Never-ending Mystery. . . .

Observation: when 83, a person thinks more about death than when 23, or 33, or even 73. Far too many of my Christian friends seem to dread it, fight to stay alive (and healthy) and are not ready at all for that transition.

This past week, I asked God to give me the right attitude about death. And without anything happening (other than the usual aches and fatigue) I began getting excited to the adventure of stepping into eternity. This is sort of like reading a good mystery. I like best those that I cannot figure out until the ending. Since God reveals very little information about eternity, it is a mystery, intriguing and each day is a page-turner. Yet I do know one thing — I will see Jesus! For that reason: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)

The ‘gain’ part is easy. I will be like Him. What greater gain is that? The Word of God testifies to this truth:

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus. . . .  (Hebrews 12:22–24)

While I don’t agree with the usual definition of ‘perfectionist’ yet always want to do the best I can, and being made perfect goes far beyond all my intentions and abilities. Being perfect is even a mystery. It will be solved, yet as appealing as that is, seeing Jesus is even more appealing.

Herein is the mystery. How is He both fully God and fully man? What does He look like? Will He still bear the scars of being here? What will the expression on His face say? I can barely think of His touch or a hug, but I do long for the wonder of meeting Him face to face. No more tears, no more pain, nothing can hold a candle to seeing Him like He is and realizing that the mystery will be over — even though I will spend all of forever finding out all there is to know about my amazing Lord.

PRAY: Jesus, You are my life now, my joy and peace. The wonder of You is in every breath yet there is more, and more, and more. Yes, to live is You — yet to die and be with You is an incredible hope that fills my heart and mind with the excitement of discovering that the lovely mystery of You will satisfy my soul — for eternity.

Made perfect in Christ

 

People used to call me a perfectionist. I resented it because in my mind, every person should do the best they can. Not only that, it seemed to me that most folks could excel or at least improve if they tried harder.

Then one pastor said, “If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly.” That made me think about my motivations. Was I restricting my activities to only the tasks that I could do well? Was I unwilling to attempt anything that I knew would not turn out well? Was ‘doing poorly’ a threat to me?

I still think that doing the best we can is a virtue, but have changed my mind about picking and choosing. Some things are impossible or not a good idea because of my health and physical well-being, but I’m far more willing to try new things and not worry too much about how I rate.

As for being a perfectionist, Jesus did say this: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) While perfectionism can be a sin, I wondered why tell us that when the Bible is clear that no one is perfect except God?

Today’s reading says this word is used in four ways. Job 1:8 points to one of them.

And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8)

According to this writer, God uses this term to describe someone who is ‘sincere’ and says that God’s people are not deceitful, hypocritical or pretentious. While this is true of Job, the Hebrew word in other versions is translated blameless, free from guilt. This indicate that perfection is about keeping short accounts with God and trusting Jesus who bore our guilt. In other words, it is about being forgiven and knowing it to the degree that all of life is affected.

The next verse about perfection says: “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” (James 3:2)

This word in Greek is about maturity or completeness. Those who are in control of what they say are mature. It seems that perfection in this verse refers to Christians who are walking in the Spirit and not so much in the flesh. It isn’t so much about who they are all the time, but how they let God control their words as they obey Him.

The third use refers to the believer’s positional holiness, sinlessness, and blamelessness before God by the atonement of Christ and the imputation of his righteousness. The author used this verse to illustrate this meaning:

And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 16:14)

While perfect is used in this example, the context is a description of a sinful use of the physical perfections. The perfections of Christ imputed to us are not about the appearance of our physical bodies. Our imputed holiness is better described in the NT rather than this verse that uses the word ‘perfect’ to describe what He has given us. Not every Christian could be considered renown because of their outward comeliness, but all are perfect in holiness in Christ. 

Of course another use of the word ‘perfect’ is in describing  the ultimate glorification of all believers when we shall be made entirely conformed to the image of Christ in heaven. This verse is used:

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12)

Another author says that this use of ‘perfect’ should be understood in the sense of a functional stage of religious attainment, to be completely successful, to succeed fully. For this, I’m often drawn to this verse that describes what God is doing in my life:

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

In this life, I see Jesus in reading about Him, in experiencing and responding to His grace. This is the route to perfection, yet He does it. On my own I can do nothing.

PRAY: Lord, as I confess my sins, You forgive and cleanse me. As I keep my focus on You, You transform me into what I see in You, yet this task is not done and will never be until You take me to be with You forever. If perfectionism means to be a fan of the One who is perfect, then I’m all for it.

No more tears…

God amazes me with His timing. Yesterday, I slept almost all day, dizzy, no fever just a weird set of symptoms. Add to that items in the news, a sad e-mail from a friend, and I felt like crying. So what does the Lord say this morning?

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

I weep here because of my sin, bereavements and afflictions, but also the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual pain of others. I know that this is our lot in life, but on the other side of the grave, we shall weep no more!

Think of it — He will remove us from all sin and remove all sin from us. I will cease to weep when I have ceased to sin and because He will bless me beyond my wildest imagination.

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him/— (1 Corinthians 2:9)

I can imagine no sickness for I’ve not been ill more than half a dozen times in thirty years, but I cannot imagine no more tears, no more sin, no more sorrow. This world is filled with it, with poverty, illness, fires, floods, and wars, death and loss. However, as the reading for today says, Jesus will give us all that our hearts desire. There will be no weeping over lost reward in that land to which we are going. Our reward will be full, perfect and satisfying. We shall see Christ and be like Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)
What could be better than that!

PRAY: Today is a slight improvement over yesterday, made so by Your precious promises that perfection lies ahead. I tend to ‘live in the now’ rather than the past or the future, but this glimpse of Your plans for eternity make the present day sorrows a lot more bearable.

Why do I pray?

 

Lately I’m noticing how many prayers are motivated by a desire for personal comfort. Heal sickness so pain and discomfort go away. Fix relationships so we are happy in them. Save my loved one and remove my worries for that person. Show the world Your goodness so I do not experience or even deal with evil.

Yesterday I saw two NT passages that say joy comes not in spite of trouble but because of trouble. Yet even the devotional writer put that joy at the end of doubts and struggles rather than while the trials were being experienced.

In another reading, Stephen Charnock, a Puritan Presbyterian pastor in the 1600s, adds another dimension to this thought. He says that a person “without doubts is without testimonies. Doubts are to testimonies what the mortise is to the tenon, the lock to the key, the enigma to the solution.”

The Lord says, “Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4) yet that delight does not come to us apart from at first not having that delight. In other words, problems unlock or open my heart to the work of the Holy Spirit. For instance, without recognition and conviction of sin and a deep sense of guilt that leads to confession, I would never experience delight in knowing forgiveness and cleansing from sin.

After God does His work, He wants me to battle sin for it blinds my eyes to the wonder of God. Not only that, sin steals my delight as quickly as a pickpocket lifts a wallet. Be filled and stay filled with God’s Spirit, remembering that all flames die without the fuel that feeds them.

Again, the Bible tells me to delight in prayer. That is easy when God has answered. “Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” (Psalm 116:2) However, such a delight reveals that its source is more likely the good life rather that in talking to my Creator. He wants that delight in Him and being with Him in prayer, no matter what is going on in my world.

Charnock says, “A Christian’s heart is — in secret — transported into heaven. There is a delight in coming near God and warming the soul by the fire of his love.” He points to angels cheerful in praise; their work is their glory. Holy souls should delight in prayer not so we think it a good day without some communion with God but because we delight in Him. When in trials, I can delight in God’s comforting presence rather than His sanctifying presence. It can be a delight to pray to God as a storehouse, but not as a refiner’s fire to purge away my dross.

Heavenly cheerfulness is mostly in heavenly things. Much asking concerns worldly goods; even less is for the glory of God. Charnock says, “The saints have redoubled and repeated their petitions and redoubled the Amen at the end of prayer, to show the great affections to those things they have asked. The soul loves to think of those things the heart is set on, and frequent thoughts express a delight.”

Is that how I pray? Reading this man’s words shows me that my soul must desire not only to speak to God, but to make melody to Him, and be more displeased when that attitude is missing than I am when God does not answer me. True delight is in exercising the grace of God in reliance and humility, desiring the preparation of my own heart as well as answers to my prayers.

Other writers says the same: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3) Therefore, “It is neither talent, nor power, nor gifts that do the work of God, but it is that which lies within the power of the humblest; it is the simple, earnest life hid with Christ in God.”

Whatever gives glory to God is the vital thing, not what brings me joy or any kind of reward. The testing of my faith is to make it genuine, “more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire” so it “results in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7) not so that it makes me more comfortable or more anything. This is about Jesus, not me.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

PRAY: I know You reward us according to our works and give life to those who seek Your glory. I also know that as part of Your Body, I am a fellow worker and part of what You are doing, but I also know that You alone are “worthy of praise, glory, and honor” and my reward is You, not glory for myself. You promise to sustain me and keep me in Your care. For all that, I am grateful. May my focus be on You, not on personal comfort or the joy of how You make me feel, but the joy of seeing Your glory magnified and made known, both in trials and in good times. May I rejoice and be glad when Your glory is revealed. Amen.