October 28, 1997
In a society where teenagers are noted for religiously following the pressures of their peer group, it is odd that those who are Christian feel a responsibility to tell others of their faith in Christ. Even more unusual is that this conviction in young people often exceeds that of adult Christians.
Peers are a strong influence. Teens are not the only age group to conform under that pressure. In a simple issue of selecting which clothes to wear, both women and men make sure their clothes harmonize with what everyone else is wearing. No one wants to be the odd person. However, the gospel counters this tendency. Those who believe it have an unusual desire to demonstrate that we are different, not by what we wear but by what God has done in our lives.
Acknowledging ourselves as sinners is the hardest part. Bragging that we please God and are special to Him would be easier. Nevertheless, if we have evaluated ourselves honestly, we realize that we fall far short of the power and grandeur of our Creator.
Further, by taking an honest look at His Law and listening to our own conscience, we again see that we fall short. We know we have dishonored Him in many ways. We have put other gods before Him and made idols in our minds. We have used His name in profane thought and language. We have not trusted and followed Him but turned our own way and depended on ourselves. We have been without faith and faithless.
Besides directly ignoring or insulting God, Christians must also admit committing similar sins against other people. We know we have not honored our parents as we should. We know we have told lies, blatantly or in some misrepresentation of truth. We have been guilty of covetousness and have taken things that do not belong to us. Not one of us can say we have satisfied the standards of our own conscience, never mind kept the laws of God.
In both creation and His Law, we see our sinfulness but we also clearly see His righteousness. God does not do the things we do. All that He is and all that He does is pure. He is without greed, malice, envy or any evil. He alone is good, holy, full of truth and mercy.
Yet if the truth about ourselves and the truth about God is all we know, we would not have anything wonderful to tell others—failure and despair would overwhelm the wonder of God—but there is more. God’s revelation of Himself does not stop with creation and His laws. He also revealed Himself more vividly by coming to earth in a human body. The man, Jesus Christ, shows us God—with far greater clarity than either the world around us or the rules in His Book.
Yes, God is powerful and can make a universe and yes, God is holy and demands conformity to His law; however, in these we cannot see His mercy and love. Only in Jesus Christ can we see the unmerited favor and kindness of God.
Sin is a fact. So is our helplessness to overcome it. Yet God sent Jesus to trade our death penalty for His life. With Him, we are granted forgiveness and the righteousness of God. His life, in us, makes up our shortfall. He has taken care of our greatest need and makes us different people, capable of loving and obeying God. His life powerfully works to overcome our sin.
No wonder we are excited about our faith, yet even if we lacked enthusiasm, we still must follow the example of our believing youth. Our God has given us a commission, a mandate, to go and tell everyone the wonderful things He has done.
Showing posts with label helpless. Show all posts
Showing posts with label helpless. Show all posts
Friday, April 7, 2017
Friday, November 13, 2015
The benefits of being injured ............. Parables 352
January 12, 1993
While January snows pile up outside and winter winds chill the bones and make noses red and skin chapped, I was planning to send this column from a beach far south--where my nose would be getting red from the sun and the only white stuff in sight would be sand and the tops of ocean waves.
But it didn’t happen. Two days before Christmas, I stepped down from a box and felt the back of my leg explode as if someone hit it with a sledge hammer. The doctor called it a ruptured calf muscle and the physiotherapist said he was good but not quite good enough to get me walking the beach by the second week of January. In fact, he thought it may take two months to fully heal.
So our Christmas celebrations were definitely different this year. One son decorated the tree. The other one put away groceries and scolded me every time I moved. My husband did all his regular chores and mine too, including cleaning the house and helping me get from bed to bath to kitchen to living room, etc. My mother baked apple pies and made breakfast. Our daughter brought cookies and good humor. Her mother-in-law fed us turkey and all the trimmings. I was able to wrap gifts (even one for me) and made jokes about having a “two-C Christmas” (crutches and codeine).
But in a way, this helplessness has been a gift. I have noticed an increase in my compassion for hurting people. News stories about car accidents and injured children tug at my heart in a new way. I can more easily identify with their pain and frustration of trying to move a limb that refuses to respond because it takes all my concentration to move my toes toward my nose, as the therapist says I must. I know what it feels like to have muscles that simply will not do their work.
I can also feel the hope of those mentioned in the Bible stories that came to Jesus because they were lame. How each one must have rejoiced when they realized Isaiah’s prophecy, made six hundred years before, was now coming true. He foretold a time when “the lame would leap like a deer and the mute tongue would shout for joy.” Even though Isaiah’s prophecy will not be completely fulfilled until heaven, Jesus, during His time on earth, certainly gave many people a taste of what to expect in eternity. All who go there will know the fullness of complete health, every limb will work as it should. There will be no more sorrow or pain.
Yet the best gift right now is seeing my family, as Job said, being “feet to the lame” (29:15). They have taken over my responsibilities with great gusto (but refuse to let me to feel sorry for myself). I can relate to the Apostle Paul when he expressed his joy over the ministry of the Philippians to him. He said that he was not “looking for a gift, but looking for what may be credited to (their) account.” In other words, he rejoiced to see them demonstrating Christian virtues.
Seeing my family rallying together is a blessing. Almost all of them have said something like: “God has a purpose in this” or “There is a good reason that you can’t go on holidays right now.” It delights me that not one seems to perceive that they themselves have demonstrated some of God’s reason and purpose for my injury. Through them, I have seen and appreciated His compassion and loving kindness in a new way.
While January snows pile up outside and winter winds chill the bones and make noses red and skin chapped, I was planning to send this column from a beach far south--where my nose would be getting red from the sun and the only white stuff in sight would be sand and the tops of ocean waves.
But it didn’t happen. Two days before Christmas, I stepped down from a box and felt the back of my leg explode as if someone hit it with a sledge hammer. The doctor called it a ruptured calf muscle and the physiotherapist said he was good but not quite good enough to get me walking the beach by the second week of January. In fact, he thought it may take two months to fully heal.
So our Christmas celebrations were definitely different this year. One son decorated the tree. The other one put away groceries and scolded me every time I moved. My husband did all his regular chores and mine too, including cleaning the house and helping me get from bed to bath to kitchen to living room, etc. My mother baked apple pies and made breakfast. Our daughter brought cookies and good humor. Her mother-in-law fed us turkey and all the trimmings. I was able to wrap gifts (even one for me) and made jokes about having a “two-C Christmas” (crutches and codeine).
But in a way, this helplessness has been a gift. I have noticed an increase in my compassion for hurting people. News stories about car accidents and injured children tug at my heart in a new way. I can more easily identify with their pain and frustration of trying to move a limb that refuses to respond because it takes all my concentration to move my toes toward my nose, as the therapist says I must. I know what it feels like to have muscles that simply will not do their work.
I can also feel the hope of those mentioned in the Bible stories that came to Jesus because they were lame. How each one must have rejoiced when they realized Isaiah’s prophecy, made six hundred years before, was now coming true. He foretold a time when “the lame would leap like a deer and the mute tongue would shout for joy.” Even though Isaiah’s prophecy will not be completely fulfilled until heaven, Jesus, during His time on earth, certainly gave many people a taste of what to expect in eternity. All who go there will know the fullness of complete health, every limb will work as it should. There will be no more sorrow or pain.
Yet the best gift right now is seeing my family, as Job said, being “feet to the lame” (29:15). They have taken over my responsibilities with great gusto (but refuse to let me to feel sorry for myself). I can relate to the Apostle Paul when he expressed his joy over the ministry of the Philippians to him. He said that he was not “looking for a gift, but looking for what may be credited to (their) account.” In other words, he rejoiced to see them demonstrating Christian virtues.
Seeing my family rallying together is a blessing. Almost all of them have said something like: “God has a purpose in this” or “There is a good reason that you can’t go on holidays right now.” It delights me that not one seems to perceive that they themselves have demonstrated some of God’s reason and purpose for my injury. Through them, I have seen and appreciated His compassion and loving kindness in a new way.
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