when it has not been very clearly so. Music is the thing I have been shown willing to sacrifice for. That I am allowed to pursue music in the service of my Lord and King is a great blessing, but it leaves me exposed to a great danger. It is an extremely fine line to walk, and I must constantly assess whether I am truly serving Him or whether I am merely serving music.
Funny, isn’t it, how this morning’s Table Talk is addressing the issue of idolatry? What did they call it? Ah, yes, ‘refined idolatry’. This is what our pursuit of so-called perfection and excellence can quickly become, even as we serve in the place of worship. It is well and good to excel at one’s craft. Indeed, God has every right to expect our best, and to offer Him less than that would be an insult of the highest order. Yet, to suppose that our best is, in reality, anything, is absurd! Our best is as filthy rags compared to the worst of the true kingdom. We, as a worship team, have been called to repent early and often. It strikes me, this morning, that the very first thing we need to repent of is this idea of serving up perfectly ordered songs as if we are anything. We are attempting to worship by the world’s definitions, and any such attempt is bound to fail of blessing God, for it leaves Him only second place, whatever the words may say to the contrary.
The only way we are going to attain to excellence in His kingdom is to seek first His kingdom. The only time we are going to experience perfection is when we have fully and finally entered into His kingdom, that kingdom in which Jesus has restored everything to perfect order. Yes, we dwell in the time of its beginning and development. We may even dwell as near to its completion as so many like to believe. Regardless, we do not dwell in its completion and as such, to claim perfection in any degree is to claim far more than our efforts deserve.
We remain children, offering our gifts of art to a Father who can see quite plainly that they are the scribblings of children. By the measures of artfulness, they are nothing. But, by the measure of beauty, as any parent knows, they are magnificent treasures. They are so because they are not just any child’s scribblings. They are my child’s scribblings. If there is any value at all to our offerings of art to the Father, that alone is it. You know full well, if you have ever had the opportunity to see the things of your own youth that a parent preserved that those things you created were junk, embarrassingly poor efforts by any standards you would use even in decorating your own home. Well, it’s time we look at our efforts for the Father with that same honest light. It’s not our incredible talents that make them of any worth to Him. It’s simply His love for His children, and that His children.
How could I not say thank You at this point, my Father? Thank You, that You are so pleased to display my poor offerings on Your refrigerator! How it should please You to show off these poor efforts to one and all with such joy is nearly beyond me. Should I see them again myself, I should doubtless be embarrassed to call them mine. Yet, You brag on them. Oh, and in that, there is nothing for me to boast of, for Your love is impartial. You are as ready to brag on one of Your myriad children as another. No, but I am able to brag of my Father, of His incredible love for me, and not only for me, but for all these other children of His.
Lord, let me keep that thought before my eyes: that these whom I serve with, with all their imperfections not unlike my own, are Your kids, and You are just as proud of them and for just the same reasons. If I can do anything at all, my God, let me be useful in keeping all our eyes on that same great Truth, that it is not our talents that please You, but our being Yours. Let me first keep myself from raising my art up as an idol before You, and second – with deepest love and tenderness – be of use in guarding my brothers and sisters from doing so with their own art.
As I read through the three versions of this message once again this morning, I recalled a text I had read at one time regarding the parables. Throughout that text, there was a constant effort by the author to discern the original parable beneath the accretions presented to us in the Gospel account. Now, this frankly tells us a fair amount about the biases of that author’s training more than it tells us anything about the Gospel or even about the Gospel’s authenticity. The assumption on his part is that we do not have the authentic presentation of what Jesus taught, but rather a representation of how His message had been adjusted to fit the needs of the Church.
From little more than experience of the human condition, though, I can find a much more innocuous and innocent explanation for the discrepancies in the account. I need look no further than how my wife and I recall the circumstances of our first meeting each other. The story she tells has details that are quite at odds with the way I recall things. Is she lying, then? Not as I would measure a lie. A lie requires a certain knowledge that what one is saying is false. No, it is merely the nature of our memories that they may not necessarily be 100% accurate, especially when recalling the things others have told us, as opposed to our direct experiences. Who hasn’t been subjected to the game of telephone at some point, and discovered to their amusement the degree in which the original message had changed by the time it reached the last participant?
Here, we have Matthew (presumably) the eyewitness, Mark (again, presumably) recording an account once removed, as Peter tells the story to him, and Luke interviewing a number of witnesses to the events many years later. It strikes me as completely plausible that each of the people giving account of what Jesus said on this occasion would have been struck particularly by different specifics. So, we find Matthew giving special prominence to the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Peter, as Mark records him, is struck more by the mention of the power of the kingdom, a thing he has, perhaps, experienced more directly than Matthew. Those whom Luke has interviewed may have, over time, reduced the message to the basics, or perhaps Luke, in his efforts for accuracy, has stripped off the details that were not common to all accounts he had heard. But, there is nothing that requires us to believe that by doing so he has arrived at the original message as it was delivered, free of any and all embellishments. It is just as plausible that he has lost a good deal of detail by doing this.
So, we too, particularly as we subscribe to the inerrancy of Scripture, and the God-breathed nature of its writing, ought to presume that all three accounts are giving accurate presentation of the words of Jesus, having added nothing of their own to His message. It is merely a reflection of the particular focus of each author that we see in the choice of details recalled.
Returning to this matter of the kingdom: Thayer’s notes that Jesus, when He refers to the kingdom, has in mind that state when all things have been restored to perfect order. It is the state of “the universe subject to God’s sway.” It is the universe established as “God’s royal dominion.” These are powerful statements, powerful images. When the universe is restored to full subjection to God’s rule, indeed it is restored to perfect order. That this is not yet the case where man is concerned is obvious. So, clearly, since we have already seen that this kingdom, when it comes, is established for perpetuity, it has not yet come in fullness. And yet, Peter’s recollection is of a promise of having seen the kingdom already come with power; not perfect completeness, perhaps, but truly with power.
Well and good. We know, or at least lay claim to knowing, that the kingdom of God is a thing established in the heart of the believer. Even here, though, I think I must accept that it is not established in perfection. My heart has still not learned perfect subjection to His rule. I am yet entirely too willing to set my own course, do my own thing, and reject His rule. Yet I know beyond any least shadow of doubt that His kingdom is indeed established within me. The revolutionary change of character I know in myself is sufficient proof of the point. The few occasions when I ‘hear’, as it were, His communication to my thoughts, are greater proof still, though to the lost and dying it smacks of madness.
At a minimum, then, we can say that the kingdom has come in this sense. We could even attribute a degree of power to that coming, for the change I (and all who have believed, I would suppose) have undergone is not a change that can be accomplished without powerful intervention on my behalf. But, I cannot think that this is all that Jesus had in mind here.
It strikes me that really, that moment in the upper room, when the Holy Spirit fell upon those present with tongues of fire and impartation of the gifts so needful to the establishment of the Church really bespeaks the kingdom arriving in power. Those gifts were certainly integral to the spread of the Gospel. Yet, here we have the Spirit coming with power, not the Son. So, while that satisfies the power aspect, it seems to leave out the matter of the Son coming in His kingdom.
I am returned, therefore, to the Resurrection and Ascension as the most likely and reasonable option for what Jesus has in mind in these words. The main argument I can see against such an understanding is that we don’t learn of any (apart from Judas Iscariot) who died before these events. But, there is Judas. Although, if Jesus had him in mind, it would be more accurate to say ‘most of those’ than ‘some of those’. Then, there are those others of the crowd that Jesus had called to listen along with His immediate disciples. Given the track record of humanity, one can presume that a goodly number of these listeners failed to follow, particularly after the discouraging details of what following would require of them. So, they would not see this first arrival of the Kingdom in Jesus. That would reduce the number from many to some. I am satisfied with such an understanding, although I would not wish to give it the force of doctrine.
In light of this, though, there are some other statements we hear from the mouth of Jesus that become all the more shocking. Most shocking of all, I think, is that which He declares to the very counsel that condemns Him. “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and you will see Him come on the clouds of heaven” (Mt 26:64). He confirms this, it seems, through the words of the Revelation. “He comes with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him” (Rev 1:7). This, it would seem, is reserved for the final Day of the Lord, the Day of Judgment, for it is said elsewhere that this is an event that will occur when false Messiahs and false prophets have plagued the land and the Church, a time, “after that tribulation” when the very heavens are failing, that they will see the Son of Man coming (Mk 13:22-26). It is as the elect are being gathered that the non-elect stand in witness of the event. Is it any wonder, then, that Jesus says they will mourn over Him (Rev 1:7)? Who doesn’t mourn when they see the punishment of their guilt coming upon them?
Sadly, the evidence is clear that Jesus is quite accurate in saying that for them it shall be as in the days of Noah. This, as sorrowful as it is, ought be of some encouragement to us as we seek to plant and water the seeds of the kingdom. When the seed is rejected by the soil, it is not to be a reason for self-condemnation. It is not the fault of the seed. Hear what Jesus has said about this time. It will be like Noah’s time. People will continue with their parties, their feasts, their drinking. People will go on with their marriage celebrations and all the normal celebration of life right up to the very moment. Right up until Noah was lifting the gangplank, they still didn’t get it. Even as the rains were beginning to fall, still they scoffed and went on assuming life would continue as it always does. It was not until the flood took them that they recognized the Truth in Noah’s warnings. So, Jesus says, it will be when He comes (Mt 24:37-39).
The apostles could attest to the veracity of these words as they sought to bring Christ to the lost world around them. Peter comments on it. They ask where He is, he writes. Everything seems to be going along as it always has. Indeed, the flood is a thing forgotten, so it seems to them that all has been going merrily along since the dawn of creation (2Pe 3:4). Now, the flood is not so much forgotten as belittled. It is deemed a fairy tale, a story to scare the children, a morality play at best. Surely such a thing never really transpired. And even if it had, wouldn’t it just prove that God is not good after all, but malevolent in the extreme? But, all such talk just seeks to hide the talker away from his own sin and his own position before the Judge.
The fact of the matter is that many whom we may seek to ‘reach for Christ’ simply do not want to be reached. They do not wish to face their real condition, and will do anything they can to bolster the carefully constructed illusion that they are not going to be held accountable. We are not much different, really. We, too, are forever trying to convince ourselves that the sins we commit are somehow less than sins. We, too, expend all manner of energy trying to delude ourselves into thinking that for us, these things are alright, even if they are sins in somebody else. But, the Spirit of the Living God has indeed come upon us, has indeed established the borders of the kingdom within us, and will not leave us to our stupidity. He will bring us to mindfulness, recall to our attention that to God, even deepest darkness is as broad daylight, that there is no hiding our actions from His presence and His sight, for lo! He is with us. He is with us even to the end of the age. If, as we know to be the case, He is indeed abiding within our very soul, how can we honestly think that He has missed any of our rebellious ways? He has not. It is but the vestiges of our foolish old nature trying to con us out of our inheritance in Christ.
And, when the con job is not coming from within, we find our faith under assault from without. This, too, is nothing new. Even as Paul was planting churches, even as the kingdom was truly spreading out its branches into the surrounding nations, already there were those who sought to kill the tree. They came with claims that these poor believers had already missed the boat. See! The Lord has already come! The Apostles and the true believers have already been taken up, and you’ve been left behind! But, Paul’s response is that of the pure-hearted messenger of God. “Don’t be shaken! Don’t be disturbed! I don’t care what spirit has come into your midst with such a message. I don’t care if you have a physical letter before you that claims to have apostolic authority. If these messages come claiming that His day has already come, then you can know them to be false, false, false” (2Th 2:1-2)!
Listen, the call of God is not subject to failure because of your feeble flesh. God is not subject to your feeble flesh. His will is not going to be stymied by your stubbornness and futility. He is powerful! He is all-powerful! When we pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, it is not an improvement in the efficacy of His will we pray for. It is an improvement in our willing subjection to His will, our pleasure in living fully in accord with His will. No, if indeed God has called you His own, you need have no fear of missing His call to come home. Here is that One who runs out to greet His returning son, though that son has been running in full rebellion. Here is that One who goes out of His way to round up that one lost sheep and bring him back to safety. He is not going to forget you. He is not going to leave you to your foolishness. He will call you back, even carry you back, for He has called you and you are His (Isa 43:1).
Indeed, in these times it is good to rest in the knowledge that all things are in His hands. Be anxious for nothing! That is the constant advice of the Son. Be anxious for nothing, for the Lord Your God is Your Provider. He owns the cattle on a thousand hillsides. Indeed! How owns all the cattle, whatever hillside they may be on! And, if these will not suffice, He can always make more. Your days are in His hands, and there can be no safer place. The turmoil that shakes the world around you need not cause you trepidation. Indeed! Rest in Him. Abide in Him. Seek you His kingdom and His righteousness, and let Him deal with your circumstance. He is faithful to save, a strong tower of refuge against all the enemy host. Fear not! His kingdom will come, and His will will be done. This is our settled and established certainty. Amen and amen!
