Love Greater than Pain

After I came home from hospital, it happened my morning readings were in the book of Job.  This was impeccable timing, because whenever I read Job his suffering dwarfs mine in a matter of sentences.  A sore, surgically-repaired knee is nothing compared to what Job faced!  When pain hits hard it prompts soul-searching and questions.  There was no rational reason for the theft of his herds, the consuming fire from heaven, nor the collapse of the home of his son and subsequent death of all his children in one day.  There was no human answer for why Job's health failed so suddenly and the severity of his suffering.  Job's brilliance was revealed in the midst of his suffering, not by the absence of it.

Job never allowed his pain to reflect poorly upon the character, purity, and righteousness of God.  What happened to Job was wrong, but Job refused to charge it to God's account.  He acknowledged he had freely received good from God and it would be hypocrisy to refuse evil.  Job's suffering was severe.  He was in so much pain he wished he had never lived at all!  He was willing to trade all the good times - the blessings, his family, experiences, riches, friends, everything - to have the privilege of never being born.  Most have never suffered to such a degree, that they would give up memory of all good things they love and enjoy to have never known anything.  Job loved and trusted God, yet his pain was such he would have been content in that moment to have never existed.

Pain leads to self-revelation, and it is also refining.  It has the potential to bury us in self-focus or spurn us to praise and glorify God who is always good, no matter the struggles or pains we face.  I believe Job had a proper view of God. a vision seldom experienced by people today.  We have a benefit Job did not have, in that we can observe how God restored him in the end.  We can allow the fact that Job was restored by God to help us through our difficult seasons, but that is not what brought Job through.  He had no such hope, no precedent.  Here is the point:  Restoration or future benefit should not be what inspires us, but only a vision of God Himself.  Job's pain led to a deeper revelation of God.  Should pain provide a window to a greater vision of God even without physical restoration, we have been graced with a gift beyond compare.  We ought to love the Giver more than the gift. Through Christ, our love can be greater than pain.

A World of Pain

The Bible tells us in heaven there will be no more pain.  Yet alas, on this earthly side of heaven, we are guaranteed pain.  Pain, sickness, and sorrow are consequences of sin, and as long as we live in this body of flesh, pain will be a part of life.  Even Jesus, a man who never sinned, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  He experienced the full range of human pain:  physical suffering, mental anguish, emotional hurts through rejection and betrayal, and spiritual separation from the Father on the cross.  If God should see fit to allow His own Son to suffer and die for the sins of the world as a demonstration of divine love, then pain for those who have received His love need not sting so badly.

It is a truth that often pain must be inflicted before restoration and healing can be experienced.  When I tore my ACL and meniscus in May, it hurt.  Walking was slow and painful.  My knee was stiff, sore, and swollen.  If I twisted it the wrong way or banged it into something, shooting pains told me immediately what I did was not good!  Almost two months have passed and there is no swelling and virtually no more pain.  But there is still a problem.  My anterior cruciate ligament - the major stabilising ligament in the knee - is still gone.  This means I am at high risk of doing more damage to the knee joint and ligaments which are not so easily repaired.  Doing nothing means a certainty of arthritis!  Because of my relatively young age and active lifestyle, surgery is the only way to replace the ligament.  This means today I will be stuck with needles, have my skin cut with a knife, tools will be shoved through keyhole incisions, and a drill will go clear through the bone.  Thankfully I plan not to be conscious during this process!

My point is, some pains and injuries we suffer in life - physical, emotional, and mental - will not get better on their own.  Our greatest pains come from being cut off from a relationship with God because of our sin.  We must come to the place of disturbing the very source of the pain to administer a restorative cure.  I could live with a completely ruptured ACL, but I would have to protect and favour my injured leg.  Even after just two months my other knee has started to hurt because I have been walking slightly off.  Doctors are not healers, but God is.  God is the One who can heal and restore us back to a close relationship with Him.  Even in our physical pain He brings comfort, knowing our pain is not without a purpose.  It is when the pain is too great we are willing to seek help.  Exploring or poking around in my damaged knee without a new ligament to attach would be intensely painful and only cause more scar tissue.  That is all worldly wisdom can accomplish when it comes to a wounded and guilty conscience.  God offers assurance, forgiveness, hope, peace, and love.  God does more than acknowledge our pain, but sets us on a course for healing and salvation.

Today I am heading for a world of pain, but pain isn't always a bad thing.  It is often the door we must pass through to greater revelation, peace, and comfort only God can supply.  It can be the first decisive step to healing and restoration.  Praise God He knows our pain, and in His compassion can do everything to make it work for good!

The Ol' Club

Years ago I spent a few weeks refurbishing a pool table for my garage.  Over the course of time, one of my two-piece pool cues broke.  As I walked to the rubbish bin, I held the lower portion in my hand.  Man, this would be a good club, I thought to myself.  Convinced of the bell-ringing power of my new club, I put it near my bed in the case of an unexpected intruder.  For years the thing collected dust.

Then one day I heard a story (fact or fable I do not know) about a woman who woke up and caught an intruder rifling through her home.  Instead of demanding he leave or threatening to call the police, the woman invited the man to sit down and offered him some food.  As she prepared the meal, she spoke to him gently and told him of God's love for him despite his sins.  This woman's faith in God's protection was her security, even when there was a thief in her home.  The story made an impact on me.  It reminded me God is the one who protects my family, home, property, and myself.  Should I place any amount of trust in a club, my ability to wield it, or a gun when God watches over me?  I did that day what I should have done years before:  the club went straight to the bin.  It was replaced - not with a weapon I hold in my hands - but with the knowledge my life and future is in my heavenly Father's hands, and He can protect far better than I can myself!

When I read of Christians amassing stockpiles of weapons or ammunition because of the state of the world or new governmental restrictions, I wonder if they remember that it is God who fights our battles.  How many times did God deliver and save His people in unconventional means because they trusted in Him!  I think of when individuals or entire armies were struck blind, how the Jews were delivered from slavery in Egypt without an insurrection, or when the walls of Jericho fell flat.  Gideon and his three hundred men bested an innumerable encampment of Midianites armed with torches, pitchers, trumpets, and a catch-phrase.  In the days of Israel when there were only two swords, God turned the swords of the Philistines upon themselves!  David defeated the heavily armed and armoured champion of Gath with a sling and a single stone.  God saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego from a fiery furnace, and protected Daniel in a den of lions.  Isaiah 37:36 tells when the Angel of the Lord went into the camp of the Assyrians overnight and killed 185,000 warriors!  Our God causes the chains to fall off of hands and makes prison gates to swing open of their own accord, with even the most vigilant guards clueless.

God defends and protects His people if they will trust Him to do so.  How feeble does that club under the bed seem in light of the power of God!  There is a time for war and peace; there is a time as the Jews did in the book of Esther to make a stand and defend our lives.  But let us be careful we do not forget that it is God who fights our battles.  Let us put no trust in armaments or an arm of flesh, for God is faithful to deliver and save all who trust in Him.

No Record of Rights

1 Corinthians 13 is a great description of God's love.  It is active, pursues, is patient, kind, gracious, generous, and seeks to sacrifice self for the benefit of others.  1 Corinthians 13:5 says of God's love: "It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." (NIV)  The last phrase of this verse is most instructive to me.  In the NKJV it is translated "thinks no evil."  Love is not wary or suspicious, but thinks good of others - even when they have done something wrong towards us in the past.  When we keep track of other's mistakes or faults, we are not walking in love.

Closely related to keeping no record of wrongs in others is when we keep track of our rights.  It does not demonstrate love when we bring up how much good we have done for others when they have wronged us.  If I point out my "good" deeds to make someone else feel guilty, or to glorify myself in light of their conduct, this is nothing more than manipulation, pride, and self-righteousness.  It is an appeal to the flesh to have our way, and this should not mark the life or thought patterns of a follower of Jesus Christ.  We can feel taken advantage of if we file away all the good we have done for others and do not see the appreciation our efforts merit.  Those who keep record of others wrongs or their own rights will persist in folly.  Our pursuit of recognition or just rewards show we know little of grace and God's love.

When we are tempted to say, "Look what I have done!" know this is often a clear temptation to sin.  What you have done?  Can a man do anything apart from God's grace?  What do we have that we have not freely received?  Jesus was not taken advantage of by the lost He came to seek and serve because He gave Himself freely without reservation.  Let us love freely as Jesus has demonstrated by laying down His life for sinners.  His sacrifice on the cross did not become His trump card to force His way:  "Look what I did for you!  The least you could do is obey me in this small matter!"  That's not the voice or tone of Jesus, but sounds very much like the tone of the accuser of the brethren.  Love keeps no record of wrongs, nor sounds a trumpet to bring attention to our good deeds.  We are called to do all things as unto the LORD, and it is He who will settle accounts with us!  What do you want on that day:  your just due or God's grace?

God Gives the Increase

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. ⁷ So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase."

1 Corinthians 3:6-7

A person need not be a farmer by trade to know acres of desirable crops do not spring up on their own.  A bountiful harvest is enjoyed only after much labour and expense.  The ground must be cleared, tilled, and irrigated.  Good seed must be planted at the appropriate time and spaced according to each kind.  Vigilance is required to protect the growing plants from insects and rodents.  After the planting and watering, then a fruitful harvest may result.  There is no guarantee offered the farmer his efforts will be rewarded with the same degree of fruitfulness every year.  But his faithful labour greatly affects the end result.

No farmer could lay claim to creating seeds, plants, or fruit.  God is the Creator, and skilled farmers have learned methods, devised equipment, pest control measures, and nutritious feed to maximise the potential of a crop.  Paul did not have a fancy presentation or use manipulative techniques when he shared the Gospel.  Yet people responded to the message of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul could not lay claim to the salvation of a single soul.  He had sowed the good seed of God's word which fell on various hearts:  some hard, others had thin and rocky soil, some choked with thorns, and others fell on good soil.  It was not his seed, and it was not even his labour which brought forth a harvest of souls.  Apollos nurtured the young believers, but he only did what was his calling and duty to do.  It was God who caused souls to be saved.  It was God who continued to mature and cause people's lives to be fruitful.  God, by His grace, made the efforts of Paul and Apollos effective in His time and divine way.

We can make the mistake of looking for a harvest before we have been faithful to plant or water!  We can perform the equivalent of planting a single seed or watering for a day, but when growth or fruit is not immediately evident we can lose heart and see our efforts as wasted.  This reveals a lack of faith in God's Word and His everlasting promises.  God has promised His Word will always accomplish what He pleases and prosper in the purpose for which it was sent (Is. 55:11).  Christians ought to keep planting, keep watering, and be led by the Spirit in obedience to His will regardless if we see the harvest we set our hearts upon and long to see.  If we set our hearts upon the harvest, we are focused on the wrong thing.  Disillusionment, weariness, and despair will be the fruit of this error.  Our eyes are to be fixed on Christ, and our hearts founded on His Word.  We are God's fellow labourers, and He will bring the increase.  Our eyes may never see it, but it's good to remember the harvest is not for us.  It is for Him and Christ's eternal glory.

Do no lose heart, Christian labourer!  Do not be fooled into thinking you should stop planting or watering because you have not perceived increase.  It is folly to quit planting or watering because you do not yet have fruit.  The fruit of your efforts is not for you to consume for the satisfaction of your flesh, but to plant again so there will be even more eventual fruit.  God is faithful to supply all our needs.  When we realise we are nothings God has chosen, called, and equipped to serve Him, what joy floods the soul.  He does not put the burden of a fruitfulness quota on us like the Egyptians did on the Hebrews, but to plant, water, or to faithfully do whatever it is God has called us to do.  Are you planting?  Are you watering?  If not, then don't expect to see much fruit.  Though we are nothing, God gives the increase!

Don't Settle for the Suit!

This morning I read a most insightful, instructive passage in the book of Esther.  After Haman felt slighted by Mordecai, he inquired and discovered his Jewish ancestry.  Haman decided the punishment of Mordecai was insufficient, and treacherously schemed to destroy all Jewish people.  He influenced the king to give him permission to destroy this "certain people scattered among the provinces" who refused to keep the king's commands, and this permission was granted.  Mordecai and all the Jews mourned this grave injustice, clothed themselves with sackcloth, and wailed bitterly.  Queen Esther, though a Jewess, was ignorant of Haman's plans to destroy the Jewish people because she lived in relative isolation in the palace.

When I read chapter four, the living Word sprang to life before my eyes.  Esther 4:1-4 reads, "When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry. ² He went as far as the front of the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. ³ And in every province where the king's command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ So Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him, but he would not accept them."  Esther heard of how bitterly her cousin mourned, and she was "deeply distressed."  In every province the Jews made a great mourning, but it was not until her family was directly affected that Esther was moved.  This is no fault of her own, but a common response among all people.  Her next move was one I found particularly interesting.

Without inquiring at all about the cause of Mordecai's mourning, Esther sent garments to clothe Moredecai and to take his sackcloth away from him.  Mordecai refused.  New clothes would not solve the problem which faced him and the Jewish people.  Esther's offer, though she meant well, missed the point.  She did the same thing many of us can do.  We are not as concerned about the cause of mourning as how we can stop it.  Mordecai's distress caused Esther distress and it did not please her at all.  It was only after he refused her gift she did what she should have done at the beginning:  ask concerning the cause of Mordecai's suffering.  Esther 4:5 says, "Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was."  Subsequently she received a copy of the edict against her people and discovered her own life hung in the balance.

The thing which stuck me was, what if Mordecai had been content to receive the clothes from the hand of his royal cousin?  What if he had put off his sackcloth to please her, and never informed her of the purpose for mourning?  It could have meant the death of Mordecai, Esther, and all the Jews!  Here is a question for personal consideration:  how would you respond if you were in Mordedai's position and your death was imminent?  Imagine you had been sick for a while and went to the doctor for a diagnosis.  How would you feel if the doctor sat down grimly and said, "Permit me to be blunt:  you are going to die."  After communicating the severity of your condition, he continued:  "The good thing is you are not beyond hope.  If you will make some major adjustments to your diet and lifestyle, in time your condition could be completely reversed."  What do you do?  Would you value your life to faithfully practice all the doctor ordered and avoid all the foods and practices forbidden?  There are few with such self-control and resolve.  Humans are a curious, difficult bunch.  We want to live, but for some life is only worth living on our terms - even if it means our destruction.

One of the takeaways for me from the passage is that I should never be satisfied with a new suit when it is salvation I need.  Mordecai was not content to be comforted when he and his people needed an advocate.  Churches are growing old and dying all over the world.  Should a dying church be content with more congregants, new buildings, better sound systems, and increased offerings when it is the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit we need?  If God is not in our midst, can we be comforted with anything less?  Should we be pleased with position, authority, or accolades when we have ceased to walk in love or do not experience peace that passes understanding?  How foolish it would be to substitute knowledge of God instead of a relationship with God He freely offers by His grace.  Don't settle, believer.  God has given us exceedingly great and precious promises.  We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.  We are invited to come boldly ourselves into His throne room of grace ourselves so we might have mercy and grace in time of need.  Mordecai was not permitted to wear his sackcloth inside the gate of the King - but we can!  Are you burdened, troubled, or mourning?  Enter into His presence now by faith, for He will by no means cast out any who come to Him.

The Necessary Piece of the Puzzle

Yesterday our family returned safely from a visit to the United States.  It was a refreshing and encouraging time of meeting with friends and family.  I was also able to attend a pastor's conference hosted at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and to teach at Jericho Road Christian Fellowship.  As I reflect back upon the things the LORD showed me during the trip, one that has been useful for me is an illustration God provided me to share for the fellowship at Jericho Road.

As we live out our days on earth, we face situations and circumstances we cannot explain or understand.  With our limited vision, it is impossible for us to see how fiery trials can work for good.  Before assembling a jigsaw puzzle, the complete picture has already been printed clearly on the front of the box.  Should you come across a strange or oddly coloured piece, an inspection of the picture provides clues where the piece fits in the big picture.  But when it comes to our lives on earth, God does not reveal the big picture all at once.  Our vision for our lives could be better compared with the bare brown cardboard of the lower box!

The amazing thing about that odd-shaped piece we can't seem to fit into our big picture - that trial, attack, illness, injury, or circumstance we can't understand or explain - is that in His love, wisdom, and sovereignty God has seen fit to use that particular piece to bring our lives to ultimate completion in accordance to His will.  God allows things that are not according to His will to accomplish His will.  For instance, God allowed His own Son Jesus Christ to die - something that is not God's will - to accomplish His perfect will, that all who trust in Him through the Gospel would be born again and never die!  God is not willing any should perish, but He allowed Jesus to be crucified so all could live.  This is a remarkable, wondrous aspect of God.  Paul knew it to be true and all Christians can affirm what is written in Romans 8:28:  "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

We should receive joyfully the exhortation in 1 Peter 4:12-13:  "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; ¹³ but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."  We are not always able to receive such words, but their truth remains despite our misgivings and current pain.  Trials are not strange events unknown to God, void of divine purpose.  Indeed, they are among the most instructive, refining, and sure tokens of God's presence, power, and faithfulness.  We may never understand how an artist paints a masterpiece  or why the sculptor formed a curious vessel:  can we explain the thoughts or plans of God whose ways are past finding out?

Our call is not to understand or explain but to believe and trust.  We can be glad despite pain and difficulties, for Christ has promised never to leave or forsake us.  As the song goes, "When darkness veils His loving face, we rest on His unchanging grace."  Corrie Ten Boom used to say that we only see the back of the embroidery.  God sees the big picture, and He will work all things for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose!

The Precious Blood

During a communion service today, I held a small cup of juice in my hand.  The grape juice represented the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross for the sins of the world - and mine too.  Christians have not been redeemed by corruptible things, but as it is written on 1 Peter 1:19:  "...but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."  It amazed me to think God would allow the precious blood of His Son to be poured out for any reason, much less to atone for cursed sinners.

We count precious things we own as treasures, treasures to be guarded, preserved, and cherished.  Yet so great was God's love for fallen men, He poured out the blood of Jesus on the dust of the earth.  The riches of God's glorious love and grace were displayed in God's sacrifice.  It boggles the wildest imagination!  Jesus Christ is in very nature God, and made in the fashion of a man - doubly precious!  In light of God's expense, how highly should Christ and His blood be regarded.

I stared at the cup of juice in wonder.  Marvelous, God's love!  Romans 5:5 says, "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."  Life is in our blood, yet God has given the souls of Christians new life through the indwelling Spirit of God.  Whilst in the wilderness David wrote in Psalm 63:3, "Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You."  We cannot repay God for His demonstration of love through the precious blood of Jesus being poured out, but we can praise Him.  We can trust Him and believe His Word.  We are forever indebted to God for such love and acceptance.  Glorify Him, you who have tasted and seen that God is good.  He has taken away the bitterness of the curse of sin and replaced it with the sweetness of love and eternal life!

Taken as You Follow

"Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: "I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. ¹⁵ Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'"

Amos 7:14-15

Amos is a great example of a man God called to enter His ministry step by step.  God brought him out of a farming profession - breeding sheep and picking fruit - and called him to be a prophet for His people. He didn't have a pedigree which would have been valued in the Jewish community, but he was called a prophet nevertheless.  Like Moses, he was taken from following a flock of sheep and was called to prophesy to the nation of Israel.

Jesus called fisherman, tax collectors, doctors, and educated Pharisees to follow Him.  Jesus is our Good Shepherd who takes us from one pasture and moves us to another.  He takes people from all walks of life and employs them in His service.  Answering His call is a step by step process, as each step taken in faith in God.  Sometimes God gives us the big picture without the little details, but He often reveals the very first step of a series of steps we see only as we go.  Taking that first step in surrender to God's leading with a desire to see the process through enables us to see and pass through the open door.

Amos wrote of his career, and said "then the LORD took me as a I followed the flock."  This is such an important point.  Sometimes when we perceive the call of God there may be a fleshly impulse to stop what we are doing to pursue an ambiguous goal.  But the key is to keep doing what you are doing faithfully unto the LORD and in His time and way He will take you and turn you loose:  "Go, prophesy to My people Israel."  The word from the LORD didn't come until God had taken Amos from the sheepfold and said "Go!"  There is an order to the way God works, but it is unpredictable.  God's horizons and purposes reach far beyond our limited view.

God has you where He wants you.  And until He moves you, keep doing what He has called you to do as unto Him.  The day will come when He will take you and move you to a new arena for His glory.  He may change your profession, where you live, the ministry God has entrusted to you, or call you from your failing body into eternal glory.  The good work He has begun in you He will be faithful to complete.  Trust that He is in control and He has purposes and plans you will enter into as you follow Christ in faith. 

Proud or Humble?

The other day I was struck with a simple truth:  things which tempt me to be proud are the very things which God desires to use to humble me.  Pride comes from a high regard of self.  Our flesh always seeks promotion and recognition.  The basis for true humility springs from a high view of God.    After being born again by faith in Jesus, our whole perspective changes through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  Our chief satisfaction is found in service and glory of God instead of serving self.

Tonight I have a privilege of going to my dad's ordination at Calvary Chapel Santee and I have been asked to share a few words.  From a fleshly standpoint, I have always been "proud" of my dad.  He has always been my pastor, and has always been an godly example for me to follow.  Should I be proud of him, however, it reveals I seek to promote myself through him.  Instead of a feeling of pride, I am greatly humbled that God would grant me such a rich blessing in my dad.  I find it humbling that I should be asked to speak at the service.  It is not because I am a "spiritual" person, but simply the Holy Spirit has continued to transform the way I think and live, bringing my life into submission through God's Word.  God has revealed to my mind and heart that pride cannot have a place in my life.  The acceptance or cultivation of pride in anything cannot be justified in a believer, even if the world says it is man's just due.

The things which make us proud God desires would instead humble us.  The things we view as great achievements and accomplishments are gifts God has provided us by His grace.  I did not deserve a wonderful father nor a loving mother.  In His infinite mercy God has provided these people in my life, and they would be the first to say that anything good in them comes only from God.  Pride in my life will cause me to not see blessings from God as they truly are:  gifts by His infinite grace.  God resists the proud, thus short-circuiting grace I fall short of.  Everything we have and all we are is a product of God's goodness and grace, and this should cause us to be humble, grateful, and thankful to God!