Shining Bright Continually

It can be challenging to find personal relevance for particular passages of the Bible when they are filled with names that are difficult to pronounce or are filled with repetitive measurements.  It can be tedious to read the technical specifications even of products we enjoy using and see the value of, and it can ring true of parts of Scripture as well.  Passages we may be tempted to skim or gloss over can contain many important and relevant truths for us to consider and take to heart.

I came across a passage like this in Exodus 27 when Moses recorded the dimensions of the curtains, pillars and boards of the tabernacle and how they were to be fastened together, as many parts were to compose one tabernacle as the dwelling place of God.  As the chapter draws to a close, Exodus 27:20-21 said:  "And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually. ²¹ In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel."  God desired the light of the lamp to always be shining in the holy place near the most holy place where His presence dwelt.  Sanctified priests were called to do the work of God in the right way, bringing pure olive oil for the lamps.  From evening to morning, the priests were to ensure the lamps were tended to and burning bright all night and day.

The Law of Moses and the service of the tabernacle were shadows that pointed to Jesus Christ Who is the Light of the World.  Jesus taught His disciples in Matthew 5:14-16:  "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  The lamps were to remain lit in the tabernacle, and Jesus explained the purpose of lighting a lamp is to provide light for everyone in the house.  It would make no sense to light a lamp and burn fuel while hiding the lamp under a basket.  Not only would it be a fire hazard, but everyone in the room would remain in darkness.

As born again followers of Jesus by faith, God intends for His glory to shine through us.  We are to be faithful and to be being filled with the Holy Spirit so we might glorify God now and forever.  How can we shine bright?  Verse 16 says we shine by our good works--which is much more than doing good deeds.  It is by being and becoming the people God created us to be, filled with the joy of the LORD we wear on our glad and hopeful countenance even in hard times.  We shine with praise of God for the great things He has done, by speaking blessing rather than cursing, and loving instead of hating.  We shine by walking in light of Scripture and speaking the truth, for God's word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

Isaiah 60:1-3 is a relevant exhortation to all God's people who are in Christ:  "Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. ² For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. ³ The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising."  How glorious is the Light of the World Who shines and has risen upon us!  We are not a source of light for the world, but through us the light of Jesus shines in and through us that will be seen by Jew and Gentile, a glow that attracts people to know and glorify God.  We sometimes limit our "time to shine" to particular moments, but God's will is we would always shine bright for His glory because He is only light, and in Him is no darkness at all--even in the mundane moments when no one else is watching.  Praise the LORD for the supply of the Holy Spirit Who helps us shine for God's glory.

God's Gifts and Calling

 Paul shared a timeless principle with believers in Romans 11:29:  "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."  This is wonderful because God is gracious, good, merciful and will always continue to be so.  It is of little value to be offered a lifetime guarantee by a company that folds one year after completing the work.  The world is full of false promises and caveats concealed in fine print, luring us to commit to buying with bold print and high-pressure salesmanship.  Whether the promises of God are well known or obscure by comparison, all His promises are yes and amen to His glory.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  This call to a new life by faith in Jesus was for the Jews He spoke to as well as Gentiles today:  the offer of salvation and eternal life through the Gospel remains valid and in force for us, our children, and for all generations to come. 
God does not retract His gracious gifts and calling because of our failures, or nor are they withdrawn when His patience runs thin.

God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants that remains because it was an everlasting covenant, and God by His grace has grafted in Gentiles with the true Jews as the people of God spiritually through faith in Jesus.  I love that God's gifts are irrevocable as well as His calling.  He gives gifts He does not withdraw because we have been neglecting them too much, and continues to call us to salvation and to service in the Body of Christ, the church.  Even when people walk away from the LORD and act like His enemies, His grace and goodness remains outstretched to them without fail.  What comfort, peace and rest is ours by faith in Jesus who has called the thirsty to Himself to drink of His Living Water!

One immutable characteristic of God is His generosity to give and keep giving.  He loves us and continues to love us.  Day by day He girds us with strength to seek and obey Him, and we can do all things through Jesus Who strengthens us.  He continues to give us joy and supply wisdom even when we are depressed and make foolish choices.  God provides hope when we are hopeless in ourselves to do or change anything.  He gives us His word that is packed with promises and does not repent of giving us more grace.  Let us be those who value the Giver over His countless gifts, the One who calling and gifts are irrevocable.

The Reforming Paradox

Because God is the sole source of wisdom and does not change, wisdom from God remains timeless for every person and season of life.  God's wisdom is never outdated but relevant for everyone.  While our lack of faith in God can prevent us from heeding or observing God's wise ways, God's wisdom will endure beyond us and subsequent generations.  Knowing God is our Creator and Sovereign, this impacts our perspective of relationships God has instituted.

G.K. Chesterton touched on this in an essay titled "The Drift from Domesticity" he wrote and our need to consider the reasons why laws, roles and boundaries in society exist before we think we do well to destroy them.  Though these words were written almost 100 years ago, Chesterton touched on the timelessness of God's wisdom for us to heed today in this excerpt:

"In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox.  There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity; a fence or gate erected across a road.  The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, "I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away."  To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer:  "If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away.  Go away and think.  Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it."

This paradox rests on the most elementary common sense.  The gate or fence did not grow there.  It was not set up by somnambulists who built it in their sleep.  It is highly improbable that it was put there by escaped lunatics who were for some reason loose in the street.  Some person had some reason for thinking it would be a good thing for somebody.  And until we know what the reasons was, we really cannot judge whether the reason was reasonable.  It is extremely probable that we have overlooked some whole aspect of the question, if something set up by human beings like ourselves seems to be entirely meaningless and mysterious.  There are reformers who get over this difficulty by assuming that all their fathers were fools; but if that be so, we can only say that folly appears to be a hereditary disease.  But the truth is that nobody has any business to destroy a social institution until he has really seen it as an historical institution.  If he knows how it arose, and what purposes it was supposed to serve, he may really be able to say that they were bad purposes, or that they have since become bad purposes, or that they are purposes which are no longer served.  But if he simply stares at the thing as a senseless monstrosity that has somehow sprung up in his path, it is he and not the traditionalist who is suffering from an illusion.  We might even say that he is seeing things in a nightmare."  (Chesterton, G. K., and Dale Ahlquist. In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton. Ignatius Press, 2011. pages 173-174)

The principle illustrated here shows the impact faith in God has on our perspective and worldview.  If we believe God created man and woman and instituted marriage between a man and a woman, we cannot reform these institutions without risk of deforming them.  While it is true people do change over their lives, our basic need for God and His wisdom does not change.  Having been illuminated by the word of God and born again by the Holy Spirit, we have learned that without God we are hopelessly adrift in the dark.  To follow our hearts may be to disregard God and the wisdom He has passed down through generations.  How blessed we are to have such a sure foundation in our God Who provides wisdom for abundant life and to be transformed by faith in Jesus into the people He intended us to be from the beginning.  Staying the course requires constant reformation--not of God's institutions but of ourselves--being sanctified by God's grace.

Seeing Clearly and Speaking Truly

"And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous."

Exodus 23:8

A bribe is a gift with strings attached given out of corrupt motives to influence or sway others away from doing or saying what they know is right.  A bribe is similar to flattery, for the heart behind both of them is insincere.  Giving someone a gift is a generous and kind thing to do, even as it can be encouraging to receive a compliment.  When the heart of the giver is corrupted and seeks to manipulate others, a gift is reduced to a bribe to gain influence.  Bribes may take many forms, and those made wise and discerning by faith in God are not immune to the negative impact of receiving them.

This verse provides insight into how receiving bribes affects those who receive them:  it blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.  A discerning person is one who sees with understanding of the truth of things, and receiving a bribe blinds us to the motivations of others, to the greed in our own hearts, and even keeps us from looking to Jesus.  Man's eyes are drawn to the gift and are prompted to please the giver in return--even more than God.  As one hand washes another, so receiving a gift incites a generosity of heart towards the giver.  This can mean turning a blind eye to the truth, and this is a very dangerous prospect when God speaks the truth and Jesus is the Truth.

The second effect of receiving a bribe is also of great concern, for the problem of perverse words goes right to the heart.  Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and when the words of the righteous are perverted they are no longer truthful and sincere.  Half-truths and plain lies will begin to permeate our thoughts and speech:  excusing, justifying or promoting something we know is not right.  Let us not imagine bribes must only be objects or money, for flattery or public honour can be a bribe as much as anything.  There is nothing wrong with praising one who does well, but we must be careful not to receive such things as one does a bribe--and being rendered blind and perverse.

The Jews were proud to be God's special people, and Paul revealed God's people in a spiritual sense are those who live for His praise in Romans 2:28-29:  "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; ²⁹ but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."  It was not the outer conformity of being circumcised and keeping the letter of the Law of Moses, but the ones praised by God for their faith marked by obedience to Jesus Christ.  To those Jesus says, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"  Our obedience to Jesus is not to be a bribe to get what we want from Him but a joyful duty since He is worthy and as a grateful response for all He has done for us.  May the LORD give us by faith in Jesus discerning eyes, upright hearts and words of truth to speak and live accordingly.