Running Our Course

Recently I read a comment from a high-profile celebrity going through divorce that continues to come to mind.  In her words, the relationship had simply "run its course."  While it is true marriages do not always last a lifetime, her statement betrays a view of marriage that falls woefully short of God's design for it.  Those who justify divorce for marriages that have "run their course" are often more likely to default to this option in future marriage(s).  Traditional wedding vows of a bride and groom used to include, "Till death do us part" and this is the worthy course of marriage--a commitment for a lifetime.

From a biblical point of view, marriage is intended to be a covenant between one man and one woman before God who ordained this special relationship.  It is more than the promise of love, fidelity and monogamy, for it is a spiritual union where God joins a man and woman together and makes them one flesh.  When we love one another as Jesus loves us, a married couple is divinely helped in bearing one another's burdens, forgiving each other and working through conflicts.  Divorce was never part of God's original design for marriage, but Jesus said it was made legally permissible due to the hardness of people's hearts (Matthew 19:8).  A married couple may say their marriage has "run its course" yet the Bible shows God's intended course for their relationship to endure their entire lives.

Those who go into marriage believing marriage could run its course in 7 months, 12 or 28 years should not be surprised when it does not last half that long.  I suspect many people whose marriages have ended in divorce had every intention--from before they uttered their vows to years into marriage--to do everything in their power to make it last.  And perhaps they did.  The point I feel compelled to make is to affirm the covenant of marriage ought to be approached as a lifelong commitment before God and one another, and when both partners have a relationship with Jesus Christ He helps us to do what willpower, hard work, vows and the Law of Moses could never do:  to continue in marriage until death do you part.  Even if you are a Christian and your partner is not, the love of Jesus in and through you will make a huge positive difference in your marriage and family.

What Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 inspires God-fearing people to live well and this includes a marriage relationship:  "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: ⁸ henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."  Winning at marriage does not come from fighting with your spouse but surrender before the LORD whilst looking to Jesus for wisdom, strength and humility.  God who enabled Paul to prevail over great difficulties during his life and ministry helps everyone who trusts and obeys Him.  We will be richly rewarded by God, not for having the longest marriage, but for faith and obedience to God by His grace.

Plumb Line Needed!

A majority of our back yard is supported by a short retaining wall, and my project of late was to repair a portion of it that had been damaged by large trees.  Based upon the location of the wall in relation to the driveway, it seems the lower courses of the wall were set before soil and sand was brought in to ramp up to the garage.  Rather than digging way down to reset the first course--and risk undermining the driveway--I removed enough dirt to grind the lower blocks level.  As a result of allowing the first course to remain, rebuilding the wall required small modifications and adjustments.  The results are not perfect, but it is in far better condition now that it is plumb.

The repair of the retaining wall has been a great illustration of the necessity for a solid, level foundation for our lives.  Because it was only a short section of wall and I lacked necessary stakes for a line, I made the decision to level one block according to the adjacent block, filling in from the exposed corner to the buried side.  What happened was similar to when we played "telephone" as kids, a group activity when one person whispers a phrase or sentence in the ear of the person next to them and the message is repeated down the line.  The best part of the game is when the phrase derails and becomes hilarious with nonsense that is nothing like the original sentence.  While this is a fun party game when the phrase is way off, it is not good when building a wall.  Since the first course was not fully removed, every block needed adjusting.

Looking at the wall from the broad side, it looks quite even and level.  But looking down the wall lengthwise, all the irregularities and imperfections are exposed.  My best efforts on the wall using what I had on hand is an example that without the plumb line of God's word and wisdom, spiritually speaking we all fall woefully short of God's perfection.  God used a plumb line as an illustration in Amos 7:7-9:  "Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. ⁸ And the LORD said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said: "Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. ⁹ The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam."   A plumb line takes guesswork out of the equation, and it is only a matter of time before a wall out of plumb will fail.  God had given the plumb line of His word and established Israel in righteousness, but judgment was coming because of how crooked God's people had become.

Notice that the LORD stood on a wall made with a plumb line, and because it was built correctly it remained strong, straight and upright.  It could support weight properly and perform the function it was designed to do.  The children of Israel were given the Law of God, yet they were not able to keep it.  God's law is like a perfect straight edge that reveals how crooked we are, and the only way to be made right with God is through repentance for our sin and placing our faith in Jesus Christ.  It does us no good to justify our errors because we were simply following the example of others or the finished results don't matter because of all the effort we put in:  plumb is plumb.  None of us started plumb, and we can't straighten ourselves out no matter how hard we try.  Praise God He is able to save us, to make us new creations built on a level, solid foundation by faith in Jesus through the Gospel.  Those who hear the words of Jesus and heed them He likens to a man who builds his house on a rock that will stand and endure every storm.

Should our lives veer off course, rather than comparing ourselves to one another we do well to look to Jesus Christ, the Chief Cornerstone.  The LORD speaks with absolute authority as one who holds the plumb line in his hand and sees clearly, and by the power of the Holy Spirit He guides us into all truth.  When we resort to copying others or doing what is right in our own eyes, we cannot straighten up.  We can can have confidence we will not be led astray or go crooked when we seek the LORD, humble ourselves before Jesus and obey Him.

Built On Christ

I was inspired to tackle some yardwork when I read Proverbs 24:27 that says, "Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house."  While the situation for me is different than the agrarian society that was predominant in Israel in ancient times, God's word still guides us into truth and blesses those who take steps of obedience by faith in God.

If I could put the sentiment of this verse in my own words, the principle held forth here is:  "First things first."  People who had land set aside for farming needed to make preparing the field their priority, for wheat and barley was not going to plant itself.  Making the field fit for planting supplied necessary food for people, seed for sowing and fodder for working animals.  For those who are not farmers or live in a community where a sufficient amount of food is grown for their survival, many people today work for money they exchange for food and daily necessities.  The principle of this proverb is to prioritise work that helps provide for your needs for survival, and having done this you can concern yourself with renovating the house.  It would be better to have any honest job than to remain unemployed because it is not your ideal career or aligns with your interests.  Paul affirmed the responsibility of people to contribute by working in 2 Thessalonians 3:10:  "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this:  if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."

It occurred to me as I was stacking besser blocks the spiritual implications of the proverb must be addressed in the opposite order:  the rebellious inner man must be addressed before outer behaviour.  Our human inclination is to prioritise appearing to "clean up our act" by focusing on outward works rather than dealing with our inner man.  Because Jesus knows the hearts of mankind, He saw past the clean exterior of the Pharisees and perceived they were spiritually dead in sins on the inside.  Their primary need was to be born again by faith in Jesus, to be made new creations by the power of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit who indwells Christians.  Ephesians 2:8-9 shows we cannot earn good standing and righteousness by efforts of our flesh:  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast."  No amount of good works can open the gates of God's kingdom to us, for we must first confess our sin and enter in through the Door (who is Jesus Christ) by faith in Him.

Having been born again by faith, then we are to seek to live in the manner that is pleasing to God:  loving and forgiving one another, being a servant of all according to Christ's example, trusting and obeying God and His word.  Without Jesus we can do nothing, and through faith in Christ we can do all things because He gives us strength.  Having been born again, Paul compared believers to being God's field and His building.  He wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, "According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."  First things first:  the foundation must be laid before the house can be built, and we must be born again before we build properly on the foundation of Jesus Christ.  Reversing the order means we are building a life without a foundation in Christ, and the eventual fall and destruction of those who build foolishly are assured.

Holy and Happy Day

When people gathered for the annual feasts in Jerusalem, it was a time of rejoicing and celebration.  In the days of Nehemiah after the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, the people gathered together in the street before the Water Gate where Ezra the scribe read the book of the Law.  Everyone who had understanding was attentive to hear the Law and responded with contrition, and they mourning with weeping over their sins.  Ezra exhorted the people to dry their tears for it was a holy day unto the LORD.  Nehemiah 8:10-12 says, "Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." ¹¹ So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved." ¹² And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them."  A holy day unto the LORD was meant to be observed with enjoying good food, giving to those in need and rejoicing together.  These people rejoiced because they understood God's word that was declared to them.

In response to God's word, shortly thereafter the children of Israel gathered branches of many kinds--including palm branches--to make booths to dwell in to observe the Feast of Tabernacles.  Their gathering of palm branches reminded me of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem before the Feast of Unleavened Bread in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9:  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey."  Even before Jesus made the descent from Mount Olives toward the city, people placed their clothing and palm branches on the ground before Him.  Matthew 21:9 says, "Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!"  Jesus was revealed as King and Messiah, the Son of David in whom is salvation.  When the Pharisees urged Jesus to rebuke His disciples, He said if they were silent even the stones would cry out.  God had ordained that day to be one marked with rejoicing and worship of the holy God.  Ironically, when Jesus drew near to the city He was not gleeful or exuberant by the praise of the people but wept over Jerusalem because they did not realise the day of their visitation and judgment was coming (Luke 19:41-44).

Consider the triumphal entry of Jesus in light of the richness of Psalm 118:19-29 that points to Jesus our Righteousness, Rock and LORD who died, rose from the dead and lives:  "Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD. ²⁰ This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter. ²¹ I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation. ²² The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. ²³ This was the LORD'S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. ²⁴ This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. ²⁵ Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. ²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. ²⁷ God is the LORD, and He has given us light; bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. ²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. ²⁹ Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

Isn't God awesome and worthy of all praise?  May His grace, goodness and salvation be marvellous in our eyes, and let us rejoice and be glad in Him.  In light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the joy of the LORD is our strength.  Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!