Choose Your Enmities
So he complained to the LORD about it: aDidnat I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you were a gracious and compa.s.sionate G.o.d, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. I knew how easily you could cancel your plans for destroying these people.a Jonah 4:2
We can choose our friends, but we must accept our relatives. And our enemies often appear on the horizon unexpected and unbidden. The question then becomes, Now what do we do? Enemies, like friends and relatives, rarely go away on their own.
The city of Nineveh was full of apeople living in spiritual darknessa (4:11), which is why G.o.d sent Jonah to preach to them and to warn them of the consequences of their actions. The people responded and repented, and the Lord stayed his hand of judgment. And Jonah was furious. aSo he complained to the Lord about it: aDidnat I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you were a gracious and compa.s.sionate G.o.d, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. I knew how easily you could cancel your plans for destroying these peoplea a (4:2). We should note that in the biblical languages slow to get angry means apatient.a Jonah was angry because G.o.d was not angry enough! G.o.d was too patient for Jonahas taste. Yet G.o.d was not overlooking sin or ignoring unrighteousness. He was withholding his judgment to give the Ninevites the opportunity to put their lives in order. That is what patience does! But Jonah was so hostile to the Ninevites that he wanted them to be punished as they deserved. This att.i.tude was understandable, given the Ninevitesa reputation for cruelty and their antipathy toward Jonahas people, Israel. But this is where the patience of G.o.d and the att.i.tudes of men part company.
G.o.d will eventually judge if people persistently turn down his offer of mercy. But our role when dealing with a nagging wife, an obstreperous boss, or even a recalcitrant teenager is to see that we do not deny them what G.o.d grants thema"the opportunity to be forgiven and the chance to put things right. We need to recall G.o.das patience with us. Instead of hoping that people who make life difficult will aget theirs,a let us patiently encourage them to aget hisaa"his forgiveness. Those who get what is coming to them because of their misdeeds will find their lives blighted. Those who appropriate G.o.das patience as a golden opportunity for a new start will find their lives blessed. One mark of spiritual maturity is the desire to see enemies blessed, not blighted.
December 13
TO READ: Habakkuk 3:1-19
Choosing Joy
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the G.o.d of my salvation.
Habakkuk 3:18
Some people are incorrigibly cheerful. Troubles roll off their backs, and nothing darkens their dawn or casts shadows on their noonday. But for the rest of us, joy and cheerfulness do not come so easily. So what should we do?
Habakkuk had been given insights into G.o.das purposes, which showed quite clearly that he and his compatriots were in deep trouble. G.o.d had determined to hand his people over to the Babyloniansa"that bitter and relentless nation that had devised methods of cruelty never seen before. The judgment of G.o.d on the people of G.o.d was in the plan of G.o.d to be carried out through the enemies of G.o.d! Habakkukas courage understandably faltered when he considered these things (3:16), and the questions mounted in his mind.
Habakkuk had prayed, aI have heard all about you, Lord, and I am filled with awe by the amazing things you have done. In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us. And in your anger, remember your mercya (3:2). Habakkukas fears were not immediately a.s.suaged, and his vision of what was going to happen did not change. But his confidence in a righteous G.o.d dealing in justice and mercy remained strong, prompting him to say, despite all the hardships and calamities he knew would come his way, aYet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the G.o.d of my salvationa (3:18).
There are many days when we cannot possibly rejoice in our circ.u.mstances. Ask Habakkuk! But on those days we can remember to arejoice in the Lord.a Thereas a big difference between rejoicing in the Lord and rejoicing in our circ.u.mstances! If circ.u.mstances dominate our thinking, we will exhaust our energy with efforts at changing our circ.u.mstances, and we will find ourselves joyless and despairing. But if we perceive G.o.d, who transcends our circ.u.mstances and works through our circ.u.mstances, to be in control in the midst of our circ.u.mstances, then he will fill our mind. The trust and a.s.surance that result become the womb of our renewed joy. But it doesnat just happen automatically. Like Habakkuk, we have to make a choice and say, aI will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the G.o.d of my salvation.a Being joyful is a choice.
December 14
TO READ: Haggai 1:1-15
Fired with Enthusiasm
Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the LORD.
Haggai 1:8
Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, once told his players, aIf you are not fired with enthusiasm, you will be fireda"with enthusiasm!a Nothing of substance can be accomplished without enthusiasm.
After seventy years of exile in Babylon, the people of Judah returned to their homeland, led by Zerubbabel the governor and Jeshua the high priest. As soon as the people had settled in, they immediately set about rebuilding the temple (Ezra 3:1-7)a"with enthusiasm! They believed they were called to do something significant, and with great energy they set to work. But the initial enthusiasm for the rebuilding program slowly drained away. The people had volunteered for a project that was as demanding as it was worthwhile. As time went by, discouragements came, and sacrifice began to be less appealing than self-interest. Why, they may have pondered, should we expend so much effort on building a place of worship when we donat have adequate living accommodations for ourselves? So they stopped building the temple and started building their own fine abodes (Hag. 1:2-4).
This went on until Haggai came along and roundly condemned the peopleas failure to complete the work they had begun. Recognizing that their enthusiasm for the temple had waned in direct proportion to the waxing of their self-interest, Haggai addressed that same self-interest. He pointed out that everything they were interested in was turning out to be a disappointment (1:5-11). There was a shortfall in their experience, and Haggai saw a definite cause in their self-absorption. The remedy he prescribed was quite simple: Get your priorities right and put the Lord first. aNow go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lorda (1:8).
Haggaias message fired up the leaders and the people. Their enthusiasm was rekindled, they aworshiped the Lord in earnesta (1:12), and they began again the work of rebuilding G.o.das temple (1:14). And the work was finished (see Ezra 6:15).
In the community of believers, people are motivated in different ways. It is a challenge for leadership to know how to kindle enthusiasm and maintain it. Some will work hard motivated by a grand vision, others are less n.o.bly motivated. Wise leaders know how to keep the fires of enthusiasm burning while avoiding burning people out with exhaustion.
December 15
TO READ: John 1:1-18
The Incarnate Word
For the law was given through Moses; G.o.das unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen G.o.d. But his only Son, who is himself G.o.d, is near to the Fatheras heart; he has told us about him.
John 1:17-18
The more sophisticated man becomes, the more fascinated he is with origins. He peers with ever increasing erudition into the universe and discovers new galaxies and unheard-of wonders. The question aHow did it all begin?a grips manas attention. The scientific answer is, aWe donat know exactly.a So the search goes ona"for origins and significance and meaning.
What science and speculation are not equipped to determine, divine revelation reveals with certainty. Divine revelation announces, aIn the beginning the Word already existed.a This aWorda was G.o.d, and he acreated everything there isa (1:1-3).
The Jews reading athe Worda would think of authority. When aG.o.d said,a ait was so.a When G.o.d would say, aThis is what the Lord says,a it would be so. The authority of the Word! But Greeks reading about the aWorda would think of areasona being communicated, which is what words are supposed to do. The Word is authoritative reason communicated to men.
But who is this Word? He became human, lived among men, was full of unfailing love and faithfulness, and was identified by the apostle John as Jesus Christ, the Son of G.o.d (1:17-18). The Word was eternally G.o.d. Through him and for him, the world was created. Then he came into the world, populated by men who have never seen G.o.d, to tell them what G.o.d is really like. Science cannot do that. Speculation cannot do that. Only G.o.d can show G.o.d to mana"and he did it. But would you believe that men in large measure have rejected the revelation, preferring to live in the darkness of their established beliefs? Yet Jesus, still full of unfailing love, still offers, to those who believe him and receive him, athe right to become children of G.o.da (1:12).
We admire members of the armed forces who sacrifice their own comforts and safety, leave home and hearth, and head for foreign lands to defend what is dear to them. We respect courageous missionaries who brave loneliness, disease, unknown perils, and misunderstanding to take the message of hope and deliverance to people in bondage. How much more should we revere Jesus, the Word who became flesh, who knew glory in eternity with the Father and gladly laid aside all privilege, a.s.sumed our humanity, bore our sorrows, truly felt our pain, and died our death! How sad that so many have neither recognized him nor revered him. How glad are those who do!
December 16
TO READ: John 5:1-30
The Son of G.o.d
But Jesus replied, aMy Father never stops working, so why should I?a John 5:17
The history of the church is littered with embarra.s.sments such as the Great Inquisition and the Crusades. There have been many well-doc.u.mented failures on the part of individual professing Christians as well. While we must not summarily brush aside failures and contradictions, it is important to remember that the validity of Christianity depends only on the validity of Jesus Christ. Men need to consider hima"his claims, his life, his deeds, his death, his resurrection, and his impact on human history.
One day Jesus visited the pool of Bethesda, a place where crowds of sick people waited to be a.s.sisted into the waters. They believed the waters would heal them on certain occasions (see 5:3-4, footnote). Jesus approached one man and asked a penetrating question. aWould you like to get well?a (5:6). Why else would the man have been there? But it was an astute inquiry. Perhaps the man had gotten used to being carried around. Perhaps he had become so accustomed to begging that he would not have known how to earn a living. The manas answer is no answera"he simply complained. But when Jesus authoritatively commanded him to rise, he dida"and was healed!
But it was the Sabbath. The rules said no working on the Sabbath. In the minds of Jesusa opponents, healing was work, so Jesus had profaned the Sabbath and must be held responsible (5:16). In an instant the situation took a dramatic turn. Jesus a.s.serted, aMy Father never stops working, so why should I?a (5:17). This thinly veiled a.s.sertion was not at all unclear to Jesusa listeners. They recognized it as a claim to equality with the Fathera" a claim to deity. That deserved death!
Undeterred, Jesus insisted that he was only doing what he saw his Father doing (5:19). The Father had sent him (5:30), the Father had given him a ministry of raising people from the dead (5:21), the Father had promised or given eternal life to those who believed his message (5:24), and the Father had authorized him to be the ultimate judge of mankind (5:26-27). Superlative claims!
Some men to this day insist that Jesus never claimed to be G.o.d. If this discourse is not a claim to deity, what is it? The answer to such a question is critical. Christianity is nothing if Christ is not G.o.d incarnate; but if he is G.o.d, Christianity is everything. G.o.d came looking for us, showed himself to us, died for us, rose again, and one day will take us to himself!
December 17
TO READ: Psalm 119:89-112
Trust and Obey
How sweet are your words to my taste; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.
Psalm 119:103-104
Words are like people. They have relatives that look like them, and sometimes they share common concerns. Take adisciplea and adiscipline,a for instance. These two words are closely related. A disciple is a person who understands the discipline of obedience. Discipleship is not solely about obedience, thougha"it is also about trusting the master teacher. Discipleship is not possible without both obedience and trust. The right balance is summed up by the old hymn: aTrust and obey, for thereas no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.a Obedience doesnat always make people happya"just the opposite! Obedience sometimes means doing exactly what we donat want to do, and that can make us very unhappy. So the question is, can you be a happy disciple when you are disciplined to be obedient and when being obedient is not pleasant? The psalmist apparently thought so! He said, aHow sweet are your words to my taste; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understandinga (119:103-104).
Commandments sweeter than honey? How can this be? First, the psalmist said, aI will never forget your commandments, for you have used them to restore my joy and healtha (119:93). When G.o.das commands seem onerous, men often cast them aside and experience a sense of freedom as they do what they want rather than what G.o.d wills. But such joy is short-lived as the negative consequences to health and well-being become apparent. Lasting joy and well-being are found by doing things G.o.das way.
Obeying G.o.das commands gives men an edge! Seeing things from a divine perspective is clearly superior to the limited vision of the secularist. As the psalmist said, aYour commands make me wiser than my enemiesa (119:98). Thatas a great position to be in!
Itas all too easy to take a wrong turn in life (119:104). But G.o.das commands help us see the right course and avoid the wrong track. That knowledge can save us a lot of grief. G.o.das commands are indeed sweet, and obeying them is really the way to go!