God's Word is Fruitful

Last night I enjoyed meeting up with a small group gathered to learn to study the Bible.  The observations of the attendees were encouraging as they expressed how the study helped them glean far more by the end than in the first reading alone.  Initially because they understood the words written in English they thought they understood the meaning of the passage, yet there was still much work to do.  The first reading of scripture can be likened into moving large boxes into a new home but not opening them.  You are "moved in," but that is only the first stage.  An empty house isn't yet suited for comfortable living.  Opening the boxes, discovering what is inside and where is the best place for each item is what turns a house into a home.  In a similar way, verses of the Bible are packed with meaning and require intentional effort in seeking the LORD to understand and apply personally.

When we read the Bible, we are looking at a finished work.  A person who walks through a grand mansion can appreciate the architecture, colours, patterns and craftsmanship they see.  At the same time they are largely ignorant of and do not consider what is behind that lovely mural adorning a wall:  the framing, insulation, piping, wiring, all supported by a foundation.  The study of God's word is really an investigation into the genius of the builder, our Maker the LORD God who has given us His word.  Like archaeologists are careful not to destroy historical sites and priceless relics, we are careful not to destroy the flow of passages by wrenching them from context or slathering the paint of our personal emphasis over the mural of God's revelation.  By God's grace He allows us to rightly divide the word of truth, to retain the structural integrity of each piece as we carefully separate them to better understand what God has said, what God means, and what God's word means to us.

After revealing God's thoughts and ways are not ours and are infinitely higher than ours Isaiah 55:10-13 says, "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. ¹² "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 overarching theme of these verses is God's word will be fruitful.  As God causes the rain to fall in season for the purpose of watering the earth, seeds producing growing plants that bring forth fruit, God's word does this spiritually.

The branches of trees and grassy hills waving in the breeze are personified as rejoicing and celebrating the goodness of God and His word.  Man's wisdom could be compared to briers and thorns that spring up on their own and dry out and die by the sun's heat.  The contrast between briers and a myrtle tree and thorns and a cypress tree could not be more extreme.  A tumbleweed is blown away by the wind and gone, while a tree endures season after season, year after year.  A brier can be easily crushed underfoot, and running into a cypress could break bones in a foot!  God's word is fruitful, fulfills God's intended purpose and is cause for great rejoicing.  May we celebrate the great God who has given us His word and enables us to rightly divide it, and grow by His grace like a tree planted by rivers of water fruitful in season.

The Old, Good Way

"Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'"

Jeremiah 6:16

In this world what is new grows old and wears out.  Over time countless items have broken or become useless due to age.  I put on some shorts I hadn't worn in awhile and was surprised to realise the elastic had completely perished inside the waistband.  I bought a car with tyres that still had plenty of tread on them but the sidewalls had started to dry out and crack due to exposure to the elements over time.  With the low cost of mass production and cheapness of plastic items are largely disposed of when they are old and worn out.  Having something "new" is often preferable over the old.

While this is true concerning perished rubber and brittle, discoloured plastic, this is not true concerning God's wisdom and ways.  God urged His people to stand at the ready and "ask for the old paths, where the good way is."  When we describe something as old today, it often correlates with outdated and irrelevant.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with the old paths:  the problem was God's people had forsaken it.  The old, good way was not inconvenient or ineffective.  Because the old way of faith, obedience and fear of the LORD had been abandoned, God's people were seduced by idolatry, were troubled from within and without, and suffered greatly.

Believe it or not, people were more apt to redouble their efforts to worship idols than to believe rest for their souls was found in going back to the beginning of their walk with God.  In their minds the old ways were not sufficient.  A radical new approach was needed to deliver them from trials and oppression of their enemies.  Again, the problem was not the old paths where the good way was:  they had abandoned those paths long ago and blamed God rather than considering their ways.  They were called to fear God and keep His commandments, for that is the whole duty of man.  They were commanded to love the LORD their God with all their heart, soul and mind, and love their neighbour as themselves.  Their refusal to humble themselves before God was their problem, not that the way was old or unclear.  God had spelled it out for the Hebrews in the Law of Moses, and He has spoken to the church through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is from old, from everlasting.  He identified Himself as the way, the truth and the life.  Jesus provided a new and living way to a relationship with God through the Gospel, but God has imputed righteousness by faith in Him from ancient times.  Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.  Just because a person was raised in the church, it doesn't mean they ever had genuine faith in Jesus Christ.  G.K. Chesterton said it well in What's Wrong With the World:  "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”  The Gospel is relevant for eternity, for Jesus gives eternal life to all who believe He is the Son of God who died on the cross, was buried and rose from the grave.  Let us stand in the faith, abide in Christ and follow our Saviour faithfully who IS the way.

Suffering and the Gospel

The glorious gospel was provided out of the suffering of the Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Life on earth for everyone includes suffering in various degrees.  The difference between the believer and unbeliever when it comes to suffering is our LORD Jesus has consolation for all suffering He allows.  There is divine purpose and redemption illustrated in Christ's sufferings, and when we suffer for His sake there is great blessing we receive.

Not all suffering we endure is for Jesus' sake, for sometimes we suffer as a result of our sinful choices.  The children of Israel suffered when they disobeyed God and persisted in unbelief.  They imagined the problem was the cruelty of their oppressors and enemies when the real problem was in their own hearts in not trusting and obeying the living God.  Suffering can be physical and also emotional, suffering by the impact of the decisions of others.  Again, this suffering can be protracted and intensified because we have neglected to cast our cares on Jesus and have given place to bitterness.  The book of Job reveals not all suffering is a direct result of personal sin.  Job's friends assumed his suffering must have been due to his sin, whereas God's intent was to reveal His mercy and compassion (James 5:11).  It seems impossible at times to make God's ways and wisdom fit into our painful experiences, yet faith in the God we know is able to bridge the gaps of the unknown.

I read an insightful passage in A Praying Life by Paul Miller:  "In the gospel, Jesus took my sin, and I got his righteousness.  That is how gospel stories work...Whenever you love, you reenact Jesus' death.  Consequently, gospel stories always have suffering in them.  American Christianity has an allergic reaction to this part of the gospel.  We'd love to hear about God's love for us, but suffering doesn't mesh with our right to "the pursuit of happiness."  So we pray to escape a gospel story, when that is the best gift the Father can give us.  When I was sitting on the plane thinking, Everything has gone wrong, that was the point when everything was going right.  That's how love works." (A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World. NavPress, 2009. Page 214)  There are many people who suffer without having received the love of God or the gospel.  Not all suffering is a "gospel" story.  But when believers choose to walk in love like Joseph did towards his brothers or like Jesus towards those who rejected Him, praying for their forgiveness without bitterness, the gospel does shine forth.

One thing I have grown to appreciate more over the years is the redemptive aspects of suffering God allows.  It would be foolish and unkind to compare the suffering of one person to another for the sake of saying, "You really haven't suffered" when only the LORD knows how they suffer.  When are suffering and fix our eyes upon Jesus who suffered for us, it provides a new perspective on how God redeems suffering for good.  1 Peter 5:8-11 teaches us God allows suffering even from the devil to accomplish His good plans:  "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹ To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

Those who persevere through a distance race voluntarily suffer in a way the casual spectator sitting in the shade with a cold drink does not.  The sun beats down upon the heads of runners as their lungs burn and legs strain to push towards the finish.  See the end of suffering Peter says God has in mind:  to perfect, establish, strength and settle us.  The God of all grace calls us to follow Him and run with endurance the race set before us that will involve suffering.  Distance running can feel like you are dying, and it is in dying to self we begin to live for Christ.  We are not called to focus on the finish line, desiring the end of our suffering:  rather we are to look to Jesus who suffered for us and overcame for all our needs.  As God allows us to suffer, looking to Him in faith makes our lives a gospel story that points to Him.

Backslidings Healed

"A voice was heard on the desolate heights, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the LORD their God. ²² "Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." "Indeed we do come to You, for You are the LORD our God."

Jeremiah 3:21-22

Growing up the term "backslider" was a common way of saying a person had returned to a life of overt sin.  It was used to refer to a person who was out of the practice of regular church attendance and returned to a life marked by addiction to booze and drugs.  I heard many people also call themselves backsliders because they had gone back to a worldly way of living they knew was sinful and harmful, yet the use of the term suggested their current lifestyle did not correlate with their genuine Christianity.  Though they lived like an unbeliever, it seemed being a "backslider" was a claim to faith and acknowledgement of wrong where true repentance was not required.

These verses in Jeremiah 3 show backsliding can be much more subtle than living in overt sin.  Though many of the children of Israel were involved in idolatry, fornication and disobeyed God's commands, our way is perverted when we forget the LORD.  Like a trip and fall can cause serious and life-threatening injuries, so backsliding by forgetting the LORD is God over all damages us.  Departing from faith in the LORD and forgetting to seek Him leads to physical and spiritual injury only He can heal.  God urged His people to return to Him their God, and He promised to heal their backslidings.  This word is plural because people backslide in many ways.  He would address and heal their broken lives and warped minds, even as a neglected sheep has need to be dewormed, overgrown wool matted with feces must be cut away, and open wounds treated.  Our neglect of seeking and trusting the LORD for a moment can do damage time alone cannot cure.

When people backslide from God, their way is perverted because God is not in their thoughts.  They do not consider the directives God has given or the promises of help He has provided.  By His grace God makes healing possible for His people when they return to Him as LORD in faith.  James 5:14-16 says, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  The word translated "sick" here means afflicted and weak, and it would be wrong to limit this to a physical malady.  God brings healing for the mind, body and soul of those who backslide when we humble ourselves before the LORD and others and pray for one another.  It is the prayer of faith God responds to more than a ceremonial anointing.

I love that it is not the wandering soul who begs to return but it is the LORD who calls out to His children, "Return, and I will heal your backslidings."  Like the father in the parable of the son who returned embraced and kissed him, so the LORD joyfully responds to our return to Him.  Whether our departure was protracted or just forgot to seek Him in making a single decision, when we return in repentance there is healing and restoration in the LORD our God.  Better than identifying as backsliders, may we learn to abide in Jesus Christ.