A Great Light

 A Great Light.  The red ball at sunrise, the white blaze at noon, the satellites whizzing around our Earth (especially visible an hour after sundown), even the moon—there is nothing that we have seen of the great beyond with the naked eye that has not passed first through the film of our atmosphere. We have never seen the North Star or any shooting star without millions of tons of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (0.9%), and other trace gases (0.1%) stretched across our sight. We are accustomed to the veil. “We see in a mirror dimly” (1 Cor. 13:12). Literally and figuratively, “People have loved the darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19).

As the first week of Advent becomes the second and as November becomes December, a curious description surfaces in the revelation of Jesus Christ to earth. The region that first knew Jesus, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali (Isa. 9:1), did not know him as Messiah. They, like everyone since, saw but could not perceive Christ—at least not without help—because they, like everyone ever, were spiritually blind. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Isa. 9:2).

The peculiar part is the how. Being spiritually blind and characterized as dwelling “in a land of deep darkness,” how did they see this great light? They lacked the capacity to see Truth truly, yet “on them has light shined.” A bright light in a dark space usually, physically blinds us. But Christ, who is the true Light, enlightens us by shining in our dark place. We were all blind to the light of the gospel, but he heals the blind. We don’t see him as much as he enables us to see him. Having been caused to see him rightly, we perceive everything else through him.

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:3-6).

The Will of God

The Will of God.  The will of God, as expressed in its various forms in the Bible (God’s will, the Lord’s will, the Father’s will, etc.), is a particularly large subject and a predominately New Testament phrase. From categorizing and grouping dozens of occurrences, ten broad aspects of God’s will become noticeable so much so that one might call the final roster a Top Ten List, or ten things that all Christians can know for certain about what God desires for their lives.

Whatever next step within God’s will that might be, we know—based on Scripture—at least ten steps that must be! By obeying these first steps of God’s will, may God illuminate all subsequent steps. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psa. 119:105).

It is God’s will that we:

(1)            BELIEVE in Jesus for the gift of eternal life. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:38-40).

(2)            BE TRANSFORMED by the renewal of your mind. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:1-2).

(3)            YIELD to God’s dominion on earth as it is in heaven. “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’” (Matt. 6:9-10).

(4)            PRAISE God as his children for his glorious grace. “He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Eph 1:5-6).

(5)            STAND mature and fully assured. “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12).

(6)            BE FILLED with the Spirit. “Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:17-18).

(7)            PURSUE your sanctification. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor” (1 Thess. 4:3-4).

(8)            GIVE THANKS in all circumstances. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

(9)            SERVE others from the heart. “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph 6:5-6).

(10)         EMBRACE your vocational calling. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:1).

Every Square Inch

Every Square Inch. Open on my desk, without any theatrical staging so that I can feign to make my point, are three quotes. One is written on a sticky note citing a former Prime Minister from years ago. The other, on my phone, is from the Pentagon Press Secretary about yesterday’s missile strike on Poland. The third is Scripture, from a king who famously fused thoughts about his kingdom and his faith in song. Each quote circles the same subject: sovereignty.

Abraham Kuyper, theologian and journalist who was also the Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1901-05), said, neither of his career nor his nation, but of far beyond: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”

Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said again, for he and others have said it already many times recently about Russian aggression in Ukraine: “When it comes to our security commitments and Article 5 we've been crystal clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory.”

King David (1010-970 b.c.), in what we have come to call Psalm 24, wrote: “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers” (vv. 1-2).

The confluence of these three quotes, visible on my (very messy) desk at the same time, speaks of sovereignty and gives an example of sovereignty, both. Simultaneously, God is raising and lowering geo-political governments AND causing three disconnected quotes to grab the attention of an easily distracted bloke who sits under the hum of fluorescent lights in a windowless office! Quasars, subatomic particles, La Niña weather patterns, my daughter’s 2:45 appointment with the doctor this afternoon, and the plastic handle that just broke off my liftgate, too—Christ is over all and working through all to bring all things to fullness in himself. Missiles and missions, missives and messes—he’s got the whole world in his hands. The itty-bitty babies, the mommies and the daddies, the brothers and the sisters, the Russians and the Ukrainians … he’s got the whole world in his hands. Every. Square. Inch.

Honor the Emperor

Honor the Emperor.  It is routine every November, in the week following our nation’s Election Day sort of like a cleansing exercise, to remind myself about what the Scripture teaches explicitly about the relationship between the Christian and the State. (Hint: it isn’t much.) No commentary. No diatribes. No polemics. Just Bible, plus one piece of historical background—the emperor to whom both Peter and Paul refer respectfully in their letters is Nero. Crazy, vicious, sadistic Nero, who will shortly take the lives of Peter and Paul, is the ruler they had in mind when most of these verses were written. (Note: for space, I will merely cite from the New Testament Epistles).

Romans 13:1—“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

1 Timothy 2:1-2a—“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions.”

Titus 3:1—"Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.”

1 Peter 2:13-14—“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.”

1 Peter 2:17—“Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”

A Peaceful and Quiet Life

A Peaceful and Quiet Life.  Simple usually wins the day. The simplest design usually withstands the elements. The simplest explanation usually sways the debate. The simplest machine usually loosens the bolt. The simplest gesture usually stores itself into the long-term memory of the most unsuspecting recipient. Simple, which is not the same as saying simplistic, is strong. Simplistic is often nothing more than laziness, but deliberate simplicity is courageous, ardent, and rare.

The effect, for which the Apostle Paul urges the church to pray, is surprisingly straightforward; it is simply simple. Within our simplicity before God resides our strength. “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). The that we in Paul’s exhortation forms a purpose clause, which could be accurately paraphrased this way: pray for all people, whether they are neighbors or leaders, toward this one purpose, that we all might be able to live a simple life, peaceful and quiet, freely reverent to God and generously respectful to others. I find that while I cannot say Amen to every prayer that is uttered, I can say Amen to that prayer every time it is repeated! The simple life is not a boring life, but both rich and enriching, because from a simple life grows contentment. The complex life might seem exciting, and it is for a start. But complexity is exhausting. It might be necessary and manageable for a time, but not for a lifetime. Simplicity, then, is the God-given freedom, not from trouble, but from unnecessary complexity.

Therefore, I have a new aspiration in life, which is happily free from ambition: to lead a peaceful and quiet life before God, for in that fertile field anything might grow.