New Thoughts (3/25/02-3/27/02)
Calvin gives a warning to those of us who teach, that we must make certain never to claim greater knowledge than we possess. We must never be afraid to say "I don't know." We must avoid creating answers when all we really have are opinions. Paul is a good example of this, as he is cautious to make clear where he is speaking no more than opinions, that they not be confused with things direct from God. It is another function of pride that we want to have all the answers. It is another manifestation of the flesh that wants to be its own god that leads us to refuse to admit ignorance, that leads us to insist that God answer all our questions. It is the spirit of the age, insisting that we are judge, and God is on trial, when the truth is quite the opposite.
This is but an expression of what Scripture itself has told us about our own condition. (Pr 16:2 - All men think themselves clean, but the LORD weighs their motives.) Where were your thoughts when first somebody put Christ before you? I know my immediate reaction was that I was a good guy. What need did I have for anybody's forgiveness? This is the natural thought of man. This is the root of that same thought that has been so bold as to play the judge to God. This is the base of humanism, that man is basically good, and in the end, is the highest good. But God knows better, and in our better moments so do we.
We may do the occasional good deed, but it seems it's almost always done begrudgingly, or, worse yet, in the simple hope of reward. The truly selfless individual is not to be found in nature. He simply doesn't exist. Yet, oh how quickly we will protest when calamity comes! How quickly we will declare our worth to the Almighty One when His hand is upon is in discipline! This is not proper. Such things should not be in us, yet even after years in the Church, the reaction comes. What will it take for us to reach the understanding that the Psalmists had?
(Ps 119:75 - I know, LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that the affliction you have visited upon me, You sent in faithfulness.) In our day, we don't want a just God anymore. We want a loving God. It might be acceptable if He's just towards others, but in our case, we don't want to hear any more of it, we want the mercy. Every setback that befalls us, every sickness, every disease, we attribute to Satan, and leave God completely out of it, but why? God never excused Himself from these situations. No! Over and over, He has told us that He is jealous, that He is wrathful, that He will surely repay. We simply cannot bear the thought of God being who He says He is. We want Him all nice and cuddly.
But God has promised that He will discipline those He loves. We, like sheep, are constantly going astray, and He, the Good Shepherd must do as He must to bring us back. The crook around the neck never feels comfortable, yet it brings the sheep back to safety, saves them from the precipice that they've been happily diving towards. God prunes every fruitful branch. The pruning leaves us perhaps scarred and bleeding for a time, yet it leads to greater fruitfulness. A bush that has never been pruned may not bear any scars, but it looks the worse for its lack. A lilac that has never been pruned will cease completely from bearing flowers. All its beauty will be gone, and only its gnarled trunk remain. So would we be without the discipline of the Lord. Such as He sends our way, He sends in faithfulness. As much as discipline may hurt, it comes from that very love we want so much to see in Him. Can we learn to accept His discipline, to learn from His hand, and stop seeing everything as a hindrance from the devil? Can we get it through our heads that half the time we are attempting to oppose our own Creator?
Admittedly, we may not, indeed, probably will not, understand what He is doing in those times of discipline. No discipline is pleasant at the time, and all we can see is the unpleasantness. Yet, we simply must learn to trust His wisdom. What He has sent our way, He has sent with a purpose, and we know (or we ought to) that His purposes towards us are for our good. Not only must we learn to trust Him, we have bound ourselves by high oath to submit to Him - whether we understand what He's doing or not. We are bound by high oath to trust Him. This is faith is about. It's about trusting obedience. In accepting salvation, we have accepted His terms. Though the words of oath taking may not have been present, yet the oath remains sealed. There is a covenant between us and our Lord. A covenant implies an oath.
By that oath, even if His plans are at odds with our desires, we are duty bound to obey His plans. He has made clear to us our duty. He has left us with plain and simple directions in His Scriptures. We may tend to complicate them, and make them uncertain, yet what He has said is plain enough. Yet, there is much about Himself that He has not chosen to make clear. We are not given to know all the details of His judgments, nor are we privy to the reasoning behind His providential acts. It is the beginning of rebelliousness that we try and insist on having explanations of Him, where He has chosen silence. If it were for us to know, He would have told us. Clearly, He remains within His rights if He will not answer. His ways are not our ways, His ways are beyond us, beyond our ability to understand. When we approach this boundary beyond which our reason cannot go, we cannot but stop, and give our adoration to Him who is beyond.
The Psalmist writes, "there will be silence before You, praise in Zion" (Ps 65:1). This is an awesome revelation to me. In our church, we are loud and vocal in our praises. Our worship times seem awesome to us, and we rejoice, we dance, we shout, we give everything we know how to give to our praises of Him. Yet, we get very nervous when all goes quiet. We don't know what to do with that. We feel as though we ought to be playing something, singing something, saying something; and God is saying, "No. Your silence is the highest praise you could offer." Words must fail us when we seek to describe all that He is. No song could possibly do justice to His majesty. No sermon could possibly declare the fullness of His glory. When our praise and adoration is at its most honest, what can it be but silent before Him in whom we live, and move, and have our being?
He is awesome. He is sovereign. What does that mean for us? It means He is not required to give us an account of His actions, His choices. Modern man wants answers for the pain they see. They want answers for the evil that is loosed upon the earth. But no answer will come. No, indeed. It will be them who must give answer in the end.
God is omniscient. He is omnipotent. What does that mean for us? It means He doesn't particularly need our help. He doesn't need us to assist Him in creating, for He has created all things. He doesn't need our help in running the universe, not even in running our little corner of it, it is all running by His will already. He doesn't need us to turn state's evidence for Him. He already knows the heart of every man. There is no secret thing that He will not bring to light when He sits in judgment.
In that day, it will be clear and undeniable that no man has ever deserved anything from God. In that day, it will be clear that those who have received nothing from Him have only received what they deserved, and have no cause for complaint. In that day, it will be clear to all who have come to Christ in faith that indeed, their salvation is certain, but is certain for no other reason than Christ alone. In that day, it will be clear that no man can dare to demand salvation of Him. There is no basis for demand. The guilty man standing before the judge does not do well to demand his freedom. He may plead. He may seek to show extenuating circumstances. Yet in the end, his freedom hangs upon the mercy of the court.
So it is for us. In that day, our freedom will hang upon the mercy of God, as it does today. In that day, the only appeal that the Judge will hear will be an appeal to the atoning work of Christ. The only evidence that will support our case is the evidence of a changed life, a life that has been turned over to covenant relation with the sovereign God of all, a life that has learned to trust and obey. In that day, every man, whether saved or lost, will glorify God. Those who have refused to glorify Him by accepting the salvation He freely offered, will glorify Him by receiving the punishment their sins justly deserve. Salvation or ruin, it is ours to choose, yet either way, He will be glorified. Why, then, would anyone choose ruin?
I wish to repeat the thought I wrote down when I first passed through this section of our text, because I need to remind myself of it over and over again. It is the central truth of this passage, and yet, it is so easy for us to forget in our day to day living. I am created by Him. This part I know. This part I don't forget. It's the implications that slip away. Implications like this: my daily life is dependent upon His continued desire that it be so.
In our church, we have recently been reminded of this simple fact in a most convincing way, as one of our dear brothers went home to the Lord in the prime of his life. This event has awakened many of us to the basic truth of our lives again. It has brought many to the first realization that salvation is a serious matter. Yet, even yesterday, I was comforting my daughter with statements like, "Mom and I aren't going anywhere. You don't need to fear that you might lose us like that." How to balance it? Even as I said it, I knew it was beyond me to declare such things, yet how to comfort my daughter in her concerns? She's not yet ready to be satisfied with "it's all in God's hands."
But our brother had, I believe, learned to walk in this fashion I speak of: each moment of his life was lived in recognition that it was by God's will alone that life continued. He knew that his death would also be a matter of God's will, and so, not only he, but his family, have been largely at peace with his departure. Shockingly at peace, to a world that has rejected our Lord and Savior. Truly, they have exhibited for the world to see that peace which Christ gives, which the world cannot destroy. Truly, they have displayed for the world, and for the church, what it means to live a life that is devoted to His will in every moment.
While this life continues, I am here to fulfill His desire and purpose. When I pass on, it will be to fulfill His desire and purpose. I am not my own. I belong to God. I have now seen this lived out in full. I cannot but pray that I will reach that point in my own walk.
Lord, how can one look upon the testimony of such a life, and not long to deserve such a testimony himself? How can one look upon a life lived in devotion to You, and not long to live in that same devotion? Yet, so often, it seems so far from me. So often, I remain determined to follow my own desires. So often, I am more concerned with my agenda than Yours. Where is the cure, my Lord? What will it take to become so attuned to Your will that no hesitation remains? I invite You, my Master, to prune me as You must to make this so. I don't ask this thinking that it will all be wonderful, I know it will hurt. I know there are weeds in my life that will not go except You rip them out. Yet, I know that I cannot be as I ought, except You do that weeding, except You break up this hard earth, that a beautiful and fruitful life may grow from it. Come into Your garden, my Savior, and bring it to life.
