Where Was God?

Even though I reside in Australia, the news of the shooting in Aurora, Colorado has recently been much on my mind.  I am heartbroken by that senseless violence and tragic loss of life.  When I viewed cnn.com today, I saw a post titled, "Where was God in Aurora?"  As we face the difficulties in life, people tend to either run to God or run from Him.  Instead of evil in the world being proof of God's non-existence or unworthiness to be worshiped, I believe the exact opposite.  Evil in the world proves God exists because it stands in stark contrast to His righteousness.  You cannot have darkness without light.  God's love and holiness shows how worthy He is of worship.  The question posed on CNN's website is most commonly asked after a great tragedy, not after perceived blessings.  It is safe to reason the motivation to even suggest God was "missing in action" when people most needed Him is one of doubt, not of faith.  It is folly for a man to rage against a God he doesn't even believe in.

To best answer this question, we must travel back in time to a scene which unfolded just outside Jerusalem.  Jesus, believed by many to be the Christ, the Anointed Messiah, had been condemned to death by crucifixion.  Delivered by the Jewish priests and religious leaders because of envy, Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate.  Upon examination, no fault could be found in Jesus.  Because of the mob which demanded the death of Christ, Pilate conceded to His death.  He was beaten, scourged, mocked, and nailed to a wooden cross.  He was lifted into the air at 9am, and total darkness covered the land from noon to 3pm - an unprecedented natural event.  Mark 15:34 reads, "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"  Though Jesus was Immanuel - God with us - the sins of the world which were laid upon Him separated Him from fellowship with His Heavenly Father.  He felt alone and forsaken.  But had Christ been forsaken?  No!  Three days later Jesus was raised from death to life.

Does death and destruction give God delight?  Absolutely not.  The first part of Ezekiel 33:11 reads, "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways!"  God tells us in scripture that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.  Instead of revealing God as a cruel sadist who rejoices in violence, the picture of God's only Son dying on the cross was a demonstration of love for all people.  Jesus lay down His life so we might obtain eternal life through repentance and faith in Him.  Romans 5:7-8 states, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Jesus did the heroic act of taking the killing blow for all people, even His enemies.  If we praise courageous people who throw themselves in front of loved ones to take a bullet, then we should praise Jesus for what He has done.  Love is willing to pay a high price.  It pleased God to bruise Christ because through Him all might be saved from an eternity in hell and He provided a glorious entrance into heaven.

God was in Aurora before the shooting and remains in Aurora even now, for He is acutely aware of all that takes place in the world.  Just because a devil shows up guns blazing to steal, kill, and destroy, it does not challenge God's existence or ability to save.  We need God both in times of peace and in tragedy.  God has given all people a choice to believe or to doubt, to honour Him or dishonour Him, to obey Him or rebel against Him.  These trying times of grief, sadness, anger, pain, and bitterness serve as a test:  will we denounce God once and for all or run to His arms of love for comfort and healing?  Bitterness and despair have never healed the grief of any man.  Trust in God will.

We'll never have all the answers people are looking for.  But I know that Jesus IS the answer.  He will never leave or forsake His people, and there is salvation and healing in Him.

New Sharp Teeth!

For about 11 years of my adult life I worked as a mechanical insulator out of the Local 5 Union among several shops in the San Diego zone.  Most of that time I performed commercial work which involved materials like fiberglass pipe covering, duct wrap, tape, and rubber.  For all of these jobs a knife is necessary.  In my shoulder box I still have many different knives for specific applications.  The knives I used most often were serrated knives.  Early in my apprenticeship I learned to use a double-cut flat bastard file to grind teeth into high-carbon "Old Hickory" 6 and 8-inch knives.

When I first began sharpening knives, I was taught by a journeyman how to use a stone or file to smoothly hone the blade of a knife.  But I found that it wasn't long before I would have to sharpen the knife again.  Fiberglass quickly dulls a sharp blade.  It was my brother (an apprentice at the same time as me) who showed me how to put teeth into a knife using a file.  After mastering the technique, I found those teeth made a huge difference!  Instead of sharpening my knifes several times a day, I only needed to file them once every couple of months!

Last night I was reading Isaiah and stumbled onto a noteworthy gem.  Isaiah 41:15 reads, "Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff."  A threshing sledge is an instrument some used to separate the grain from the chaff.  This sledge would be weighted and dragged across the grain.  Sharp stones were affixed to the bottom of the sledge so it would effectively thresh the grain.  The picture reminds me of when I used a floor machine to refinish the hardwood floors at my previous house.  I nailed a 4-grit sanding pad to the machine, put a bag of cement on top to weigh it down, and sanded away.  What a difference that new pad made on that old wooden floor!

This is the point:  it is God who makes a Christian effective in his labour for God's glory.  No matter what our role - whether we are a plow, a sickle, or a threshing sledge, it is God who puts a sharp edge on us.  He is the one who makes us new.  A knife can't sharpen itself, and we are unable to do any work for God unless He empowers and equips us to do the work.  God often uses the circumstances and people in our lives to perform this sharpening work, as it is written in Proverbs 27:17:  "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."  Sharpening is impossible without the removal of metal.  A file or stone must scrape off the steel to bring it to a sharp point.  A diamond is most valuable after it has been cut.  It is so with us:  we must be cut, filed, and sharpened to the Master's specifications to make us a valuable tool fit for His use.  I wonder:  what part of me or you does God need to grind away to rid us of our dullness?  It isn't an easy process, but it's worth it!

The Triumph of Jesus Christ

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."

2 Corinthians 2:14

The Christian life is a triumphant life, but not the kind of triumph people might expect.  God has given us ultimate victory over sin and death.  There is still a spiritual battle to be fought in the flesh as we remain on earth.  We do not live out our days away from conflict, delighting ourselves with the spoils of the battlefield.  Christians do not receive a golden trophy like an athlete and granted perpetual victory, as if a decision we first made years ago to follow Christ has paved a smooth, easy, downhill path we meander without threat.  Our decision to follow Jesus should be confirmed daily, the joy of the LORD remaining our strength as we trust and obey Him.

When you think of "triumph" or "victory," what comes to mind?  Do you think of a championship celebration, with teammates passing around a trophy as confetti rains down?  Perhaps it is the raising of a flag or banner, like the U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima.  Maybe victory is more a feeling, a profound sense of satisfaction after finally realising an elusive dream.  Victory paves the way for parades, jubilation, and bathing in champagne.  When the Roman Empire ruled, the greatest honour bestowed upon a victorious general was a "Roman triumph."  If the soldiers affirmed their general as having absolute power, and the army had defeated a worthy opponent, the Senate ruled on whether a triumph was in order.  When approved, the victorious "triumphator" would be led by the Senate, musicians, the spoils of war, animals for sacrifice, and the chained captives.  Then the triumphator would join the procession in a chariot pulled by white horses.  His army would follow behind him unarmed as they entered the city, heading towards the temple.  Interestingly enough, the triumphator wore a special toga with palms embroidered on it, and his face painted bright red like the Roman gods.  A great celebratory feast followed.

Paul writes, "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ."  When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, it was an event theologians call "the triumphal entry."  Christ's triumphal procession was very different than a Roman Triumph.  Instead of riding a chariot pulled by four white horses, Jesus rode on the back of a donkey no one had previously ridden.  This fulfilled the prophecy written in Zechariah 9:9 which reads, "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."  Jesus did not wear a special embroidered robe, but people placed their coats and palm branches upon the road before Him.  Children and adults rejoiced in Christ's coming into Jerusalem!  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!"  There were no senators who approved this triumph, for it had been ordained by the Most High God.  Jesus did not paint His face red to imitate Roman gods, because all gods are subject to Him.  There were no animals for sacrifice in the procession, because Jesus Christ Himself would be made a sacrifice for sin when He laid down His life on Calvary.

Do you know what triumph looks like?  Christ's greatest triumph was performed in His death.  The triumph for Christians is found only in the cross where Christ emerged victorious.  1 Corinthians 15:55-57 reads, "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  The victory that Christ brings can only be obtained through dying so Christ may live through us.  This does not mean that a Christian must physically commit suicide to obtain this victory.  It means that we are to die to self, crucifying our flesh with its lusts, so Christ may live in us.  The words of Jesus are recorded for all in Luke 9:23:  "Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  The path to eternal triumph must pass through the cross.

A day will come when Christ will return and judge unrepentant sinners.  He came at first in meekness and humility, but will return with fierceness and power foreign to even the most valiant, courageous generals.  Revelation 19:11-16 describes Christ in His glory:  "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

Every person has a choice who they will be in Christ's eternal triumph as He enters into New Jerusalem.  There will be those who will be locked in eternal chains and thrown into the Lake of Fire.  Only regret, shame, utter humiliation, and unthinkable torments will be their comfort in death.  Then there are those who will follow after Christ wearing white, clean robes of righteousness.  They will need no weapon, because Jesus fights for them.  These followers of Christ will rule and reign with Jesus as co-heirs, having been adopted as sons by God the Father.  King David wrote from the eternal perspective of every Christian in Psalm 16:8-11:  "I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. ⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope. ¹⁰ For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. ¹¹ You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."  The Christian life is a triumphant life, because God always leads us to triumph in Christ no matter what.  Though we die, yet shall we live.  Jesus is our Saviour, King, and God.  All praise, honour, and thanks be given to Him!

Rejoicing over Repentance

"Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Luke 15:10

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  I have sinned and am therefore a sinner, even as a man who murders is and will always be a murderer.  Even if a man spends 30 years or longer in prison for the crime of murder, after his release the grim fact remains:  he is a murderer.  Time served alone or the paying of fines cannot expunge our permanent record.

I have been forgiven and cleansed from my sins through the power of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.  All born-again Christians have received the blessing of all past and future sins atoned for by the blood of the Lamb.  We have been clothed in Christ's robe of righteousness.  When God looks upon us, He sees righteousness without flaw, choosing not to remember a single sin we have committed.  But because I still live on earth in a body of human flesh, I still sin.  I remain a sinner.  Even if I only walked in holiness and never sinned again during my time on earth after coming to Christ, it does not change the fact that I have lied, cheated, stolen, been an idolator, etc.  I am a sinner.  I therefore need God's help to walk uprightly and the Word of God as a mirror to reveal my flaws through the power of the Holy Spirit.  I would not have known sin but by the Law, and I would never have been convicted except through my conscience and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told a parable about a shepherd who leaves the 99 to find a single lost sheep.  He then told a parable about a woman who lost one of her 10 coins.  She diligently swept the house until she found it.  Both the shepherd and the woman rejoiced greatly over finding what was lost.  God and the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents:  both the sinner who repents for the first time, and the lost sheep who is already of God's fold who responds in repentance.  The writer of Hebrews say we ought to lay aside every weight and the sin which easily besets us (Heb. 12:1).  It is possible for even Christians to be overtaken in a fault.  This is no surprise to any believer.  It is possible for born again, committed Christians to aimlessly wander and become lost.  We lose sight of our first love, our purpose, and let down our guard, walking directly into enemy attacks.

The call to repentance is a frequent call, not a "one-time" acknowledgement when we first commit to follow Christ.  Even a skilled driver can fall asleep at the wheel, and valiant Christians who have fought long and hard for the cause of Christ make mistakes.  That is why Paul wrote this admonition in 1 Corinthians 15:34:  "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame."  Paul was not writing to the heathen but to the church.  When Paul tells the church in Corinth to "awake to righteousness," he is not only talking about good works:  he is reminding them to be awake to God!  Earlier in the book Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:30:  "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption..."  Jesus has become for us wisdom and righteousness!  If we grow spiritually weary and sleepy, having removed ourselves from the strength and vitality which only the Vine supplies through the Holy Spirit, we will sin.  In our flesh no good thing dwells.

No matter the struggles we face or the sin which might weigh us down, today is the day of salvation.  Today can be a great day of rejoicing in heaven!  When one sinner repents, Christ, angels, the church, and the sinner who has been delivered rejoicing with exceedingly great joy.  Whenever we do wrong, repentance is the first step to doing what is right.  Those who are of God's own heart - the ones He has graciously indwelt - find repentance to always be in season.  The joy of the LORD will be our strength!