After I came home from hospital, it happened my morning readings were in the book of Job. This was impeccable timing, because whenever I read Job his suffering dwarfs mine in a matter of sentences. A sore, surgically-repaired knee is nothing compared to what Job faced! When pain hits hard it prompts soul-searching and questions. There was no rational reason for the theft of his herds, the consuming fire from heaven, nor the collapse of the home of his son and subsequent death of all his children in one day. There was no human answer for why Job's health failed so suddenly and the severity of his suffering. Job's brilliance was revealed in the midst of his suffering, not by the absence of it.
Job never allowed his pain to reflect poorly upon the character, purity, and righteousness of God. What happened to Job was wrong, but Job refused to charge it to God's account. He acknowledged he had freely received good from God and it would be hypocrisy to refuse evil. Job's suffering was severe. He was in so much pain he wished he had never lived at all! He was willing to trade all the good times - the blessings, his family, experiences, riches, friends, everything - to have the privilege of never being born. Most have never suffered to such a degree, that they would give up memory of all good things they love and enjoy to have never known anything. Job loved and trusted God, yet his pain was such he would have been content in that moment to have never existed.
Pain leads to self-revelation, and it is also refining. It has the potential to bury us in self-focus or spurn us to praise and glorify God who is always good, no matter the struggles or pains we face. I believe Job had a proper view of God. a vision seldom experienced by people today. We have a benefit Job did not have, in that we can observe how God restored him in the end. We can allow the fact that Job was restored by God to help us through our difficult seasons, but that is not what brought Job through. He had no such hope, no precedent. Here is the point: Restoration or future benefit should not be what inspires us, but only a vision of God Himself. Job's pain led to a deeper revelation of God. Should pain provide a window to a greater vision of God even without physical restoration, we have been graced with a gift beyond compare. We ought to love the Giver more than the gift. Through Christ, our love can be greater than pain.
29 July 2014
24 July 2014
A World of Pain
The Bible tells us in heaven there will be no more pain. Yet alas, on this earthly side of heaven, we are guaranteed pain. Pain, sickness, and sorrow are consequences of sin, and as long as we live in this body of flesh, pain will be a part of life. Even Jesus, a man who never sinned, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He experienced the full range of human pain: physical suffering, mental anguish, emotional hurts through rejection and betrayal, and spiritual separation from the Father on the cross. If God should see fit to allow His own Son to suffer and die for the sins of the world as a demonstration of divine love, then pain for those who have received His love need not sting so badly.
It is a truth that often pain must be inflicted before restoration and healing can be experienced. When I tore my ACL and meniscus in May, it hurt. Walking was slow and painful. My knee was stiff, sore, and swollen. If I twisted it the wrong way or banged it into something, shooting pains told me immediately what I did was not good! Almost two months have passed and there is no swelling and virtually no more pain. But there is still a problem. My anterior cruciate ligament - the major stabilising ligament in the knee - is still gone. This means I am at high risk of doing more damage to the knee joint and ligaments which are not so easily repaired. Doing nothing means a certainty of arthritis! Because of my relatively young age and active lifestyle, surgery is the only way to replace the ligament. This means today I will be stuck with needles, have my skin cut with a knife, tools will be shoved through keyhole incisions, and a drill will go clear through the bone. Thankfully I plan not to be conscious during this process!
My point is, some pains and injuries we suffer in life - physical, emotional, and mental - will not get better on their own. Our greatest pains come from being cut off from a relationship with God because of our sin. We must come to the place of disturbing the very source of the pain to administer a restorative cure. I could live with a completely ruptured ACL, but I would have to protect and favour my injured leg. Even after just two months my other knee has started to hurt because I have been walking slightly off. Doctors are not healers, but God is. God is the One who can heal and restore us back to a close relationship with Him. Even in our physical pain He brings comfort, knowing our pain is not without a purpose. It is when the pain is too great we are willing to seek help. Exploring or poking around in my damaged knee without a new ligament to attach would be intensely painful and only cause more scar tissue. That is all worldly wisdom can accomplish when it comes to a wounded and guilty conscience. God offers assurance, forgiveness, hope, peace, and love. God does more than acknowledge our pain, but sets us on a course for healing and salvation.
Today I am heading for a world of pain, but pain isn't always a bad thing. It is often the door we must pass through to greater revelation, peace, and comfort only God can supply. It can be the first decisive step to healing and restoration. Praise God He knows our pain, and in His compassion can do everything to make it work for good!
It is a truth that often pain must be inflicted before restoration and healing can be experienced. When I tore my ACL and meniscus in May, it hurt. Walking was slow and painful. My knee was stiff, sore, and swollen. If I twisted it the wrong way or banged it into something, shooting pains told me immediately what I did was not good! Almost two months have passed and there is no swelling and virtually no more pain. But there is still a problem. My anterior cruciate ligament - the major stabilising ligament in the knee - is still gone. This means I am at high risk of doing more damage to the knee joint and ligaments which are not so easily repaired. Doing nothing means a certainty of arthritis! Because of my relatively young age and active lifestyle, surgery is the only way to replace the ligament. This means today I will be stuck with needles, have my skin cut with a knife, tools will be shoved through keyhole incisions, and a drill will go clear through the bone. Thankfully I plan not to be conscious during this process!
My point is, some pains and injuries we suffer in life - physical, emotional, and mental - will not get better on their own. Our greatest pains come from being cut off from a relationship with God because of our sin. We must come to the place of disturbing the very source of the pain to administer a restorative cure. I could live with a completely ruptured ACL, but I would have to protect and favour my injured leg. Even after just two months my other knee has started to hurt because I have been walking slightly off. Doctors are not healers, but God is. God is the One who can heal and restore us back to a close relationship with Him. Even in our physical pain He brings comfort, knowing our pain is not without a purpose. It is when the pain is too great we are willing to seek help. Exploring or poking around in my damaged knee without a new ligament to attach would be intensely painful and only cause more scar tissue. That is all worldly wisdom can accomplish when it comes to a wounded and guilty conscience. God offers assurance, forgiveness, hope, peace, and love. God does more than acknowledge our pain, but sets us on a course for healing and salvation.
Today I am heading for a world of pain, but pain isn't always a bad thing. It is often the door we must pass through to greater revelation, peace, and comfort only God can supply. It can be the first decisive step to healing and restoration. Praise God He knows our pain, and in His compassion can do everything to make it work for good!
23 July 2014
The Ol' Club
Years ago I spent a few weeks refurbishing a pool table for my garage. Over the course of time, one of my two-piece pool cues broke. As I walked to the rubbish bin, I held the lower portion in my hand. Man, this would be a good club, I thought to myself. Convinced of the bell-ringing power of my new club, I put it near my bed in the case of an unexpected intruder. For years the thing collected dust.
Then one day I heard a story (fact or fable I do not know) about a woman who woke up and caught an intruder rifling through her home. Instead of demanding he leave or threatening to call the police, the woman invited the man to sit down and offered him some food. As she prepared the meal, she spoke to him gently and told him of God's love for him despite his sins. This woman's faith in God's protection was her security, even when there was a thief in her home. The story made an impact on me. It reminded me God is the one who protects my family, home, property, and myself. Should I place any amount of trust in a club, my ability to wield it, or a gun when God watches over me? I did that day what I should have done years before: the club went straight to the bin. It was replaced - not with a weapon I hold in my hands - but with the knowledge my life and future is in my heavenly Father's hands, and He can protect far better than I can myself!
When I read of Christians amassing stockpiles of weapons or ammunition because of the state of the world or new governmental restrictions, I wonder if they remember that it is God who fights our battles. How many times did God deliver and save His people in unconventional means because they trusted in Him! I think of when individuals or entire armies were struck blind, how the Jews were delivered from slavery in Egypt without an insurrection, or when the walls of Jericho fell flat. Gideon and his three hundred men bested an innumerable encampment of Midianites armed with torches, pitchers, trumpets, and a catch-phrase. In the days of Israel when there were only two swords, God turned the swords of the Philistines upon themselves! David defeated the heavily armed and armoured champion of Gath with a sling and a single stone. God saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego from a fiery furnace, and protected Daniel in a den of lions. Isaiah 37:36 tells when the Angel of the Lord went into the camp of the Assyrians overnight and killed 185,000 warriors! Our God causes the chains to fall off of hands and makes prison gates to swing open of their own accord, with even the most vigilant guards clueless.
God defends and protects His people if they will trust Him to do so. How feeble does that club under the bed seem in light of the power of God! There is a time for war and peace; there is a time as the Jews did in the book of Esther to make a stand and defend our lives. But let us be careful we do not forget that it is God who fights our battles. Let us put no trust in armaments or an arm of flesh, for God is faithful to deliver and save all who trust in Him.
Then one day I heard a story (fact or fable I do not know) about a woman who woke up and caught an intruder rifling through her home. Instead of demanding he leave or threatening to call the police, the woman invited the man to sit down and offered him some food. As she prepared the meal, she spoke to him gently and told him of God's love for him despite his sins. This woman's faith in God's protection was her security, even when there was a thief in her home. The story made an impact on me. It reminded me God is the one who protects my family, home, property, and myself. Should I place any amount of trust in a club, my ability to wield it, or a gun when God watches over me? I did that day what I should have done years before: the club went straight to the bin. It was replaced - not with a weapon I hold in my hands - but with the knowledge my life and future is in my heavenly Father's hands, and He can protect far better than I can myself!
When I read of Christians amassing stockpiles of weapons or ammunition because of the state of the world or new governmental restrictions, I wonder if they remember that it is God who fights our battles. How many times did God deliver and save His people in unconventional means because they trusted in Him! I think of when individuals or entire armies were struck blind, how the Jews were delivered from slavery in Egypt without an insurrection, or when the walls of Jericho fell flat. Gideon and his three hundred men bested an innumerable encampment of Midianites armed with torches, pitchers, trumpets, and a catch-phrase. In the days of Israel when there were only two swords, God turned the swords of the Philistines upon themselves! David defeated the heavily armed and armoured champion of Gath with a sling and a single stone. God saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego from a fiery furnace, and protected Daniel in a den of lions. Isaiah 37:36 tells when the Angel of the Lord went into the camp of the Assyrians overnight and killed 185,000 warriors! Our God causes the chains to fall off of hands and makes prison gates to swing open of their own accord, with even the most vigilant guards clueless.
God defends and protects His people if they will trust Him to do so. How feeble does that club under the bed seem in light of the power of God! There is a time for war and peace; there is a time as the Jews did in the book of Esther to make a stand and defend our lives. But let us be careful we do not forget that it is God who fights our battles. Let us put no trust in armaments or an arm of flesh, for God is faithful to deliver and save all who trust in Him.
22 July 2014
No Record of Rights
1 Corinthians 13 is a great description of God's love. It is active, pursues, is patient, kind, gracious, generous, and seeks to sacrifice self for the benefit of others. 1 Corinthians 13:5 says of God's love: "It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." (NIV) The last phrase of this verse is most instructive to me. In the NKJV it is translated "thinks no evil." Love is not wary or suspicious, but thinks good of others - even when they have done something wrong towards us in the past. When we keep track of other's mistakes or faults, we are not walking in love.
Closely related to keeping no record of wrongs in others is when we keep track of our rights. It does not demonstrate love when we bring up how much good we have done for others when they have wronged us. If I point out my "good" deeds to make someone else feel guilty, or to glorify myself in light of their conduct, this is nothing more than manipulation, pride, and self-righteousness. It is an appeal to the flesh to have our way, and this should not mark the life or thought patterns of a follower of Jesus Christ. We can feel taken advantage of if we file away all the good we have done for others and do not see the appreciation our efforts merit. Those who keep record of others wrongs or their own rights will persist in folly. Our pursuit of recognition or just rewards show we know little of grace and God's love.
When we are tempted to say, "Look what I have done!" know this is often a clear temptation to sin. What you have done? Can a man do anything apart from God's grace? What do we have that we have not freely received? Jesus was not taken advantage of by the lost He came to seek and serve because He gave Himself freely without reservation. Let us love freely as Jesus has demonstrated by laying down His life for sinners. His sacrifice on the cross did not become His trump card to force His way: "Look what I did for you! The least you could do is obey me in this small matter!" That's not the voice or tone of Jesus, but sounds very much like the tone of the accuser of the brethren. Love keeps no record of wrongs, nor sounds a trumpet to bring attention to our good deeds. We are called to do all things as unto the LORD, and it is He who will settle accounts with us! What do you want on that day: your just due or God's grace?
Closely related to keeping no record of wrongs in others is when we keep track of our rights. It does not demonstrate love when we bring up how much good we have done for others when they have wronged us. If I point out my "good" deeds to make someone else feel guilty, or to glorify myself in light of their conduct, this is nothing more than manipulation, pride, and self-righteousness. It is an appeal to the flesh to have our way, and this should not mark the life or thought patterns of a follower of Jesus Christ. We can feel taken advantage of if we file away all the good we have done for others and do not see the appreciation our efforts merit. Those who keep record of others wrongs or their own rights will persist in folly. Our pursuit of recognition or just rewards show we know little of grace and God's love.
When we are tempted to say, "Look what I have done!" know this is often a clear temptation to sin. What you have done? Can a man do anything apart from God's grace? What do we have that we have not freely received? Jesus was not taken advantage of by the lost He came to seek and serve because He gave Himself freely without reservation. Let us love freely as Jesus has demonstrated by laying down His life for sinners. His sacrifice on the cross did not become His trump card to force His way: "Look what I did for you! The least you could do is obey me in this small matter!" That's not the voice or tone of Jesus, but sounds very much like the tone of the accuser of the brethren. Love keeps no record of wrongs, nor sounds a trumpet to bring attention to our good deeds. We are called to do all things as unto the LORD, and it is He who will settle accounts with us! What do you want on that day: your just due or God's grace?
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