Living by God's Grace

Recently I came across an article that focused on "voluntary assisted dying" that seemed to be a propaganda piece that praised those who pursue dying on their "own terms" as having immense courage.  I do not believe suicide--whether medically assisted or not--is in itself a badge of courage.  Greater courage can be shown in choosing to live despite pain and a terminal diagnosis--looking to the LORD who gave us life in the first place.

One thing that is often missing when the "taboo" subject of assisted suicide is reported on is any acknowledgement or mention of God.  It is ironic (but not surprising!) God who knit us together in our mother's wombs would be left out of the conversation by those who embrace a humanistic or even a nihilistic perspective.  It wasn't long ago I was given paperwork by my doctor to write down my end of life plan, whether I wanted to be fed by others if I was unable to feed myself, or if I would refuse to be given any nutrition if I experience advanced dementia.  Undoubtedly these are uncomfortable topics to dwell on, and I did not view one option as more "courageous" than another.

Courage is defined as, "Bravery; intrepidity; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits; valor; boldness; resolution."  Jesus demonstrated immense courage when He went up to Jerusalem knowing He would be betrayed, arrested and crucified when He was innocent of wrongdoing, young and in good health.  My dad showed courage in being subjected to cancer treatments and facing a terminal prognosis without depression or feeling sorry for himself.  He suffered great discomfort and anguish, and was never far from tears.  But as he looked to Jesus in faith, he continued his course gladly until God took him home.  My mum and family also demonstrated courage in caring for Dad faithfully, knowing his time on earth would come to an end in God's time.

In no way do I want to cheapen or dismiss the pain and difficulties that have led people to choose to die on their own terms.  Speaking for myself, however, it does not require any courage for me to live or die on my own terms.  Me living on my own terms is actually one of bondage to selfishness, fear, anxiety, cares and worries.  It is by faith in the living God in whom courage is found we can face a difficult day without fear, to be brave despite weakness and limitations, and to obey God rather than following our own hearts.  God is gracious to allow us to reach our limit, discover He is gracious and merciful, and to learn to trust Him with peace in our hearts and praise on our lips despite pains.  Knowing God gives and takes away, it is right to commit the length of our days to God who has wisely numbered them.

The suffering, sorrow and pain of this life will soon be over--even if it feels like it will never end.  Those who trust in Jesus Christ are assured of eternal life in His presence where there is no illness, pain, tears, sorrow of death.  God gives His people assurance of His kindness today and always as is written in Isaiah 54:10:  "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has mercy on you."  Death is not our friend, advocate or refuge:  God is!  There is no illness God cannot cure, and no condition greater than His love and power to save.  Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!"  Better than waiting to die, we are to wait on the gracious LORD who strengthens us.

God is Reasonable

The almighty God who created all things is beyond all reason due to His omnipotence and power, and yet He is also most reasonable.  Caricatures of God set forth by unbelievers portray Him as being ridiculously unreasonable, easily infuriated, carried away with violence, being unjust and brutal.  This is merely a projection of the worst of man's natural tendencies, and none of these are remotely accurate of who God has revealed Himself to be in the Bible and by the Person of Jesus Christ.  People have done horrid and wicked things in the name of God, but they were not God.  God's holy name ought not be dragged through the mud because evil people claimed to be doing His will--when in reality they acted according to their own wicked desires.

God never makes unreasonable demands of people, for He supplies wisdom and strength for all who trust in Him.  God gave Adam freedom to eat of every tree in the Garden of Eden (including the tree of life) and told him not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden.  Adam was plainly warned that should he eat of that tree, he would surely die.  God created Adam and made him a living soul because He desired Adam to live and have enduring fellowship with Him.  Disobedience to the holy God is sin, and sin would bring certain death.  Even as a father or mother warns their child of danger and seeks to protect them, God warned Adam of the consequences of eating from that one particular tree.  When Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit, it was they who were being unreasonable in light of God's revelation.

When God spoke to the children of Israel through His word and the prophets, He did not have unreasonable expectations of them.  God did not require anything that we do not expect of our own children.  He said, "...Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you." (Jeremiah 7:23)  The bar was set quite low, for God wanted His people to listen to Him, obey Him and receive correction when they erred.  He did not demand perfection, for that would be unreasonable given our sinful state.  God did not insist they do His will without ever telling them what pleased or displeased Him.  He did not trick or trap a soul.  God spoke using words they could understand and that they agreed to do--except rebelled and disobeyed.  They were the unreasonable ones, assuming the all-knowing God did not know how corrupt they were or the omnipotent God could not discipline them.  Seeing God had revealed Himself by His creation of the world, His mighty works and in writing, God's people were most unreasonable to imagine they could fool Him.

Romans 12:1 says to God's people, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."  Since God has revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus, demonstrated His love by dying on the cross, proved His power over sin and death by rising from the dead, pardoned us sinners, declared us righteous and granted us eternal life as His redeemed children, it is entirely reasonable we present our bodies a living sacrifice to God.  It is reasonable for us to avoid sin that brought death and choose to live in the manner that is acceptable and pleasing to God.  It is reasonable we present ourselves to God as His obedient servants, but we are the unreasonable ones in our relationship.  We must be born again to begin to be reasonable--made new creations by faith in Jesus--and we must learn to yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit who fills, gifts and makes us spiritually fruitful.  As little children learn to reason, it is reasonable we as children of God learn to align our thoughts and lives with His wisdom.

Amending Ways and Doings

God commanded Jeremiah to stand at the gate of the temple and proclaim in Jeremiah 7:3:  "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place."  God repeatedly urged His people to thoroughly amend their ways and their doings because they were out of the way--having gone out of the way because of the sinful dictates of their hearts--and their deeds were wicked as well.  People who heard the word of the LORD through Jeremiah were not receptive to such exhortations.  Those who are wise and fear God will take His word to heart with humility and obedience, knowing God is perfect and we are not.  As long as we live in these bodies of flesh in a world corrupted by sin, amendment of our ways and doings will be required regularly.

The word "amend" is more than "change," for it means to add what is lacking.  When it comes to soil, amendments need to be added and mixed with the existing soil to correct a problem with soil pH, poor water retention, too much clay, lack of organic material and nutrients.  Understanding the concept of amendment requiring adding what is missing was a lightbulb moment for me.  We can take notice of outward sins and make the mistake of working to to cull them from our lives by willpower alone (with a variety of motivations that can even be selfish), and this can make little difference.  One reason we fail to change is we have tried to remove a sinful practice without adding what was missing; we often try to manage symptoms without addressing sin's source in our hearts and minds.  Putting forth effort to stop doing what is wrong without first doing what is right will be a fruitless endeavour, like trying to put on the "new man" without putting off the "old man" with his sinful deeds.  We must first be born again and walk in the Spirit, and then we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  But we don't always walk in the Spirit, do we?

For soil to be properly amended, the ground must be prepared by breaking up the clods and removing debris.  As amendments must be thoroughly integrated, mixed and watered into all the soil, so we should integrate God's word into all aspects of our lives.  God pointed out the need for the children of Israel to amend their ways and doings--and these are not synonyms.  A way speaks of a course of life, a road that is leading to a destination.  Going our own way puts us on the wrong road that always leads to ruin.  Our "doings" speak of our thoughts, decisions and deeds.  One not need to be a licensed driver to understand being on the wrong road will lead us to the wrong destination, and focusing on checking your mirrors and maintaining a safe distance will not put us on the right path.  When we discover our ways are sinful, the only right turn we can make is to Jesus Christ with a repentant, contrite heart.

If we will truly amend our ways and doings, we must acknowledge we need to add what is missing to our lives that only Jesus can supply by His grace.  It is not sufficient to restrain ourselves from murder, but to love one another as Jesus loves us.  Deciding stealing is wrong and we should stop doing it may not ever be put into practice until we find our contentment in Christ and view giving to God and others as a privilege and blessing.  Praise the LORD for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives who guides us into all truth, who teaches and helps us to comprehend and obey God's word.  Progress may seem slow, but every step of faith in Jesus is truly a monument of God's grace toward us.  Hosea 10:12 says, "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you."

Seek the LORD

During our Friday night Bible study, we discussed the importance of seeking God intentionally.  Unlike the children of Israel who went up to the tabernacle or temple where the presence of God dwelt according the Law of Moses, Christians are now the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us (1 Cor. 6:19).  Somehow, someway, seeking God can be neglected in the shuffle of Christian service and spiritual disciplines, our actions becoming the end in themselves rather than drawing near to God in worship, praise and thanksgiving.

Going to a church service--is going to a church service.  Being in a particular place doesn't mean we are seeking the LORD or waiting on Him.  It occurred to me that going to church without seeking God is like going to the airport but never boarding.  The whole purpose of going to a bus, train station or airport is to take a mode of transportation to a particular destination.  Now it is likely we have been to a station to drop or pick someone up, and thus we fulfilled the purpose for going there.  But to go to a station and not drop anyone off, pick someone up or board transport ourselves, we have missed an opportunity.

Speaking for myself, I would never go to an airport unless I had a specific reason for going that involved the aforementioned activities.  Yet I confess I have gone to church services and did not seek the LORD:  I was just there to attend a service.  I participated in singing and heard preaching from God's word; I found insights interesting and enjoyed catching up with fellow believers.  But I didn't necessarily seek God.  I hadn't prepared my heart to approach the awesome, holy, almighty God like people who washed in a mikveh, put on clean clothes and brought their offerings to the priest to be sacrificed.  It is a good to go to church and be in fellowship with Christians, but seeking Christ ought to be central.

God's grace is wonderful, for even when we fail to prepare our hearts to seek God and are caught up in activities, God is able to speak and work wonders in our lives.  He is patient, compassionate and merciful.  God delights to reveal Himself to those who are far from Him and pursues the wandering soul--even if they have never been to a church service.  When we make God our destination, we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole hearts.  Psalm 27:7-8 says, "Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. ⁸ When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."  In all our seeking and service, may we seek the LORD!