Shepherd

In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?'

And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles--to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. 

Acts 26:12-20

     Just days ago, I was telling my son the story of Saul, in part because my boy is one who frequently kicks against the goads. My child does not yet have the training Saul did, but he is every bit as single-minded, wrong or right. Before his conversion, Saul was in that category of Jewish culture largely viewed as righteous. He was rigorously engaged in persecuting those who were following the teachings of Jesus and "breathing out threats and murder" against them. Full of what I am sure he thought was holy anger, he sought permission from the high priest to travel to Damascus and haul more of those heretical Jesus-followers in to justice.

     However, as Saul stormed down that road toward Damascus, the Lord pricked him sharply with a goad, turning him aside from his rampage by striking him temporarily blind, and thus steering him to the rather reluctant ministrations of a believer by the name of Ananias. He spent the next three days in fasting and prayer until Ananias arrived on Straight Street, perhaps somewhat nervously inquiring if the ruthless Saul was around and in need of having his vision restored.

     I have to wonder what Saul pondered during his period of helplessness? Did he realize that his blindness was a tangible representation of what he had been before encountering Jesus, a man spiritually blind? For after he was healed, he was no longer Saul, the hate-minded persecutor of Christianity but Paul, the enormously loyal and obedient servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. The temporary loss of sight was also a foreshadowing of what he was setting out to do, for he also was to become a minister of the risen Lord and restorer of sight to the spiritually blind just as Ananias had been to him.Whether or not those things passed over his mind, it is certain that the affliction served as a rather efficient impetus for him to join his God on the correct path.

     As my son and I walked, I found myself wondering aloud whether Paul thought of these words, "it is hard for you to kick against the goads," later in his life. When he wrote of the thorn in his flesh placed there to prevent his becoming conceited, was he writing from a mental image of the goads used to keep the plow animals in line? As he endured the agony of the lash or the scorn of crowds furiously pummeling him with stones, did he remind himself not to retaliate; not to kick against these goads, too? It was an interesting thought.

     I think that many times, I have kicked against the goads--and so my son comes by it honestly, it would seem. I know that I have been called to a much more simple way of life, to listen to what that voice behind me directing, "This way," when I must turn to the right or to the left. However, I find I still constantly run ahead, charging full-bore down what I am certain is the correct path only to find that I have left the Lord's side and am barreling down the wrong path--alone. And I must find my way back. At other times, I will simply snap and give in to my anger, throwing what amounts to a grown-up temper tantrum. Always, always when this happens, I am pricked and shamed once my fury ebbs, and I am soon repenting before God and the target of my ire, typically my children. Still other times I will almost painstakingly nurse my hurts, letting my thoughts linger over what life should be or what I wish could be, if only... Yet this sort of selfish mental meandering only brings a keen jab from the One who lovingly seeks to keep me in line.

     There are so many instances and so many ways in which goads are used in my life that I could fill a book with them, though it doubtless would be a rather dull book! Each time they are used, I am reminded that the whole point of the story--of any story--is not me at all. My life is wholly given to serve the One who died in my place, paying ransom for the atrocities I have committed as well as those I still commit. It is love for Him that fuels me now; the goads are in place to remind me of that when I momentarily forget it.

     For you see, the natural me does not want to pick up my cross daily. Like the oxen that needed the goads to plow a straight furrow, the natural me is prone to wander, leaning always toward those paths that seem good because they feel good for a time. But my Master knows what is good for me far beyond what my eyes can see, and so he pricks with the goads to keep me on the narrow Way. Because I trust Him, I believe that He knows best, and so I yield to the goads no matter how much discomfort or inconvenience it causes me now. He is leading me through this brief life to something greater than I can even fathom. He is my Shepherd, marshaling me onward towards joy.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."  

Hebrews 12:1-6

 Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Fleas

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

     Father, Provider,Comforter, Deliverer, I have much to thank You for today. You have given me so many blessings, and for many such as food, shelter, clothing, and health I have expressed my gratitude numerous times. Yet there are blessings I have neglected to thank You for, in part because I have only recently recognized some elements of my life as blessings.

     Betsie Ten Boom once thanked You for the fleas in the filthy concentration camp barracks she was imprisoned in, only later to discover that it was the fleas that enabled Your word to be spread and shared without interference from the guards. She was wiser than I and recognized that Your blessings do not always come dressed in a package the human mind appreciates. I have neglected to thank You for the "fleas" in my life, and today I intend to do so.

     Lord, thank You for long, friendless spans of time in my pre-Christ life. Those periods of separation, though they chafed at the time, prepared me to walk the narrow path unaccompanied at times when I find that it is necessary to choose between walking alone or forsaking Your way. Thank You that feeling rejected then has galvanized me against being rejected now, for the zeal I now have for You and Your Word is not always readily embraced, and I again find myself categorized as a freak, albeit for better reasons this time around!

      Thank You that the same loneliness left me with a tremendous ache that was oh, so ready to be soothed by Your love. My heart had been seared by suppressed anger, by fear and rejection, and by my own bad choices, and it was calloused and numb. The shock of meeting You, the realness of You, pierced through and made a start from which You began Your patient work of pruning. It hurt, but I knew somehow even then that it was worth it--that You were worth it. Thank You for carefully debriding and then healing the fathomless wounds of my heart.

     Thank You for bringing me away from my hometown, for causing every friend I thought I had to desert me, for showing me the intense suffering of a young person dying of cancer, and for bringing me to the point of questioning every worldly philosophy my non-believing self had embraced. Without being confronted with death, I may have never found life. Without that sobering morbidity thrust into my directionless, bar-hopping lifestyle, I may have continued in my flippant attitude about death, life, and all things Christian. Thank You for forgiving me of the disrespectful manner towards You that was my custom at the time. Thank You, also, that in those small acts of betrayal and desertion, in the agonies I witnessed, and in the death of self I experienced, I am not alone. Jesus, too, experienced those things, and so I know my Redeemer can also empathize.

     Thank You for the headaches and other pains of aging today that are a constant reminder that the outer man is wasting away but the inner man is being renewed day by day. Thank You, too, for the increasing slips of my mind and waning of physical strength that remind me that Your power is perfected in weakness. In the relentless decay of self, I find that apart from You I truly can do nothing.

     Thank You for allowing me to walk through times of darkness and despair in my Christian life, for in those bleak spells I have learned that You truly are with me wherever I go even through the valley of the shadow of death. Thank You, also, that in those times of desolation You have stripped away all the consolations of religious feeling, all my pride, and even the sense of gratification that comes of service to others or to You. You have utterly flayed my soul until all that I am was raw and naked, weeping before You. Painful as that those times were, in them I have found that at last I know where my allegiance honestly lies and it is no longer to myself. With my spirit laid bare and bereft even of the longing for You and the satisfaction of knowing You, You gave me the blessing at last of utter assurance in this: I cannot be separated from You. When You asked me, "Would you, also, like to leave Me?"  I can now echo Peter in saying, "Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life!"

     Thank You for the times of financial crisis my husband and I have been through. I thank You specifically for the time when we had a single car, single income, both a baby and a mother-in-law to support, a tiny duplex where we all lived, no television, basic phone service, no Internet, and no cell phones. Though it did not make sense, we chose to forsake my income and obey Your voice that I should stay home with our infant and our future children. We learned so much: That You truly provide for our needs always, that there is a very distinct difference in what we need and what we want, that You bless obedience even when obedience does not make human sense.

     We are in a different stage of life now, Lord, and we have so much that I sometimes take it for granted. I find I am now feeling that my needs have increased  when in fact it is only my wants that have increased. Lord, forgive me for presuming upon Your provision and thank You for the lessons You taught me in poverty. Should You choose to remove all the material gifts You have lavished on us, I will still follow You. You are my God. You are my Portion. You are my Reward.

     And I am Yours, wholly Yours. Thank You for all the blessings of pain, irritation, and desolation that have brought me to this conclusion. Thank You for the fleas--every last one of them.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1:2-4

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ... Philippians 3:7-8

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

   

Child

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:3-14

     Now that yet another homeschool year is in full swing, I have had reason to contemplate the fatherly heart of God again and again. I firmly believe that He grants us children so that we can understand more fully our own childlike natures. You see, I wonder at times if my children do not trust me when they badger or complain about something--some treat or privilege--I have withheld. It could be, perhaps, that I deny a trip to the park when I know that a thunderstorm is imminent or a sweet on one day after several days' indulgence. From their droopy demeanor and unbelieving glances, it would seem that I had deprived them of a thing needed for survival and not a frivolous boon. 

     As I ponder my children's seeming lack of trust, wondering how on earth I have ever given them reason to doubt my loving care, I inwardly cringe at the sudden realization that I have treated my Father to the same temperamental pouting. I have voiced the same sulky whine when He has kept aside something that I was absolutely certain would satisfy or that I simply knew was critical for my survival or well-being. Just as my children are with me, so I am with my Father. They assume that what seems good to them must be good, and so do I. Only, my children are truly progeny while I am a mere creation that has been elevated to the status of "child" by the sacrifice of the true and only Child of God.  
  
     Appalled at my own audacity, I find I am wholly without excuse. 

     Recalling my last post, it is still really that same assumption that my thoughts have any relation to reality. I think I know what is good, but in actuality, I do not. I may believe a certain season or even lifetime of suffering is bad, but does my belief make it so? Am I not willing to suffer to attain something of great value to myself? I will endure pain and soreness to keep my body fit (at least, at times I do!). I have risen at gritty hours just to watch the sunrise, and I have willingly embraced a shattering lack of sleep to soothe three sick children, knowing all the while that I would soon succumb to the illness as well. For a time in my past, I allowed myself to be flung around by burly men and toiled through countless, uncomfortable blunders only for the joy of one decently-executed judo throw, sending one of said men sailing through the air with little effort. And I could rattle on endlessly...
  
     So it seems that the human condition is to find pain and suffering only worthwhile when we find the end result worthy. I am humbled before my Father, for even if my end result is solely that I have been called His child for one hour--He Who created me--than that is enough. But it is not all, for He has promised a peace surpassing understanding to the one whose mind is steadfast, trusting in Him. He has promised to be with me always, in the good times and the bad. He has promised the crown of life for those who are steadfast in trial and faithful unto death. He has promised His mercy and grace to those who accept the proffered cloak of righteousness from His Son, purchased dearly and offered freely. He has promised so much more than mere acceptance if only I will trust Him utterly and without reserve. Truly it is as the Psalmist wrote, "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere!" Yet He offers us so much more.

     My friends, if that is not a worthy result I am not sure that one exists. 

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 

Romans 8:14-18

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Upside Down

       

And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden."

Ah, you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?" You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

Isaiah 29:13-16

     Before I came to know and love my King; indeed, less than two decades ago, I was one of those who turned things upside down. It is frankly hilarious to me when I look back now on what I was so imperiously certain of then. Apparently I believed that the simple fact of my extending or withholding belief could somehow alter reality! 
     To put it plainly, I sort of believed in God or at least in a god. However, I had some twisted-up conception that in this belief, I was enabled to select the characteristics and traits that I thought would go best with a god, as if the whole god concept was akin to an enormous spiritual buffet laid out for my exclusive pleasure and benefit. Otherwise, I steadfastly declared, if there was a God who was able to destroy what He did not approve of, than I just couldn't believe in Him. Somehow, in some uproariously childish way, I thought that this sullen skepticism of mine negated the very existence of a God, as if God needed my permission to exist. Talk of turning things upside down!

     In the current stage of my life, I find it chafing, not to mention astonishingly arrogant, when my children hint that they might have a better parenting strategy than I, particularly when that strategy somehow involves them getting ice cream right after breakfast or some such absurdity. And absurdity is right, for that is precisely what I once projected in that flickering and farcical fantasy world where I evidently thought that my belief held a mystical power to create or destroy God. Upside down, without a doubt.

     I think G. K. Chesterton said it best when he stated that "It is idle to talks always of the alternative of reason and faith.  Reason is itself a matter of faith.  It is an act of faith to assert that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all."  I am absolutely certain that my thoughts at the time had not even a casual acquaintance with reality.

     In questioning the goodness or correctness of my Creator, I was merely believing that my own thoughts had some realness or substance of their own. The views I held as a skeptic were honestly rather contradictory and ridiculous if you look at them. If I am a creation, that is to say, if there is a God, then it is an extraordinarily silly thing to believe that I could possibly be wiser and know a better way to operate the world than my Creator does. If I am not, well, than I am not and it was rather birdbrained to go off thinking that there may be some piece-meal god that I can dress up or dress down as I see fit. What is the use of an a la carte god at all, really? If there is not a powerful, all-knowing, almighty Creator, than why mess around in the business of gods and what-not at all? One may as well believe in Zeus, Apollo, and all that fallible, fornicating lot.

     It boils down to one simple question: There either is or there is not a Creator. If there is not, what I do or think doesn't really matter anyway for it is all fruitless and futile speculation. If there is, well than what I think about Him still doesn't matter, for my opinion does not change the fact of the Creator, nor does it change any element of His nature or being. In the latter case, I am the creation. As a thing created, my limited view of what is right and wrong or how the world ought to be run is laughable on one hand, an act of mutinous rebellion deserving of thorough and utterly quelling wrath on the other.

     All in all, in those days, I was merely airing my ignorance in my beliefs that my ideas of what was good and right were the correct ones. In reality, it was much closer to whining because I could not have ice cream after breakfast than I would like to admit.

The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O LORD, are on high forever.   Psalms 92:6-8

 

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.   Proverbs 18:2

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Duty

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

Psalms 73:21-28

     In my few years of walking with God, there have been times that I shrink away from Him or from some service He has commanded. These times are shamefully numerous, I have to admit. Actually, I believe that we go through it again and again with each new school year. I will say to my eldest child, "Must I fight you every year to do what you know you are going to have to do anyway?" and I think I hear God clearing His throat.  For I, too, balk and whine at the beginning of each new year. "It's too hard. It's too much. You have given me more than I can do in a day. Training these children is grueling. I have not enough time for housework, and just look at the yard! My garden is overrun. I've no time for writing, either..." and on it goes, but as I complain, I can sense the significant look He casts my way. The truth is that I, too, am merely digging in my heels for tasks that I know I must do anyway.     

     What I have learned, however, is that when I doubt that I can fulfill a task He has given me, what I am really doubting is Him. I have become "brutish and ignorant," turning from His freely-offered grace to sulk and nurse my hurts, either real or imagined. I am no longer listening; I am merely pouting and wanting my own way. However, He never lets go, and I am so very thankful for that! He allows me my moment of sullenness and then gently--or sometimes not so gently--reminds me that He is my portion and not my pastimes or the even the fruits of my labor. He is less concerned with my task list than He is my attitude toward it.  

      He also reminds me in times like this that He is my strength, and that this is subtly different from giving me strength. It is that hard-to-describe inward act of surrendering control--my will subjugated to His. No, often I cannot do these things by myself, at least not in a way that brings Him honor and glory. But He will guide me with His counsel. He will be the strength I need when I stop striving on my own and instead rest in Him. In the event my flesh and my heart do fail, He reminds me that the goal of my efforts is not a spotless house, well-manicured yard, and perfectly disciplined and well-educated children. It is more about the heart of the matter: My own surrender to God's ways above my own in the living out of a life given wholesale to Him, the training of my children in the the ways of the Lord, obedience and diligence in God-given tasks and heartfelt repentance for my sins--even the sulks. Hopefully as I do this, I will pass on to these children a passion and zeal for serving and loving Him. This does not mean I neglect the housework or let the yard fall to ruin. It merely means that I put first things first: His kingdom and His glory before my own pride in house and family. His ways before mine. His will before mine.    

     Paul said it well, so I will quote him here: "Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all,"  (Philippians 2:14-17).  So what He has given me to do, I need to set my face toward it and work diligently to that end, not grumbling or complaining. If I am poured out in His service, than so be it. It is not my own pleasure I am created for, after all, but His.     



You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalms 16:11

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Asocial Media?

     It's true, I use some of the social media services. I am blogging, for instance, and I am something of a feast-or-famine facebooker. However, I have to admit that I have some misgivings about some of these tools, or at least about some of our motives in wielding them. There is an addictive quality to social media that almost anyone who has tried one out can attest to; something appealing in scrolling through the various status updates and random pictures that others post that seems to bring some level of satisfaction. We are in the know. We can give our opinions, share our witty comments, and make our point.

     They are tools also, and are not always used strictly for diversion. It is possible to make a political statement or share a passage of Scripture, a spiritual lesson, or a well-crafted article. We can make others laugh, maybe share a little joy. These examples and many others inculde some of the positive uses of social media. As I scroll through lists of updates, however, it is the more frivolous applications that occupy the most space. The fact is that the majority of us use them more for entertainment rather than with purpose and meaning. And, frankly, we Americans are already over-entertained.

     It is, however, the less obvious but possibly more destructive potential that I see which worries me. It is in status updates, tweets, and texting--none of them harmful in their own right, mind, but there is a serious danger which lurks as a possibility. Allow me to state loud and clear that it is not a problem for those who use these tools as just that--useful tools to be picked up when needed and laid aside again when the task is done. The people that concern me are the ones longing for companionship, desperately striving to electronically fill a need for relationships; it is the kids who learn to text and tweet before they learn how to fruitfully work out a problem or express their deepest longings, hurts, dreams, and joys to another--these are the ones who give me pause. These are the addicts, the restless-thumbed junkies always needing a fix without realizing that they are settling for a counterfeit to the very basic human need for relationship.

     Ultimately, there is good that can be done with facebook, as with all the rest. I  know people whom I cannot call because of either time or schedule differences and whose family photos I would never see without facebook. I know pastors and lay people who post thought-provoking and challenging quotes, proverbs, and passages of Scripture. I admit a personal desire to enter the world of texting, just for those grocery-store moments where a text would be more efficient than engaging in a conversation because all I really need is to remember the name of the new brand of deodorant my husband is using. Then again, I wonder how many hours are burned by me alone in my "quick checks" on facebook. . . All of these things can be a great boon, but the hours that are burned in tiny increments can stack up to become a massive burden in time.

     When it comes to that, it also scares me a little to see so many people hunger for that next shot, the instant gratification, but never taking the time to have coffee and a genuine, intimate conversation with a friend. It is easier and less chaotic at times to be "friends" on facebook, for you can ignore a facebook friend without them ever knowing or feeling slighted, and you can be ignored without feeling any injury or hurt. It is a simple matter to "like" whatever you feel defines you (at least at the moment), and there is not the complication and hassle of emotion nor the tediousness of having to be intentional in showing love and forgiveness. Online, there is often little to forgive.

     It makes me uneasy to think that there are people who do not realize that the messiness of concrete relationships is part and parcel of the reality of them.  Let's face it, no matter what angle you take, it is perfectly simple to conduct a facsimile of a friendship through social media, and it is so much cleaner--because it is not real. It's like seeing through a mirror dimly. Let's just make sure we never forget to take time to see face-to-face.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:23-25

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Hope

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Ephesians 6:10-18



I have spent the last several days processing the Aurora, Colorado shootings. I have a deep sorrow for those among the victims who may have died without Christ. I am heartbroken for the families who lost members and who have no hope because they do not know and trust the Lord. I ache for the injured who are grappling to make sense of this thing which would be senseless, save for the fact that I know that we are in the midst of a spiritual war. For those who are unaware of that fact, what happened is purposeless horror, and my heart is crushed for them. I even feel pain for James Holmes, the man who stormed in, guns blazing and left a bloodbath in his wake, for he, too, has been most heinously deceived. Yesterday, I read that at least one family had begun a lawsuit against the theater, of all things. This, too, grieves me, because these people are desperately lashing out, trying to find someone to blame and some way to exact retribution.


The truth be told, there is someone to blame. Satan, that deceiver of old, the accuser of man and of God, the restless destroyer whose fate is sealed and who is all the more fiercely determined to mock God and to delude and devastate that part of creation which was originally crafted in God's image. That ancient dragon's schemes are relentless and I am sure the anger, the bitterness, even the lawsuits that are budding will bloom into a sickly-sweet aroma of victory for him.

Not all will let him triumph, however. He is not the only character in this story; he is merely the usurper whose rule has been exposed as evil and overturned, and he is wreaking havoc until the return of the King. The fact is, God originally gave dominion over His creation to Adam, but Adam turned his back on God, choosing disobedience over leadership and thus ceding his authority to Satan. That old goat has gloated over this triumph since and has attempted to hold the entire world in his sway, propagating lies and striving to undermine God's truth.

God, of course, intervened and sent his Son to pay the ransom for Adam's choice, and thus the serpent's rule was challenged and proved false. There will come a day when the Son will come and claim what is rightfully His, but in the meantime the devil is battling to annihilate and con as much of humanity as he may drag away from service to the proper King.

All of the tragedies that play out on earth are symptoms of this greater, more invisible battle. Trying to make sense of this or any other terrible event without understanding the role of sin or the greater spiritual battle that rages behind it is like trying to cure an illness without knowing what a virus or a bacterium is. In both cases, a person may hit close to the mark quite by accident, but there will be no true grasp of what has been done.


No matter how dark the hour or how cheerless the news seems, there is still hope. For God is still alive and active in this story as He is in all others. There is good news in this calamity; hope in the face of obvious evil. That hope lies in Jesus. He alone is the true Victor, and He offers His peace to all who will come freely, trusting in Him and Him alone. It seems senseless, perhaps, but if there is a greater spiritual battle going on, then there is a greater reality behind what we can see. We can sense it; for all of us have a deep, inner perception that there is Something greater than us, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. As children, we knew it unquestioning; as adults we often discount it as fantasy, though we are drawn to it. Superman, Spiderman, X-Men--all of them a human fabrication of that gripping desire for Good to conquer Evil in the end.


The fact is, Good will conquer evil in the end. The war has already been won, and what remains is the enemy's desperate skirmishes as he attempts to destroy the realm that has been wrested from him before the appointed time of its reclamation. Things will get uglier before the end--that much has been foretold as well. But in the end, those who trust in Christ will overcome. In Him, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). In Him, we can take heart, for He has already overcome the world (John 16:33). In Him, we will find that peace that passes all understanding to guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7). In Him we meet the God Who Sees, the God Who Heals, the Rock, the Comforter, the Ancient of Days who never changes and whose love endures forever. In Him alone can we make sense of this increasingly senseless world. In Him we have hope, not because of anything that happens in this world, but that even after our bodies wear down and expire, our future is secure. Won't you trust fully in Him today? His offer stands--it is up to you to accept it.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.