God Loves You Better

When the Chargers went to the Super Bowl in 1994, I was very excited to watch my team on the biggest stage the NFL could offer.  What began as a dream come true ended up the things of nightmares when the team folded like a beach towel and the poor start made catching up impossible.  I remember being so disheartened by the halftime score I decided it would be more fun to play football with friends in the yard rather than subject myself to additional disappointment of watching the beat-down continue.   Being a die-hard Charger fan (and thus a glutton for punishment) I watched the whole thing.  Though I have had access to the game and highlights, re-watching that game does not interest me.  Had the Chargers come out on top, however, it would be a different story.

During a gridiron season, "watching tape" is a huge part of scheming for future opponents and personal improvement by learning from your own mistakes to avoid repeating them.  The camera does not lie:  it will show a dropped pass, a muffed punt, a missed tackle and a blown assignment.  The footage reveals when a quarterback overthrew a wide open receiver and how a kicker pushed a potentially game-winning kick wide right.  I imagine some games make for difficult viewing for players who know well their errors and mistakes directly contributed to a painful loss for their whole team.  It wouldn't surprise me if players were reluctant to watch a recording of what they felt was their worst game ever, wanting to forget all memory of it and move on as if it never happened and could never happen again.

Now we'd like to do that with our sin as well, but God loves us better than that.  Like a father disciplines and corrects the son he loves, God deals with us when we choose sin that will, if left unchecked, cuts believers off from fellowship with Him.  The most humble, meek ones among us can kick against the goads wielded gently by the Holy Spirit.  Moses said to God in Numbers 11:14-15:  "I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now--if I have found favor in Your sight--and do not let me see my wretchedness!"  When the taxing situation of leading God's people in the wilderness overwhelmed Moses, he wished to die rather than be confronted with his own wretchedness.  This word is translated most often in the KJV of the Bible as evil (442 times), wickedness (59 times) and wicked (25 times).  The stress of dealing with the children of Israel exposed wickedness in Moses his flesh would rather die than see and address.  And that's exactly what sin does:  it was working to destroy and ruin Moses as it does all men.

In His wisdom God exposes our sins so we might confess them, repent and forsake them, choosing to walk in obedience to God instead.  The Law of Moses required the sacrifice of an acceptable animal whose blood was shed to atone for sin.  Jesus was sent as the Lamb of God without blemish who offered up His life as a substitute for sinners, paying the price we owed by the grace of God.  By God's divine power all our sins have been washed away and we have been forgiven of every trespass.  When we do sin (and there is no man alive who does not) God promises if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9-10).  Having forgiven us He does not make us watch again and again old tapes of our failures to condemn us:  there are many more sinful habits, thoughts and words He will address we never realised we were guilty of, and He reveals them to us because He loves us.  Perhaps you would rather die than deal with your sin, but God knows and loves you better than that.

God's Joyous Purpose

There are many verses often quoted from scripture, and the lesser known verses around them can add much to our understanding.  What a profitable practice it is to open your Bible, turn to a quotation from the scripture and read the verses before and after it.  Take Isaiah 55:9-11 as an example:  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹ so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."  God through the prophet used falling rain and snow as an illustration:  as rain falling from heaven causes plants to grow and be fruitful, God's word will accomplish what God pleases and will prosper for in God's purposes for sending it.

If we stopped here, we might left wondering what exactly God has in mind.  In many places in the Bible God reveals what pleases Him and what prosperity looks like from a godly perspective.  We could start finishing God's points for Him, inserting what we think is most important as His purpose for sending His word.  But the one who continues reading the chapter to the end will have some of God's purposes revealed plainly in Isaiah 55:12-13:  "For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

The paragraph that began with an exhortation to seek the LORD while He may be found and to call upon Him while He is near in repentance for mercy and pardon could be assured of God's affirming answer.  God's forgiving, restoring response to a lowly sinner according to God's word should result in joy and being led out with peace.  All nature rejoices over the greatness of God and His abundant provision of forgiveness for sinners and rain that causes trees to flourish.  Notice the transformation from thorns to cypress trees and how briers gave way to myrtle trees to the LORD for a name, "for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."  The word that gave life-giving rain to cypress and myrtle trees provides spiritual life by the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells those who trust in Jesus Christ, and by grace we are called by His name.

Jesus spoke to His disciples in John 15:7-11:  "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. ⁹ "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."  As those flourishing trees were a sign, so the spiritual fruitfulness of believers provides evidence the power of God abides in those who abide in His love.  Joy, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, is experienced in fullness according to God's promise and grace in Christ's disciples.  The connection between the words of God and His purpose and pleasure to provide joy and peace to believers is plain when we press on and read beyond what is commonly quoted.

From Weeping To Rejoicing

"Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!"

Jeremiah 9:1

Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet" because he spoke the true words of God and people did not heed or take them to heart.  He warned self-righteous people entrenched in idolatry of the sure judgment that was on the horizon, yet they did not listen.  They would not weep for themselves, so Jeremiah wept for them.  How great was his longing for people to receive the word of the LORD and return to God so He might be glorified and their judgment turned aside.  They had the truth and would not receive it, and thus they remained in their sin and would face God's judgment.  God is so good and glorious, and the thought anyone would give up on Him or be resigned to a hopeless existence is among life's great tragedies.

When Jesus was being led to be crucified, He was met by a group of women Jesus addressed despite His pains.  Luke 23:27-31 reads, "And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. ²⁸ But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!' ³⁰ Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" ' ³¹ For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"  Having rejected Jesus when He was present, the Jewish nation would reject His message of salvation which would result in greater destruction.  Jesus was going to the grave and would rise after three days, but those who refused the Gospel were heading to eternal ruin.

How appropriate is Psalm 126:5-6 in the context of these passages:  "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. ⁶ He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."  The people who heard Jeremiah and Jesus in person may not have listened to them, and it may be the words of preachers or caring Christians are heeded today.  But there is a promise that when good seed is sown in tears, the one who sowed it shall doubtless come again with rejoicing with a harvest.  The women wept over what God intended for their salvation, and if their tears were merely out of pity for Christ's pains they missed the point.  In the Parable of the Sower the seed was sown on all kinds of ground, even on a hardened footpath where seed could not grow.  God who created seeds and speaks forth His word causes it to be fruitful in due time, and in Him I rejoice now and forever.

Free by Faith

I read a quote attributed to Howard Hendricks today: “You are free to make choices. You are not free to escape the consequences.”  Having been born and raised in the United States, the "land of the free and home of the brave," I enjoyed the benefits of many freedoms afforded by God's grace.  The Bill of Rights is a document which outlines the freedoms and rights of Americans, and it is interesting how these words can be interchanged.  The existence of the Bill of Rights suggests the freedoms of Americans are upheld by their submission to the Constitution and governance of the land under God.  Remove God from the equation and all provisions and rights can be easily corrupted and destructive to self and others.

In Webster's 1828 Dictionary, the author defines "freedom" as:  "a state of exemption from the power or control of another; liberty; exemption from slavery, servitude or confinement."  Webster goes into far greater detail with the word liberty which he breaks down into various sections, and the definition of civil liberty was interesting in the view of the need for restraint:  "Civil liberty is the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state or nation. A restraint of natural liberty not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty.  The liberty of one depends not so much on the removal of all restraint from him, as on the due restraint upon the liberty of others."

There is no one so free as the one who recognises God's authority and willingly submits to Him in faith and obedience.  The person who says what they want without restraint and justifies their words because they have "freedom of speech" can be bound by bitterness, resentment and pride.  The self-confident man who is free to do as he pleases without faith in Christ remains in spiritual bondage.  Jesus shocked His hearers when He spoke of freedom in John 8:31-36:  "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." ³³ They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" ³⁴ Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Under Roman rule, there was a division between slave and free.  The Jews to whom Jesus spoke were free men and did not identify as slaves or being in bondage to anyone.  Jesus, who knows the hearts and minds of men, perceived the sins which enslaved each one.  In coming to earth and revealing Himself to be the Son of God and the Truth, Jesus gives those who believe in Him the confidence of being free from bondage to sin.  A slave under the Law of Moses served in bondage for a set season, and after serving their term it was possible they might accrue debts and be enslaved again.  Jesus provided atonement for sins once and for all on Calvary, and those made free by the Son would be free indeed.  The freedom from sin promised by God can be joyfully experienced even by prisoners with irons on their wrists and their feet in the stocks.

The one made free by faith in Jesus is forever free having submitted self to His rule as KING and High Priest.  Jesus said in Revelation 1:18, "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."  All men are born in bondage to sin and are heading for eternal death, and Jesus is the One who can set us free and provide the abundant life marked by freedom found in surrender to God.  It is in choosing to be a bondservant of Jesus Christ  believers are granted freedom to enter the kingdom of God and serve Him.  Faith in Christ means freedom from fear, worry and youthful lusts; it is freedom to know and do what pleases God.  By grace we are given the right to be children of God, a privilege we cannot deserve or earn.  Let us rejoice in our Saviour and the freedom to experience the abundant and eternal life He provides free from sin.