New Thoughts (11/08/11-11/11/11)
I did not take time to explore the imagery of this parable during my preparations, but they are certainly deserving of some consideration. What, for example, would have been understood of the distinction between sheep and goats, or between the right hand and left hand side? On the first matter of sheep and goats, I find I left myself a note at some point to look at Exodus 12:5 when I arrived at this passage. There, Moses is describing the preparations for the Passover. Speaking in particular of that animal which would be sacrificed for the meal, he writes, “Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.” Well, this is interesting, if only in that we don’t typically think of lambs as being anything distinct from sheep. We would not typically think of a young goat as a lamb, but rather as a kid.
So, then, in the matter of the Passover which foreshadowed Christ’s offering of Himself, it didn’t matter particularly whether a sheep or a goat was offered. Yet here, there is a clear distinction being made. A quick look at Fausset’s indicates that sheep are symbolic of “meekness, patience, gentleness and submission.” It is also noted that sheep were created specifically for mankind, never having existed in wild form. It is thus, the text says, that the sheep was chosen for the first sacrifice. As to goats, there are several Hebrew words represented, one referring to the leader of the flock, and sometimes significant of being headstrong, wanton and lustful. Another term describes a different breed of goat used for the sin offering, and this is also an image used for evil spirits. Then, of course, there is the scapegoat.
In the matter of the sin offering, there is something of interest to be seen. The male goat was used for the sin offering, along with a calf, whereas an ox and a ram made up the peace offering (Lev 9:3-4). As to the scapegoat, it was selected from two goats. There are other matters worth noting in that matter. First, the process was established in the aftermath of the death of Aaron’s sons (Lev 16:1). Second, the whole was set in place as preparation for Aaron entering the Holy place (Lev 16:3). The offering he was to make consisted of bull and ram, which seems to parallel the peace offering described earlier. Then, there were matters of purification to be seen to. Finally, two goats were to be taken from the sons of Israel, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering (Lev 16:5). This is where the matter of the scapegoat comes in, for one goat would be chosen by lot to be ‘for the Lord’. The other would be the scapegoat. The one chosen for the Lord was offered as a sin offering, but the scapegoat was ‘presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it,’ and then sent off into the wilderness (Lev 16:8-10). There is much more preparation involved in this passage, as it pertains to the Day of Atonement. But this imagery suffices for the moment.
As applied to the passage from Matthew, it seems that the distinction between sin offering and peace offering might best be kept in view. The sheep, the peace offering, are welcomed. The goats, the sin offering, are sent to the fires of punishment.
As to the distinction between left and right, this appears almost a universal bit of lore. There is the consistent association of right and correct, and also the equally consistent association of left and sinister. There is much that could be said of this in regard to our political scene, but leave that aside. What I found rather striking is that we see this same general perception in Solomon’s writings. “A wise man’s heart steers him to the right, but a fool’s to the left” (Ecc 10:2). Why, Solomon? Well, there is a sense of the right hand as being the stronger, the more dexterous and skillful. It is from the right hand that the sovereign dispenses blessings. Vine’s notes that God taking one’s right hand indicates His strengthening and aid. The term for left has associations with darkness, or being wrapped up. There is a sense of unluckiness to it. TWOT notes that quite often left and right simply describe two options with no further implications. But, there are these cases, both in Ecclesiastes and here in Matthew where a moral distinction is clearly implied.
Does any of this greatly influence how we ought to understand what Jesus says here? Let us associate the two sets of images. On the right, the side of God’s blessing and aid, we have the peace offering acceptable to Father. On the left side, wrapped in darkness are the goats of the sin offering. There, we might note that those caught upon in habitual sin are indeed wrapped in darkness and unable to see the Light of God. The sheep of the right hand, however, know the Shepherd’s voice and will follow no other (Jn 10:4-5). They see Him leading their way and remain on course.
Now, lest there be any prideful thought that arises from being a sheep, it should be noted that sheep are just as thoroughly capable of straying as ever a goat would be, else there would be much less need for the shepherd. Sheep are notorious, at least in our modern conceptions, as being rather incapable of seeing beyond the end of their noses, for being rather flighty. Without the shepherd’s sure guidance, they would wander off a cliff without noticing, would idle away their time in mindless play and grazing. Goats, on the other hand, are mischievous as we see them. More likely, they are just curious explorers not unlike our own early years. But, that curiosity more often than not is seen as mischievousness by those who have charge over the well being of the curious.
Here, however, I shall begin to turn my thoughts in another direction, by noting that the distinction between sheep and goat has less to do with their inherent nature than with their assigned purpose. Returning to that matter of the Paschal meal, recall that either sheep or goat would do. Consider that by and large, the flocks of the shepherd would be a mix of both sheep and goat. It was only as one came to the matter of offering that distinction arose. Was the offering for peace or for sin? That determined the proper choice. Applying that to the words Jesus speaks in this passage, it could be said that those arriving at His throne of judgment already display the judgment in their being. The sheep are already marked out as peace offerings by the very fact that they are sheep and not goats. The goats are already marked out as sin offerings by the very fact that they are goats and not sheep.
We arrive, then, at an apparent issue of predestination. As something by way of a defense against the idea that I am reading into the passage from my own opinions, I note the final clause of verse 34. “Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Let me just say this: God doesn’t waste His time. He would not prepare a kingdom for you and then leave you to lose that inheritance. He doesn’t build houses to have them stand empty for all eternity. Neither does He build for one but then give to another instead. His purposes are yea and amen. We should also be ever mindful that He knows the end from the beginning, indeed, He declares the end from the beginning, if we wish to quote the passage correctly (Isa 46:10). And note what follows: “My purpose will be established, I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” That is the certainty upon which we establish hope. Who will? He will.
Come back to that inheritance. He declared it from the beginning. He did not declare that maybe someday, you would come into being. He declared you would. He did not assign some probability that maybe, just maybe, you would come to faith. He declared you would. He did not offer up prayers to Himself that perhaps you might respond and hold fast so as to overcome. He declared you would, and when He declares, He determines! He alone is the One Who is able to state the end with absolute certainty from the outset because He is the Sovereign, Almighty God. What He says goes, and it goes because He powers it. When Paul wrote, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Ac 17:28), he wasn’t talking about our predilections. He was talking about first causes. Apart from Him, we do not live. It has nothing to do with whether we choose to acknowledge it, or choose to thank Him for it. It has to do with the fact that He is the Source. He is Life, and where He is not, there is not life. If He ceases to keep His attention on our being for the briefest of moments, we cease to be. Apart from Him, there is no being.
And, He Who alone causes all existence says, “Your inheritance has been waiting for you since the world was created.” Let’s be clear: if the inheritance was established from the very outset of earth’s existence, so too was our role as inheritor. Before ever I was born, nigh on infinitely before I was born, this was established, and it was established with the certainty that only God can establish. It is written.
[11/10/11] I need to back up briefly this morning, as I have noticed a more solid connecting of thoughts as regards the matter of left hand and right. Re-reading verse 34, it struck me: The King says to those on His right – the right hand of blessing – “Come you who are blessed of My Father”. And yes, there it is: The verb ‘blessed’ is in the perfect tense, that indicator of a past accomplishment with continuing effect. Likewise the matter of the cursed in verse 41. So, then, the results of judgment are blessing and cursing, and at the same time the basis upon which that judgment is made is prior blessing or cursing. Do I strain too hard in arriving at this conclusion? It certainly reflects that matter of predestination that has been settled within me since I studied Romans. But, the question remains as to whether the subject is truly present here. I believe it is. I believe I have already made note of its presence in the remainder of verse 34, with its point that the inheritance of the blessed was established from the foundation of the world. It was always part of the plan.
I believe I have also touched on the point that if our inheritance was thus established, so was our position as inheritor. For this point, I will indeed hear from Scripture at large. Paul, perhaps the clearest proponent of predestinarian thinking in Scripture, writes, “He chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, in order that we might be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph 1:4). Note the very clear cause and effect in that verse. He chose us long and long before we were brought into being. He did so in Christ. In other words, the role of the Christ in this whole process was also established at the outset. And He did this so that we could be holy and blameless. Even at the outset, it was impossible that we would arrive at that estate on our own. It is His choosing that empowers and enables our holiness.
Yet, it is not Paul alone who promotes this point. John saw it, too. It is particularly evident in his discussion of the Lamb’s book of life in the Revelation. Two points are made, one of which I may return to later. First, in Revelation 13:8, after noting that all who are on the earth will worship this antichrist who comes, John notes that all those whose names were not written in the Lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the world will be slain. Notice that: This book was written and completed at the foundation, at the outset. There has been no update or revision since. This should be kept in mind as we come to Revelation 21:7, when we read that He who overcomes will inherit. The two are so thoroughly interconnected as to be inseparable. Those not in the book will not inherit, and those who are will. The implication is that those who are in the book will also overcome. They will persevere and persist. Why? Because God.
We can also hear hints of this point in some of the earlier words of Jesus. In particular, I have in mind John 5:24. “He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. […] He has already passed out of death into life.” It’s already settled. And, my friend, bear firmly in mind that he who believes does so because God. God has called and the answer was nigh on inevitable. God imparts His Holy Spirit, changes the heart of stone to heart of flesh, and that new heart could hardly fail to respond to Him. It is, after all written. It was there in the Book of Life that I should be saved, that I should come to Him with a love so deep, that I should spend the remainder of my days seeking Him, seeking to become more like Him, and stumbling inevitably. Yet, it is written and I shall because God.
Now, then: Let’s take that verse from John as a transition point. The part I excised from the quote is this: “He does not come into judgment.” This pertains to those who hear and believe. Yet, here is Jesus telling us that both the redeemed and the accursed arrive at the throne of Judgment. So, which is it? Let’s have a look. First, in the verse from John, the term rendered judgment is krisin which, though it can refer to either a positive or a negative ruling, is often used to indicate condemnation, damnatory judgment. Here, the term is not present, although the concept is. Instead we are viewing a separating, aphorisei, a calling out if you like. Note that term’s association with the Pharisees, the called out ones. Here, however, the sheep are truly the called out, or culled out if you please.
Laying these two points alongside one another, it becomes more evident that what is in view here is not the deliberation, but the penalty phase. The judgment has long since been made, arguably from the foundation. This is result. And here, as we learn that we who are sheep are counted as citizens of the heavenly kingdom, indeed inherit that kingdom, which would suggest some degree of ownership or rule therein, we ought to bear in mind both the privilege and responsibility of that citizenship.
Allow me to reinforce this point just a bit: Just as our position was established from the foundation, so we are granted to know the outcome well in advance. We already know how this works out. We know we shall inherit and we know, also, that we are citizens of that kingdom even now, for we have already passed out of death into life. We know that we are but strangers and sojourners in this life, with eyes upon a city more well founded, a kingdom that never fades. Knowing this, we ought not, must not take our citizenship for granted. It is true, assuredly, of our situation as citizens of heaven. It is equally true of our situation as citizens of earth, as Paul makes plain in Romans 13. For, as citizens of earth, we remain ambassadors of heaven, and ought, as such, to be the best of citizens, most fully mindful of civic responsibilities, most fully heedful as to the law of the land, but always with our primary allegiance remaining with heaven’s King.
So, what is the privilege of citizenship? Seems to me we have the simplest of answers to that question. There is that little matter of eternal life, which is privilege indeed. Then, there is the fact that we shall spend that eternal life in the very immediate presence of our Lord and King. And, if that’s insufficient, there is also our standing as His bride. We are made royalty by His royalty. The kingdom, quite frankly, belongs to us, as He makes us inheritors thereof. But, as is so often said, with privilege comes responsibility. To put it in Biblical terms, to whom much has been given, much will be required. And, my fellow believers, we have been given much indeed!
Turning to the responsibilities that accrue, we do well to consider Paul’s several lists of what things are not welcome in this kingdom of ours. We cannot, in short, continue to pursue the course of unrighteousness and still think ourselves inheritors. “Don’t you know that the unrighteous won’t inherit?” Paul asks the Corinthians (1Co 6:9). That’s a warning shot. There is no such thing as a carnal Christian, as much as we love the term. It’s an oxymoron. It does not compute. One is either carnal or one is not, and the clear indication is that the carnal do not inherit, and if they do not inherit they are not of Christ. And if they are not of Christ they are not Christians. So, Paul continues, and note the first words well: “Don’t be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminates and homosexuals won’t inherit.” The list actually continues to include thieves, covetous folk, drunkards, swindlers and revilers (1Co 6:10). This same general notice is given to the Galatians (Gal 5:19-21), under the heading of ‘deeds of the flesh’.
There’s more there, harder matters because they are more mundane. Enmities and strife, angry outbursts, disputes and dissensions, factionalism and envy are in the lists. These are far greater dangers to us than matters of idolatry, sorcery and fornication for the very reason that they strike us as benign. They are not so blatantly in violation of the Law, and we can easily put on our own Pharisaical garb and play at being in compliance while still entertaining such traits. So, Paul makes clear that he is not just making an aside. “I forewarn you just as I have before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom.”
Later in his letter to Corinth, he simplifies this to a very basic tenet: Flesh cannot inherit the kingdom, because the perishable never inherits imperishability (1Co 15:50). It cannot. Now all of this is not written to make us cringingly and fearfully attentive to our every act and thought. We are to be attentive, to be sure, but not with that panic and concern that supposes our eternal reward hinges on perfect compliance. No! Our concern is, or should be, that our actions reflect that eternal reward already ours. Paul’s point, as we see so clearly in that first bit to the Corinthians, is that we not delude ourselves in thinking ourselves saved when we are not. “Don’t be deceived!”
Hear me on this: The sinner’s prayer does not save. Putting name and address on a slip of paper claiming to have accepted Christ does not save. Attending church on a regular basis does not save any more than does attending only on the two high holy days of Christmas and Easter. What saves is real faith, and that faith is not something innate to ourselves, nor is it something we can work up. It is the free gift of God, that no man should boast (Eph 2:8-9). The point Paul is making in these lists of fleshly works, and the corollary lists of spiritual characteristics is to provide us with something of a self-check. If we are still consistently pursuing these sorts of actions then we ought not to suppose ourselves counted amongst the elect. Simply put, where the Spirit of the Lord is, and His abiding within is the singular hallmark and signature of faith, His fruits cannot help but be evident. You can look at Galatians 5:22-23 for a list of those character traits that are symptomatic of the indwelling Spirit of God. In Romans, the overall effect is more succinctly stated: “Those who seek glory, honor and immortality by persevering in doing good shall receive eternal life” (Ro 2:7). It might be better had Paul reversed the clauses there. Those who receive eternal life shall necessarily be those who seek glory, honor and immortality by consistently, doggedly doing good.
There are plenty of folks who are seeking glory and honor, and many who establish for themselves an immortality of sorts. That is, after all, the stuff from which history is woven. The heroes of ancient Greece are still well known to us today. The heroes of Rome are likewise immortalized in story and in stone. But, its not the personal goals that Paul tells us define the redeemed. Nor, I should note, is it the absence of such goals. It is the means and the motive. The means that count are those of persevering in doing good. Pursue that thought. What does it mean? It means those who are truly in Christ will do good even when it’s annoying, even when it involves doing so for those we might not particularly like. It means we will do good even if it comes at great personal cost to ourselves. In short, we will do good and do what is right regardless. That’s the perseverance part. Regardless of the recipient’s worth, regardless of the personal cost, regardless of the difficulties that present themselves, we shall see good done, because God is good.
Can I just note that, if I take Paul’s words here, it’s okay that there may be a bit of self-serving in that. It’s okay that maybe we allow some thought for our glory and honor in that. But, only some! We ought to desire to be known and remembered, but we must desire to be known and remembered for the ways in which we reflected and manifested Christ in us. After all, if He indwells and this necessarily results in the fruits of His Spirit being demonstrably evident in our lives, we should expect to be honored for that – not demand, but expect. Those who witness Him through us ought to glorify what they witness. The saint is worthy of praise insomuch as he is a saint. But, the saint recognizes fully that whatever praise and honor accrue to him in the minds of those around him accrues not to him but to Christ. He is pleased insomuch as he has brought honor to the only True God. It is one of those privileges of citizenship that we are empowered by Christ to have Him in evidence in our own acts and deeds.
If, then, we be remembered for aught, may it be for our evident, consistent resemblance to the Christ our Lord and Husband. May it be that we are known for having truly demonstrated our citizenship in heaven throughout our sojourn on earth.
I must say, as I start another day’s notes, that I become more and more convinced that what Jesus is describing here is not the process of judgment but rather the outcome, the sentencing phase. I have already pointed this out, but let it be repeated. Any one of us, standing before His throne on that glorious day, could assuredly find evidence befitting the summary given of the sheep. Any one of us could just as assuredly find evidence more akin to the description of the goats. The worst of sinners has almost undoubtedly done something nice for someone once in their lives, maybe even for one who is counted as family to the Christ. The best of Christians has undoubtedly missed at least one opportunity to serve a fellow believer in their need. If, then, what Jesus is showing us is the cause for the decisions He renders, then there is a double standard at play, and there comes to be a question as to the justice of it all. Yet, it is impossible that He would be unjust.
I note, also, that both sheep and goat are presented as being unaware of the significance of the deeds He recites or their lack. The sheep did not do as they did with some conscious thought of serving Christ by serving His followers. The goats did not actively seek to avoid serving Christ by not serving His followers. What Jesus is laying out here is not the intentional works done either in hopes of achieving righteousness or avoiding the same. These are the more or less unconscious acts He is listing, things done or not done based on the person before the actor. The emphasis on ‘the least of these’ causes us to consider our assessments of those we deem insignificant. Because it is our treatment of their like that our Lord finds significant. It is our treatment of such as they that provides a measure of our true character.
But, again: We know well that we who have been called by Christ are in this life simultaneously saints and sinners, as Martin Luther said. We know we have credits on both sides of that tally. If, then, Jesus takes account of every success and every failure, there is weight contributed to both sides of the scales of Justice. Here, we have to consider how we ought to understand the phrase eph hoson, which the NASB renders ‘to the extent that’. Other translations, like Webster’s offer it as ‘inasmuch as’. And the Dhouey-Reims gives us ‘as long as’. Let me take slightly more of that last one: “as long as you did it to one of these”, or “as long as you did it not”. That’s the contrast we are shown.
Looking at these translations, the sum seems to be that just one such act or one such oversight would suffice to seal the result. One slip up, and condemnation is determined. One success and heaven is assured. But, again: look back even a week and you can be pretty sure to find cause to be assured of both outcomes, if this is the basis of judgment. Yet, both outcomes cannot simultaneously apply. One cannot be found both goat and sheep. There’s no third column down the middle of this scene, else the vast majority would be found in that column. In short, this cannot be the basis of judgment. Rather, it seems as though it’s the explanation handed to those already judged.
Look at this again: The sheep cannot believe they’ve been found sheep. When did we ever earn this? Well, in truth, you didn’t. There is no earning it. Indeed, if the sheep are given to hear the results spoken to the goats, they must surely scratch their heads and think, “but, I’m just as guilty of such neglectfulness, so why am I over here?” The guilty might also find cause to wonder why the times they did act to aid another’s need aren’t being mentioned. Where do I arrive with all this? Quite simply that if this were the sole measure by which judgment were made, then there would be every cause to cry out against injustice. There would be a double standard so blatant that even those benefiting from it found it unreasonable.
That being the case, what I must suppose we are seeing here is more reflective of the legal standing already established. Bear in mind what is said of our sins on other occasions, that by His death our sins are forgiven and essentially removed from the books. If they are removed, what remains, but the list – however brief – of our deeds of compliance? He Who chooses to forget our sins as we lay hold of His forgiveness has only our good works to remember! Even if it was just one of the least of His brethren that we were mindful to aid, and aided just because it was right, not as some ticket to heaven, that’s what will be remembered into eternity.
What is markedly disturbing is the obverse of this coin. For the reprobate, the exact opposite would seem to apply. Whatever good things they may have done in life are blotted out by their refusal to have faith and submit to the Lord’s plan. The only thing that the Lord will recall of them into eternity is the long list of their sins, and it will be remembered with no least good deed to ameliorate, for the punishment shall be as eternal as the life of the saints.
My initial perspective on this was that indeed the Judge was applying two distinct systems of measurement based upon the decisions cast in concrete at the foundation of the world. However, as I have been exploring just now, this would be unjust and therefore cannot be the case. Rather, what I believe we are shown here is the two distinct outcomes or results of the judgment. This is the situation after decision has been rendered and the court documents updated. For the righteous: every crime pardoned and removed from the record. For the reprobate: every crime written for all eternity, and every ameliorating circumstance rejected and denied as having any bearing on the case.
If there are two things that seem to stand out as of primary concern from this parable, it is oddly enough not what lies on the surface. A surface reading would either cause one to just give up because the sentence of condemnation was already so clearly earned, or to start striving at works with no greater purpose in mind than to earn one’s ticket in. And, both of these responses would represent an utter failure to grasp the reality of God and of His purposes. The whole weight of Scripture points out the foolishness of both conclusions. Flesh cannot win its way into immortality. No man reaches the end of his days sinless. Scripture is adamant about this. Enoch is often raised as being the exception to this rule, but I am not convinced that holds. Enoch is exceptional, to be sure, but sinless? The remainder of Scripture would argue against any such conclusion.
This is not a call, then, to a works based approach to salvation. No! That is dead and done away with. Indeed, go back to the first statement of the Judge: that kingdom was prepared for you from the foundation of the world. This was settled long and long ago, well before the dreams which led to the eldest member of your family tree being born to their parents. Let’s be clear. Before Adam, this was already settled. The end had been declared from the beginning by the Beginning. The Alpha proclaimed the Omega, and does anybody really dare suppose they can gainsay Him to any avail?
So keep these things in view: First, that the finale was cast and determined before the curtain rose; second, that those who come to reward have not done so because of conscious effort on their part, at least not by conscious attempts to earn their way in. Nope. “When did we ever do anything right?” That seems to be the heart response of the redeemed. Arguably, it is the goats who are more keenly aware of their attempts to do right. The redeemed, it seems, tend to be far more keenly aware of their failures than their successes. Isn’t that the way of it?
Even last night at worship practice, some whom I would look upon as very reflective of what faith looks like expressed concerns along these lines. What if we come to the end and discover that we weren’t among the called after all? How can we know that we shall not be amongst those who called Him, “Lord, Lord,” and yet were never known by Him? It’s well and good to point out that these very pricks of our conscience are evidence in themselves that we are His. The reprobate, as a rule, could not care less, even as we could not have cared less about what God thought of us when we had no thought for Him.
That aside, we all know those times of concern, of wondering if our sins will, in the end, outweigh our good deeds. But, that’s all wrong-headed thinking and we know it. The good deeds either express the inward change that He has already accomplished in us or they are of no value whatsoever. All our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa 64:6), and if we are found to be standing in the presence of our Lord and King it is because by His own right arm, He has already blessed us, and given us to be another brand plucked from the fire. It is because He has removed the filthiness of our lame attempts at righteousness and clothed us with His own real and perfect Righteousness (Zech 3:2-4).
The one last point I would make as to this matter of sheep and goats is that it stands as clear evidence of a dual resurrection. This ought be no matter of conjecture or debate in the Church. It is well established. We have it from Paul, in his defense before Felix. “I have the same hope in God that these men so cherish. I and they are equally certain that there shall be a resurrection both of the righteous and of the wicked” (Ac 24:15). Only one group will be happy about it, though. If that does not suffice, we have the words of Jesus Himself, as He discusses His role as Life giver and Judge. “Do not marvel! The hour is coming when all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice and come forth. Those who did good will be resurrected to Life. Those who did evil are resurrected to Judgment” (Jn 5:28-29). I really find no reason to comment further upon this than to simply note the established fact of this being the reality of the case. Those who suppose that they can just enjoy life while it lasts and move on to the oblivion of the grave fail to grasp the seriousness of the issue. No, no. Life does indeed persist in one form or another. But, for the sinner, the unrepentant reprobate, that which persists could hardly be counted a life worth living. Sadly, it will be a life with no expiration date and no possibility of parole.
Lord, God, this is a time to be thankful indeed, and indeed I am thankful. That You have chosen me remains one of those mysteries I shall never begin to understand. The mind wants to discover a reason for it, and the ego wants that reason to be found within the self, yet it is not there to be discovered. Who am I that You should care? I am nothing. You are all. Yet, I sit here this morning, keenly, painfully aware of my myriad shortcomings and yet utterly certain of my listing in Your book of Life. What cause have I for any such certainty except that You have spoken it? Were it not for the constant reassurance of the Holy Spirit within, I should swiftly fall into doubt and despair. But, You are here. You have chosen me for reasons only You can know, and I could hardly do other than to bless You for having blessed me. How great Your love for me, how unfathomable! How deep my debt to You for the redemption You have caused to be mine. And yet, You offer – nay decree – so great an inheritance above and beyond! What thanks could ever suffice? What words could ever be enough? How could eternity even hope to provide time enough to contain my response to such goodness! You are great, Lord. You do miracles, but this is so beside the point! You have already done the miracle in that I have found myself loving You; You of whom I gave no thought, You who I thought but a vaporous imagination, and of no value or concern. Yet, You are my all in all, my every best thought, the reason of my being and the joy of my contemplation. All praise, and glory and honor to You, Lord, and thanks unto the ages.
