Death’s Web ................ Parables 321

June 9, 1992

The sunlight catches the silken strands of a spider’s weaving. It was not there last week but sometime during the nights and days since I last looked in my garden, a small brown creature created a beautiful design — beautiful but a trap for the unwary. Once entangled in the web, other insects cannot escape the spider’s sting of death. Their lot is cast.

Spider’s webs are a wonderful metaphor. From the philosophy of Charlotte’s Web, to poems of conversations between spiders and flies, we have a greater perception of certain slices of life.

The Bible, rich in imagery and figures of speech, also uses this metaphor — but only part of it — the relationship to life found in the sting of death. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, Greece. He tells them how vital the truth of Christ’s resurrection is to living the Christian life. For one thing, it removes the threat of dying. Verse 55 of chapter 15 asks the rhetorical question: “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades (grave), where is your victory?”

With that, Paul triumphantly proclaims the grave can only claim its victims for a short while — Christ rose from the dead, proving there is life after death — so death has lost its sting.

Death’s sting, at least on this side of dying, is fear. Most of us, most of the time, do not want to die. Fear of death is expressed in many ways, from re-labeling it with euphemisms to spending millions of dollars in life-prolonging research. We fear partly because we like life and do not want it to end, partly because of the process of dying, and certainly because of the uncertainty of what will happen after death. Is there a judgment? Or nothing?

The good news is that God the Son participated in human life — and in death — that “... through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Death is like that spider’s web — - and it catches all of us. Paul explains that “... the sting of death is sin...” Put another way, death is the result of sin and since all sin (Romans 3:23), no one can avoid its web. So sin (falling short of the righteousness of God) strikes the killing blow.

The Bible does not liken Satan to the spider but he could fit that role because he held “the power of death” however, notice that Christ has “destroyed him who had the power of death... the devil.”

When Jesus came, He could have decreed death out of the picture but He did not choose to circumvent dying. Instead, He destroyed its control over us by robbing the spider, the web, and the sting of their power. This He did by surrendering to the web, just as we eventually must, but with one big difference: since death’s sting is sin, that sting could not touch Him — He was sinless so the only way He could die was by willingly allowing our sin to be put on Him (2 Cor.5:21). That was all the spider was waiting for.

But death could not hold Jesus; it had no power over Him personally. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He conquered the web and the sting, broke the dominion of Satan, and walked out of the tomb.

Because of what Jesus did, sin and death cannot hold those who trust Him. The pain of death is overcome — it is the Christian’s transition to heaven, not to be feared. Furthermore, the present pain and sorrow of sin is forgiven, even conquered in Christ — it’s domination is broken. Both still seek to frighten the unwary into bondage and fear of dying, but Christ has put both sin and death under His feet. Death is no longer our biggest enemy.

Perhaps the real enemy now is unwary unbelief.

God is hunting treasure ................ Parables 320

June 2, 1992

Have you ever searched for treasure? Not necessarily treasure like a chest full of jewels depicted in pirate movies but something of value, perhaps a prize? Or a rare article that would bring you wealth or unusual reward?

There is an interesting idea about searching in the Bible. Psalm 139 says the Lord searches us and knows us. In other verses we are told that He searches every heart and knows what is inside. Is He just snooping, or is He looking for something in particular? If so, what? Is it possible that He is on a treasure hunt? And if so, what could Almighty God possibly find in us that He would consider valuable, a treasure?

Scripture seems to indicate this search is a diligent, careful probing. The same words are used in other contexts to describe investigation of legal cases, or the diligent search made in mining or exploration, or the work done to examine a particular subject, or the probing someone might do to unlock the secrets of a person’s feelings or character.

Can you imagine Sherlock Holmes investigating a room for the tiniest clue? Or a miner using his axe on every stone in a mine shaft as he seeks valuable minerals or gems? Try to envision an explorer searching out all the landmarks of an unexplored country, or a student researching a term paper. Or visualize a psychiatrist probing a patient’s responses. All of these examples give an idea of the manner in which God searches hearts.

However, God seems to have a different motive for His investigations. For one thing, the Bible gives no indication He searches hearts because He is ignorant of what we do or think and thus must discover what we try to hide. He already knows all things. Nor is hoping to find a rare IQ. Human wisdom, while important to us, rates very little in the eyes of God (1 Corinthians 1 and 2). Furthermore, the Bible does not say we are uniquely unknowable and God searches in order to get to know us. It is not the mysteriousness of our character that prevents a personal relationship with God, but rather our sin. Because of that, I doubt His favorite activity involves dissecting human mind patterns. For many, that is like sifting garbage.

So what exactly is God doing by searching hearts? What is He looking for? Luke 18:8 supplies the answer in another question. Jesus, speaking in the third-person about His second appearance, asks; When He (meaning Himself) comes, will He find faith on the earth?

With that, Jesus reveals that God is looking for faith, a believing response to His revelation of Himself through His Son and His Word. He seeks even the slightest inclination to abandon sin and believe in Him. He asks: “Is it possible that I will find any faith?”

Left on our own, the Bible says He would not. According to Romans 3, we have all gone our own way, no one seeks God, no one believes. Yet God, because He loves us, is not satisfied to leave us in this bankrupt condition. He longs to find the treasure, even determines He will find it.

Because that is so, and because we lack faith (as well as anything else we need to please God), He knows the only way He will find this treasure is if He puts it there Himself. That is why He gives us faith as it says in Ephesians 2:8,9: “For by grace you are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God...” What a gracious act of God — He looks for faith, finds none, and rather than give up because we come up empty, He grants it as a gift!

Not that we have no part in this treasure hunt: Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” We must involve ourselves with the Bible. The faith necessary to believe it accompanies that involvement — as we are willing to say YES, both to the words we read and the faith God wants to give to us.

When that happens — when God gives and we receive through His Word — we can be sure that when Jesus returns (and even before that) His search will be not be a wasted effort; He will find the faith He is looking for.

Bread of Life ................ Parables 319

May 26, 1992

Those bread making machines amaze me. Today’s high-tech baker simply measures in flour, water, yeast, shortening, sugar and whatever else is desired in the final product, presses a button and walks away. A paddle revolves and the dough is kneaded. A timer turns it on after the dough rises and the built-in oven bakes it to perfection. The same timer can also be set to delay the process so baker and family can wake up in the morning to the mouth-watering aroma of fresh baked bread.

Bread has been called the staff of life. For most people, a week or even a day does not go by without toast or a sandwich. We dip bread in eggs and fry it for breakfast, eat croutons in salads, and even bake bread pudding with milk and raisins for dessert. Whatever form it takes, buns or pita, crackers or croutons, bread is indeed nourishment for many.

Interesting then that Jesus said “Man cannot live by bread alone...” (He said it to Satan in Matthew 4:4, quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3, when being tempted to turn stones into bread.) While the physical dimension of life needs bread and other physical nourishment, Jesus clearly meant life is not measured entirely by the physical. He was talking about a life that goes beyond that, a life that does not depend on wheat and yeast to sustain it.

However, people who hear Jesus talk about this kind of life are often more interested in bread and in physical life. One biblical incident tells of a miraculous meal where Jesus did something even better than a high-tech bread machine could. He took a few loaves and multiplied them to feed a large crowd.

After that miracle, He told the people who gathered around that they needed to work for food that endures rather than be concerned with food that spoils. With that, He declared Himself the Bread of Life and told them they must partake of Him to live forever. But many grumbled and turned away. As Jesus pointed out, instead of being eager to receive eternal life from Him, they wanted only the physical benefits: in this case, free bread.

As already said, Jesus’ claim to being the Bread of Life was not a claim to supply physical nourishment, even though that is what His hearers wanted. For them, the idea of having someone make life easy was a good idea. They would take His offer on those terms but not on His terms.

Yet His terms include far more than such a narrow view. Eternal life, while difficult to envision, has obvious advantages over physical life. For one thing, it does not require hard work (or even pushing a button) to produce or earn. It is free, a gift from the Living God. Jesus made it clear that all who come to Him in faith will receive His eternal life.

Furthermore, all who rely on Him receive sustaining nourishment, a spiritual satisfaction that even the best sandwich cannot match. Jesus is the main course, as it were, that makes other “fulfillment” look like snacks in comparison. He invites all to come to Him, first to derive eternal life, and then to receive needed strength and nourishment to grow and maintain spiritual health and energy.

One caution as it relates to this process: hunger for God is not satisfied by quick snacks. A superficial reading of His Word and a quick “God bless today” prayer amounts to only a few crumbs on our plates. He will feed our deepest needs and give us energy to face the challenges of life — if we will spend quantity and quality time with Him.

Those ovens that makes quick, easy bread would be just fine for the physical side of life — I would not mind having one — but for spiritual hunger and sustenance, only Living Bread immensely satisfies.

Grannie Disease ................ Parables 318

May 19, 1992

During a recent visit, our oldest son noticed I kept forgetting to do something and quipped “I get that too —  it’s called granny-disease.”

I should have swatted him. Most women want to forget birthdays only, and never become old enough to be forgetful! However, I did console myself with this thought: I am in good company — God forgets things too.

Directly related to God’s forgetfulness is one aspect of our own ability to forget. My husband and I marvel how the memory of confessed, forgiven sin fades. Our recall of things done in the past, things we were so ashamed of, has faded to the point where neither of us can remember details, even if we try. Yet there was a time we thought we would never forget.

Recently, God graciously delivered a friend of mine from a life of violent sin and demonic oppression that once dominated everything she did. What amazes her is that now she can scarcely remember even the most recent images from her past. She is particularly overjoyed that plaguing mental images are completely gone — as if she did not even experience them.

I know that some people are able to push painful or ugly memories out of their minds with busyness and noise, but their forgetfulness is repression, a deliberate effort. It is not the same as what God does with a Christian’s memory of sin.

To understand it, we need to first know what God Himself does with our sin. The Psalmist explains that “the LORD is merciful and gracious and slow to anger... while He does hate sin, He does not stay angry for ever...” even though He has every right to remain angry with us.

God offers forgiveness for at least two reasons. First, He can forgive because of the gospel. The death of His Son satisfied His righteous wrath against sin. We deserved the penalty but He loved us so much that He sent His Son to pay the penalty our sin deserved. Those who acknowledge their sin and need for forgiveness and believe in Christ as their sin-bearer, are pardoned. Their offenses are removed from them, nailed to His cross and God says, “Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more (Hebrews 10:17).

Second, His own nature demands forgiveness. Because He is holy, He cannot hold grudges. He says: “I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins.” That is why we can pray as the psalmist did: “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD” (Psalms 25:7).

The marvel is God not only forgives our confessed sin but also removes it. He promises: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Psalm 103 goes on to say “He has not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities... as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Christians experience the reality of freedom from guilt. As we confess daily and as each sin is cleansed, its guilt is taken away. Then, as we learn to live more and more under the control of the Holy Spirit, we more and more think like He thinks — and the more we think like He thinks, the more we are able to simply forget our sins — as He does.

None of us like it when we can’t remember the names of our good neighbors or where we put the car keys, but when it comes to forgetting cancelled sin, I do welcome having granny-disease.

Sin is like soil erosion ................ Parables 317

May 12, 1992

My mom’s favorite rhetorical question is: “How could anyone do such a thing?”

The recent riots in Los Angeles and other major cities have no doubt brought the same question to many minds. How could anyone beat an uninvolved bystander to death? Or shoot a child? Or break into a business and walk away with whatever they want?

About a week before the riots began, I heard someone talk about erosion, not in reference to the topsoil blowing around Saskatchewan but regarding the erosion of the human will. This concept answers the question: How can people be so illogically sinful?

Basically, the average person thinks twice about violating social and moral norms. Most of us are not interested in committing any kind of gross offense or act of violence, either in mob conditions or more private situations. We are constrained by moral or religious convictions, fear of consequences, love of others, any number of things.

However, the temptation to evil seldom comes at us in the beginning with something gross. It usually starts with something small, a tiny temptation, something that seems fairly harmless. We know it is not right but since there seems to be no immediate reason why not to do it, or it seems no one is looking or caring, we tend to compromise our convictions.

The first one, because it is so easy to slide into, is probably the most difficult to resist. The next temptation, the next opportunity to compromise, is easier to give in to, not because it seems even more appealing but because once we have yielded our wills, an erosion process has begun.

Our will is like the humus in prairie top soil. It serves as a protection. But when it is gone, it doesn’t take much wind to further deplete the land. Improved agricultural practices offered hope that the dust bowls of the Thirties would never be repeated, yet confidence this would not happen again tends to relax diligence.

It is the same with our will. When the surface resolve to say no to temptation is relaxed, the winds of compromise begin to deplete the soul. One capitulation after another soon leaves nothing to resist the final furious blast — and the person whose will has been eroded finds himself doing something that prior to his gradual slide he would never have consented to do.

But topsoil is not without hope. Once it is totally depleted it is in a stage called old age, but “such processes as erosion, flooding, dust storms, and volcanic eruptions expose or provide new, unweathered parent material to begin a new soil life cycle” (Grollier Electronic Publishing, Inc.)

Neither are souls without hope. Those who participated in the violence in Los Angeles, and others who have slid into gross sin, can acknowledge their depleted lives, ask God for forgiveness and begin anew — with His transforming help.

Better yet, both for soil and souls, is to avoid such erosion in the first place. A farmer needs to daily check the condition of his land. Leaders of major cities need to daily check the condition of their citizens. Each of us need to daily check the condition of our souls. Are we taking care of the little things? Or compromising here and there?

God promises, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The best way out is not at the end when so much damage has been done, or even in the middle when we are often too weak in our resolve to say no, but right at the beginning — while we can still stand against the winds of temptation.

Environmentalism ................ Parables 316

May 5, 1992

Fort Saskatchewan’s air sometimes falls short of mountain fresh, but as nauseating as some of those chemical fumes are, many people who live in large cities would rather have our “air” than theirs.

For instance, a recent environmental report says canaries live only three minutes in downtown Mexico City. In the few weeks since that report, respiratory illness has gone up 70 percent. During the first week of April, fuel-burning industry was ordered to cut production by 50 percent and students have been forbidden to exercise outdoors.

Most of us are well aware of the narrow boundaries of an ecological balance. We know how important it is to preserve those boundaries because our lives depend on very basic items threatened by their removal. We need air to breathe, food and water to survive. Although industrial progress has its benefits, personal and industrial irresponsibility and taking these precious God-given resources for granted has had destructive results.

The environmentalists are not the only ones that admonish us to take care of our world. Scripture is replete with principles regarding responsible behavior. When people follow these principles (whether they know Scripture or not), many people enjoy the benefits. When people disobey God, knowingly or unknowingly, we find ourselves suffering in many areas, such as air so thick children cannot play outside and birds cannot sing.

Job 12:10 says, “the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” is in God’s hands. Acts 17:28 echoes with, “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being...”

Surely God is the Giver and Sustainer of life. He created an environment highly suitable for us to live in, one with just the right balance of oxygen and other gases in the atmosphere and an ample supply of food and fresh water. But we have senselessly polluted the air and water.

Not only that, we have allowed greed and selfishness to govern the production and distribution of food. Just this week, one nation decided to withhold resources from a part of its peoples. Some claim political reasons or religious persecution, but certainly this was not done out of the kindness of someone’s heart nor a concern to be good managers of all that God provided.

The Apostle Paul reminded the Romans how some people refuse to acknowledge God and never thank Him. He said these become futile in their thinking yet assume they are wise, then go from there to more obvious sins until God turns His back on them. He says they will not escape the judgment of God and asks, “Do you not realize how good God has been to you?”

He might ask this generation the same question. The goodness of God is still evident in the forests that remain, in the rare fresh breezes and occasional still sparkling mountain streams. But does that goodness have any effect in drawing us toward God? Does it cause thankfulness and responsible living? Does it make us think twice about the way we manage what He gave us?

Paul adds, “...don’t you know that the goodness of God ought to lead you to repentance?” Apparently these people didn’t, because he adds, “Because of your hard, unrepentant hearts, you are storing up for yourself wrath in the day of... the righteous judgment of God...”

Many of the passages in the book of Revelation describe the judgment of God. Lest we think He simply hurls bolts of lightning on unrepentant sinners, some of those passages seem to describe a polluted world that can no longer support life, a judgment expressed through creation — it turns on those who have ruined it — and destroys them.

Overcoming Phobias ................ Parables 315

April 28, 1992

Contrary to the claims of the Tough and Determined, everyone has fears. They may be unusual, such as thalassophobia: fear of the sea; climacophobia: fear of stairs; optophobia: fear of closing one’s eyes; or logizomechanophobia: fear of computers!

Others fears are more common, such as claustrophobia: fear of being locked in; achluphobia: fear of the dark; and androphobia: fear of man. Closely related to the last one is the number one fear in North America: fear of public speaking (which also has several long names ending in phobia).

At the root of being afraid to speak in public is a fear of what people will think if I make a mistake. Will they reject me? Laugh at me? Talk about me in a demeaning way behind my back? We are afraid of people but when called upon to get up and talk before a crowd our concerns center more on getting rid of sweaty palms, dry mouth, and a stomach full of butterflies.

Experienced speakers say that no matter how many times they speak, there are always some symptoms of anxiety. However, progress can be made. As a speaker learns to concentrate less on himself and more on the audience, those jitters are markedly decreased. Since kings fit into the category of experienced lecturers, peeking into a king’s journal might give further insight into dealing with this major fear of public speaking.

The shepherd-king of Israel had reason to fear man — both before and after taking the throne. Saul, the former king was constantly trying to kill him. Leaders of other nations threatened his kingdom. His own son betrayed him and tried to take his God-given position of leadership. When David wrote in his journal (the Psalms), he did not have public speaking in mind but the fear of man occupied his emotions. Dealing with it is getting at the root of the other fear.

As we might expect, David hoped in God for his confidence. He said: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should camp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident... (note where he places his confidence) ...for in the time of trouble (the LORD) shall hide me... in the secret of His tabernacle; He shall set me up upon a rock.”

David knew that no matter what his enemies tried to do to him, God was in control. Furthermore, even if the worst should happen, his hope was in the fact that he could retreat into the safety of his relationship with God. God loved him. God accepted him. God never, ever ridiculed him. In that Rock he could find stability for fearful emotions and security against all threats.

To have that kind of confidence, David (and you and I) need an intimate relationship with God. It will not do to merely know in our heads that He is sovereign and that He loves and accepts us. These truths have to be deeply ingrained into our hearts to the point that when dangers, darkness, public speaking, or other experiences threaten, terror will not fill our minds and tense our muscles. Instead, we will immediately think of God and trust Him.

Fear’s causes, whether spiders, trains, travel or burglars, are never as awesome or as powerful as God. He controls all that comes at us and even though some of it will test us (to see where we really place our confidence), it borders on idolatry to let anything we fear control our lives — instead of Him.