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SPIRITUAL STIRRINGS
Charles R. Hembree
BAKER BOOK HOUSE Grand Rapids, Michigan
Copyright © 1971 by
Baker Book House Company
ISBN: 0-8010-4083-3
Paperback edition
First printing, September 1973
Formerly published under the title, Voice of the Turtledove
Printed in the United States of America
TO MOTHER
"She looketh well to the ways of her household."
J. B. Phillips, when working on his translation of the Epistles, said he felt as though he had taken hold of a live wire in an old house. This expresses my feelings of awe and excitement regarding the unsearchable riches of God's Word. Although steeped in antiquity, the Bible is ever new.
Like a diamond turned to see light dancing in every facet, the more I explore His Word the more there is to see. Everyone who seriously studies the Bible understands this and no doubt experiences the same sense of awe and wonder. The Bible is so rich in wisdom as to stagger the greatest scholar, yet simple enough to be understood and loved by a child.
Out of these feelings has grown Spiritual Stirrings. No doubt there will be some disagreement as to conclusions I have reached from looking deeper in. However, as Sir Francis Bacon admonished, "Read not to contradict or believe, but to weigh and consider." These thoughts in Spiritual Stirrings are designed as seeds to be planted in fertile hearts; with watering of interest and prayer, the seeds can and will grow. May we together look into His Word and "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord" (Hos. 6:3).
On Spiritual Stirrings . . .
Two college professors, a university football coach, and several businessmen and housewives sat in a silent circle surrounding a single chair. Each took his place in the chair as the others prayed collectively but reverently over him. They touched as they poured out quiet pleas to God, laying hands on the recipient, strangely reminiscent of the early church pattern.
Scenes such as this are happening every day around the world as there is a tremendous surge of interest in spiritual matters. No class of people, economic structure, or denominational barrier is spared as hungry souls search for "renewal" in spiritual lives. Books like Taste of New Wine and The Second Touch by Keith Miller, have met with great success, while John Sherrill's They Speak With Other Tongues and David Wilkerson's The Cross and the Switchblade have been reprinted many times because people are grasping for spiritual enlightenment. Each week two or three thousand underground masses are held among Catholic laity while thousands of Protestants cluster in home prayer meetings.
Self-seeking religious mystics have cashed in on this interest and tragically the hunger of some has been distorted into sensual worship. However, hunger of heart today exists in an unusual and unparalleled way. All denominations have felt this "renewal."
While some might find these times hard to explain, God's Word comments on such a time as this. In The Song of Solomon, the bride says, "My beloved speaks and says to me, Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. . . . Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away" (Song of Sol. 2:10-13, rsv). Significant is the phrase, "the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land."
The turtledove is a migratory bird of the pigeon family. In Eastern lands it has always been associated with the coming of spring. Winter has passed, chilling winds whipping barren mountain peaks have retreated in favor of warm spring breezes caressing the cheeks of laughing children. New life and new joy abound with sounds made by cooing turtledoves.
In Scripture the turtledove is the symbol of God's Holy Spirit. When Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan, the symbolic appearance of the Holy Spirit came in the form of a turtledove. It seems an appropriate symbol, since the turtledove represents purity and fidelity with its mating habit of only one companion during its life. In addition, the turtledove was the sacrifice of the poor in early days of Israel. Those families that could not afford a lamb or kid for sacrifice brought a pair of turtledoves to offer to God. The beautiful sacrifice was not only accepted but was commanded in Old Testament law. The symbolism here speaks of the Holy Spirit being available to all, regardless of status. All who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled, Christ promised.
The religious stirrings we feel today are indeed flutterings of the turtledove's wings. The Holy Spirit's voice is being heard in the land as people seek a new dimension in spiritual matters. And it would be well to note that God does not pamper people without purpose. Just as the voice of the turtledove meant the coming of spring, these new stirrings in our age indicate Christ's return for His waiting church.
Joel, quoted by Peter at Pentecost, had said, "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month" (Joel 2:23). James adds to our understanding when he says, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain" (James 5:7).
Two major rainfalls are mentioned by Joel and James, the early and latter. The early rain follows planting season when the thirsty soil drinks the warm liquid and causes seeds to burst forth into vibrant life. Then rain ceases until nearly harvest time and then comes the latter rains. These rains precede harvest to mature crops and prepare them for garnering. At Pentecost the infant church received a heavenly cloudburst of God's Holy Spirit with unusual signs and wonders. Then many hundreds of years passed and although there were some showers of blessings, none could compare to what is happening in today's world. Could it be God is preparing us for His second coming and is blessing us so we might mature? More important, could it be that He desires that we be thrust forward to help in the harvest of lost souls?
The doctrine of the eschatology relating to the second coming is especially controversial. Almost all denominations have varying degrees of differences regarding final events. Therefore, many pulpits have become silent about this doctrine, ignoring it rather than expounding it. However, cure for bad religion is not irreligion but good religion. We are obligated to preach the second coming since it was and is so great a part of Bible teaching.
Approximately one-fifth of all the Bible is prophecy and at least one-third of that prophecy deals with the second coming of Christ. This great doctrine is mentioned eight times more often than Christ's first coming and twice as often as the atonement. One out of every thirty verses in the New Testament deals with the second coming, while two epistles are explicitly concerned with it. In the 216 chapters of the New Testament there are 318 references to the events surrounding the denouement. Recognizing these things we must conclude:
Christ is coming! Over the world victorious,
Power and Glory unto the Lord belong.
One of the most significant signs of His second coming is the new nation of Israel. For Bible prophecies to be accurate a nation had to be established in Israel. Until 1948 such a nation did not exist. However, despite overwhelming opposition, God's Word has been fulfilled and Israel is now a nation, proving again the veracity of God's Word. When the Zionist movement first began, even great Jewish leaders thought the idea of a new Israel preposterous. Baron Hirsch had given millions to establish a Jewish homeland in Argentina and considered Israel waste wilderness, unsuitable for a new nation. Later he changed his mind and contributed greatly to the Zionist cause. Lord Rothschild told Zionist founder Theodore Hertzl that his idea was useless, while the rabbis said it was the work of a lunatic. The Pope replied curtly to the proposal by saying, "We will never sanction this. The ground has been sanctified by our Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews have not recognized our Lord and we will not recognize the Jews." Yet on May 14, 1948 the new nation of Israel was born. Isaiah's prophecy came true: ". . . though Israel is invaded again and again and destroyed, yet Israel will be like a tree cut down, whose stump still lives to grow again" (6:13, The Major Prophets Paraphrased).
Speaking about the birth of the tiny nation of Israel, David ben Gurion said, "The man who does not believe in miracles need only look at Israel and be convinced." The man who knows Christ can only stand in awe at the fulfillment of great prophecies spoken thousands of years ago. When he considers the new nation of Israel, the child of God feels stirring within him deep thoughts of the early return of Christ.
Never in history have we been faced with so many complexities. Statesmen recognize that our scientific accomplishments have outstripped our moral responsibilities. It is ironic to observe that both the United States and Russia each have many times the number of nuclear weapons needed to completely destroy civilization. Predictions are being made that in a short time it will be too dangerous to live, or that the earth will be a charred mass. For such an age we need to hear the voice of the turtledove and the admonition, "Arise, my love, my fair one, come away."
Lest we be charged with trying to escape the responsibilities and problems of this earth, we need be reminded that the Holy Spirit has been given that we might be more effective witnesses to this lost generation. God's Word speaks clearly and cogently to this generation so that while we are awaiting His appearing we may live effectively. God's Word speaks on all issues and if we would turn to its pages we would know how to live until He comes. Tragically, some in their pursuit of religious "feeling" have neglected the only foundation. Of the new spiritual interest one writer said, "The end product seems to be a humanism whose only distinctively Christian characteristics are a special attachment for Jesus Christ . . . differences between believers and atheists are considered minimal."
Amos looks across centuries to note " 'The time is surely coming,' says the Lord, 'when I will send a famine on the land not a famine of bread or water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will wander everywhere from sea to sea seeking the Word of the Lord, searching, running here and going there, but will not find it. Beautiful girls and fine young men alike will grow faint and weary, thirsting for the Word of God'" (Amos 8:11-13, Living Prophecies).
In this age of "New Theology," "New Morality," and "New Feeling," we must not forget God's Word, our only foundation. Not all of His Word is comfortable to hear. The minor prophets were preoccupied with sermons of doom. At times Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel rise to eloquent hope, but most often they speak harshly, but with a broken heart, to straying Israel. The angels, upon releasing the apostles from prison, admonished them to "Speak all the words of this life." We too must heed this warning and speak all of His words. It would be easier to speak just comfortable words but He demands we tell it like it is.
Strange stirrings, the fluttering of turtledoves' wings, the voice of the turtledove is being heard in our land. We must accept the challenge to win this generation before Christ comes. It was said of David in Hebrews that he ministered to his own generation. If we are to accomplish anything for the Kingdom we must meet the hunger of this generation, firmly rooted in God's Word, and speak His words to men. We must preach, as dying men to dying men, the Living Word.
On Trouble . . .
A famed opponent of Christianity once said, "Scratch a Christian and you will find a pagan." However, hundreds of years of persecution and the blood of modern and ancient martyrs convincingly refutes this charge. Experience has proved that God is not only a God for good times but is also a very present help in times of trouble. Israel learned this lesson well.
An irate king stood toe-to-toe with a God whose power he had underestimated. For seven tense days Benhadad's great Syrian army surrounded the small and uncertain troops of Israel in the plains of Aphek. He was smugly certain of victory. Joined by thirty-two other kings, his great military post outnumbered the skimpy army of Ahab by more than ten to one. All he had to do now was wait for the right moment to attack.
It was true this same Israelite army had routed his troops just a year before; but that was only because of a gross military blunder, Ben-hadad told himself. He had thought they had come to surrender rather than fight. And he had been drunk. This time it would be different. This time he was taking no chances, not even with the invisible God of the Israelites.
Ben-hadad had taken the advice of his captains. They had explained that the disastrous defeat was due to the fact that they had fought in the mountains, and the Israelites served a God of the mountains. It sounded reasonable the temple was on a mountain. So this time Ben-hadad had lured the enemy to the valley. Here their mysterious God could not help them, thought Ben-hadad as he laughed lustily and drank the cool wine.
Suddenly someone sounded a battle charge, and Ben-hadad's troops were totally confused. The Israelite army had begun striking from all directions at once. The Syrian army of over one hundred fifty thousand fled with their bewildered king toward the city of Aphek. A hundred thousand soldiers fell during the retreat; then twenty-seven thousand more died when a wall fell on them. Ben-hadad wept and waited for his captors.
The jubilant army of Israel marched in to take the spoils, singing songs of victory and quoting words a prophet had said only days before, "Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord" (I Kings 20:28).
Ben-hadad's mistake thinking God is only for good times has been repeated throughout history. While the Israelites had a distinct advantage when storming down the mountains on a gathered army, yet God proved He was their victory even when surrounded by hostile hosts in a waste, howling desert. Our victory over frustrations, problems, or temptations, is not predicated on position, but rather on dependence. God has pledged Himself to us in all times, under all pressures, in the valley as well as the mountain top. He is also God of the valleys.
Various valleys are mentioned in Scripture but three seem significant for our century of uncertainty and frustration. These three, while they are actual geographical places in the ancient eastern world, are symbolic of spiritual valleys through which we pass in our journey through life. In these valleys there is victory.
The psalmist says, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well" (Ps. 84:5, 6). Baca means "weeping." The name was probably derived from the presence of balsam trees because of the oozing of tearlike drops of resin, which suggests weeping. As far back as its history is recorded, this valley was called, "the place of weeping." The psalmist boldly claims when we pass through the valley of weeping our trust in God turns it into a place of great joy where springs of living water well up. Mourning is turned to joy, sorrow into serenity, pain into peace.
This is contrary to human reasoning, yet every child of God who has traveled the valley of weeping can testify to the tranquility that transcends trouble. Some may wonder why a good God would permit ventures into this valley, but a man tempered by tears cries out, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes" (Ps. 119:71). There is a strange alchemy in tears that wash away human pretension and fleshly ambitions and cause us to see God in all His majesty and power. Down, we look up to realize, "He maketh me to lie down."
Solomon's Song, deep in meaning, majestic in music, offers a key to the eternal question of suffering. The lover whispers to his love, "A garden inclosed is my sister, rrty spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." Then, he moves on to tell of the beautiful and fragrant spices that are in this garden, "spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices."
To this eloquent allegory the bride eagerly responds, "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out." It was not sufficient that the beauty enrich the inside of the garden; it should be stirred from its very center so all the world might enjoy the fragrance. It is sometimes true that sorrow brings out our best. We are gardens inclosed and the north wind of persecution or the south wind of adversity blows upon us to bear the beauty of our testimony to others. Such knowledge turns our weeping to joy and brightens our valley.
Then there is the promise of restoration to those in the valley of weeping. A heartbroken prophet told his people of coming judgment in the form of great locusts that would eat away until crops were gone. Then Joel says, "And I will restore to you the years that the locusts hath eaten" (2:25). In South Africa, during some years the locusts eat until iamine seems inevitable. These are lean and hungry years for the toiling farmer. However the following year always brings a tremendous crop because the locusts die in the windrows and their bodies become fertilizer for the next year's crop. Joel promises that God will bring from our weeping times greater victories and more marvelous moments.
Whatever our personal valley of weeping may be, we can rest assured that God is there and ultimate victory is assured. The heartbreak of sudden loss or the sadness of incurable sickness pales when we see the power of God bring victory in this valley. There is no defeat for the Christian. Even death is swallowed up in victory and we can say, "He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into water-springs" (Ps. 107:35). The valley of weeping has been turned into a valley of springs!
Achor - The Valley of Trouble
Hosea, heartbroken because of personal tragedy, could say from his sorrow, "And I will give her ... the valley of Achor for a door of hope" (2:15). It was in the valley of Achor that Achan was stoned for his sin which troubled Israel. From that time Achor was associated with grief and despair. Yet God has promised to turn this valley into a door of hope.
Many walk in the valley of trouble, disappointment, financial problems, broken relationships, grief over straying children. Each has his own valley of trouble and some are deeper and darker than others. Such a valley can only be brightened by Christ. It was He who said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matt. 11: 28, 29).
When the final history of this generation is written it probably will be said we were more troubled and disturbed than any society preceding us. The whole world has been thrust into the valley of trouble with racial tension, seething unrest, and riot-torn cities. Yet, from this can come that door of hope.
Many in trouble turn to Psalm 91, and rightly so. The unknown author of this hymn must have traveled long in Achor's valley. In the closing words he cries, "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet." One commentator on Scripture says the Psalmist is talking about certain types of troubles we face daily. The lion and bold young lion are the expected troubles that come our way. We can see them come and know that because we are human it is inevitable. Troubles like sickness and death, the loss of children, and a certain amount of pain are things to be expected from life, but the Psalmist promises God will help us trample these underfoot.
Then there is that serpent or adder. He strikes without warning and lurks in hidden places. The suggestion here is that of unexpected trouble. When death takes a loved one in the bloom of life, when financial disaster destroys our sense of confidence, when we are suddenly faced with a crisis we never expected, then the adder has sunk his fangs of fury into us. Yet the promise states that even then we will tread him down and rise as victor because of faith in God.
The final foe mentioned is that of imaginary fears. The dragon is not real but a product of one's imagination. We have very real fears of things wholly imagined. Each week, psychologists say, thirty-three thousand Americans go to the doctor but are not really sick. These people merely think they are ill or fear some dread disease. This is the age of the ulcer and aspirin, the highball and peace pill. Probably the greatest ill of our age is the fear and frustration caused by an imaginary dragon. Yet the Psalmist states flatly that the man in God tramples this foe underfoot.
Diagnosis is not a cure, but it is a step toward a cure. Faith causes us to rise and take hold of these promises, and then light is shed on our dark valleys. The apostles found this to be true. There was a time they fretted about the future, afraid they would deny Christ. He wisely told them not to think of what to say at this point and promised that at that hour God's Holy Spirit would fill their mouths. They took the advice and we find that rather than turning their back on God in persecution they sang in prison and died in victory.
To live by the law of Christ and accept Him into our hearts is to turn a giant floodlight of hope into our valleys of trouble. Problems do not always vanish in Christ's presence, but He gives victory over them. "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (II Cor. 12:9). Add to this Hosea's hope, "and she shall sing there" (2:15). Our valley of trouble becomes merely a part of the path toward God and therefore transitory.
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
David says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" (Ps. 23:4).
We are told that the actual place in Palestine known as the Valley of the Shadow of Death is very narrow and treacherous. Its walls tower upward fifteen hundred feet, and the floor has many deep gullies. The paths are so narrow in many places that sheep cannot turn around.
About halfway through the valley the path is cut in two by a gully, eight feet deep. One section of the path is about eighteen inches higher than the other. The sheep must jump across. The shepherd coaxes the sheep across and gently lifts the smaller ones over. Should a sheep fall into the gully, the shepherd uses his staff with the old-style crook which fits snugly around the sheep's breast to haul him back up.
Wild dogs prey on unprotected sheep, but the shepherd's heavy rod protects his flock so that if he is near the sheep need have no fear in walking through that valley.
The words of the Psalm take on new meaning when we think of this actual valley. The road of life which leads toward the valley of the shadow is dark and frightening. There is much that would harm us and there are deep pitfalls along the way. Then there is that break in the path which means the end of this life and the beginning of the next. Those who walk without the Shepherd take a fearful leap into the dark and hope they make it. But with the Shepherd of our souls near us, we know we will make it. He spans the gulf and gently lifts the frightened ones across. Many are the saints who have left testimonies of dying grace. They were not deserted in this last but not lonely valley.
David could confidently say, "I will not fear." The reason for his confidence was not because of intellectual prowess, psychological preparation for the final hour, or because he was better than we. The whole reason was, "Thou art with me."
To Know Him
Not many months ago this writer preached this sermon in South Africa. A sea of black shining faces, aglow with the Spirit felt the truth of God's Word. Then, one of the great native pastors stood and related an old story which best sums up how one can apply these truths to our fives. He said:
"A famous orator read in one of America's large halls. He quoted the words of the great, and people thrilled to his talent. At the end of the reading he took requests from the audience and someone asked him to quote the twenty-third psalm. With his deep and polished voice the orator swept through the psalm with pomp rarely heard. When he had finished the crowd clapped madly and demanded an encore. Again he quoted the moving words, followed by the same response. After the clapping had stopped he stepped back to the stage and said, 'Tonight I have my pastor with me and I would like him to come and quote the same psalm.'
"Old and feeble, the pastor stood before the mighty crowd. In a shaking, weak voice he quoted the words with such heartthrob and power that the audience was awed. Tears ran unashamed down the faces of those who listened. When he had finished there was no clapping, only a deep reverence and a sense of prayer. The orator returned to the stage and asked, 'Do you know the reason you clapped madly when I quoted the psalm but when he quoted the psalm you prayed? The reason is,' continued the orator, 'I know the psalm but he knows the Shepherd.'"
Great promises of Scripture, however beautiful they may sound, are merely promises until we know the Shepherd. These words about the valleys are simply lovely allegories unless we become intimately acquainted with the God of the valleys. Then the words come alive, and the God of the past is suddenly alive in our hearts, and life takes on new meaning.
On Motivation . . .
In his early ministry the late Dr. Peter Marshall liked especially to relate the illustration, "The King is in the Audience." It was a vivid word picture set in old England at the famed London theatre. With a rich Scottish burr the beloved Senate Chaplain captured the mood of one special night on the English stage: The audience, chatting amiably, drifts to their seats. The orchestra, in starched shirts and tuxedos, drones in monotonous tuning. Stage hands scurry behind huge and heavy curtains, checking props and ropes, and making last-minute adjustments. Players mumble difficult lines as aides help adjust the colorful costumes. Finally, lights lower, the orchestra receives the determined tap of its leader, then swings softly into a familiar overture.
Suddenly, in the middle of a musical phrase they stop rather awkwardly and a deathly silence follows while music sheets are hurriedly switched. Then, the swelling and stately strains of the national anthem fill the theatre.
In the wings the stage manager and director run from actor to actor whispering excitedly, "Give it all you've got tonight! Play as you've never played before!" "Why?" the anxious question is asked. "Because," comes a worried reply, "King George has just come in. The king is in the audience!"
Dr. Marshall followed this dramatic introduction with the admonition that the King of kings and Lord of lords is always in the audience of our lives and we must, "give it all we've got. Play as we have never played before."
William Shakespeare viewed life as one long theatre production. In As You Like It, he says:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
-Act II, Sc. 7
One may not agree with this premise or with the moral of Dr. Marshall's sermon illustration. However, if we are playing on this stage of life it is vitally important to know to whom we are playing. Peter Marshall claimed, "The King is in the audience." This probably falls short of the ideal. Perhaps it should be, "The King is the audience."
History is filled with those who have played their lives to fickle and fateful audiences. Some, like Thomas Paine, have played to the audience of intellectualism, only to cry at death, "O Lord, help me! God help me! Jesus Christ, help me!" Voltaire, playing to the same audience, cried, "I am abandoned by God and man: I shall go to hell!" Lord Byron played his life to the audience of men and pleasure, only to mourn on his thirty-sixth and last birthday, "The flowers and fruits of life are gone, the worm, the canker and the grief are mine alone."
Yet, there are those who, while recognizing the futility of humanism, still have an improper concept of their audience. True, they are playing to God, but tragically, not to God alone. He is in their audience but He shares this position with others. God long ago served notice that He desires our full attention and affection. One who is playing both to men and to God are just as guilty as those who ignore completely the Royal Personage.
Ananias and Sapphira were wise enough to know the Divine. To them He was important and they had chosen to follow Christ in dedication. However, this good desire had a tragic ending because the approval of God was not enough for them. Acts 5 tells how they sought the approval of the leaders and members of the church by lying about the price of property and giving only part to the church while claiming to give it all. Lying to the Holy Spirit and seeking the approval of man as well as God brought death to them. The shock of that tragic event etched forever in the hearts of the early church, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
These two were not alone in their role-playing. Samson sought the approval of Delilah as well as the anointing of God. Baalam sought dual approval of God and Balak, only to be cheated of both by death. Moses lost the Promised Land the moment he upstaged God. Peter earned the hot rebuke of Paul because he played for approval of Jewish brethren and the friendship of Gentile converts, rather than being singularly concerned about the will of God.
Diagnosing an illness is usually easier than curing it and admittedly it is difficult for we humans to forego the approval of our peers for the approval of God. We have many deep-seated fears, frustrations, and insecurities which make us yearn for the acceptance of our friends and the respect of our enemies. Learning to ignore the applause of the crowd or the fury of our friends takes daily dedication and determination. It is good to frequently seek to determine to whom we are playing. What motivates our decisions, determines our devotion, and directs our course of action?
It is difficult for man to be completely honest with himself. Jeremiah mused, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" However, lest we despair, we are assured that God can reveal our motivations to us. In the next verse Jeremiah quotes God, "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins" (17:10).
Self-honesty is the first step to God. There are defects in our lives that we do not like to admit are there, and we sweep them under the rug of our subconscious, "afraid that if they are exposed no one will like us. However, knowing that God knows and realizing that He understands, we can bring these faults to Him with the knowledge that He gives strength of character to become new creatures in Christ.
An incident related in John's Gospel vividly illustrates how subtle we are in playing to men. Jesus, going from Judea to Galilee, sent His disciples for food in Sychar while he awaited a meeting with the woman at the well. She came to the well in midday, unlike other women, because she had something to hide and did not like the stares of her peers. Jesus struck up a conversation with her and after some verbal sparring He sought her soul. Feeling trapped, and wanting even this stranger to approve of her, she tried to divert Him with a religious question pertaining to the proper place to worship. He was getting too close to her and He was seeing things in her life no one could love or understand. Yet He pressed on and she found He spoke the truth about living water. He gave her a new lease on life. She went on her way clean and rejoicing because He had driven her to self-honesty.
So often we, like the woman at the well, still play to men, seeking their approval rather than God's forgiveness. Jesus once asked, "How on earth can you believe while you are for ever looking for one another's approval and not for the glory that comes from the one God?" (John 5:44, Phillips).
This way of life, playing to God alone, is not easy. When we move from the comfortable center of men's approval we encounter misunderstanding and criticism. We move from the norm of what motivates men, and our lives take on new perspectives and purposes. And this is often misunderstood. Henry Thoreau said, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."
For Jeremiah, playing to the single audience meant rejection by his parents and hometown friends. Long nights would be spent in jail and angry mobs would hurl sharp stones at him when he walked by. He would be accused of treason and displayed for public laughter. Yet he played to God alone. And from that lonely yet lovely life throbbed a deep influence which would inspire three frightened boys when the angry king thrust them into the fiery furnace. Another man would remember and later pick up his pen to be moved by the Holy Spirit to write profound prophecies of the coming King. Daniel spoke often of Jeremiah.
For Paul it meant suffering such as few other humans had endured. It meant being betrayed by some very dear and close to him. It meant being misunderstood even by the elect; and finally it meant death. Yet, who can question the value of that great life?
For us it may mean suffering physical violence from those who misunderstand. However, more realistically it will involve mental and emotional violence as those who misunderstand withdraw their approval. And this is often more cutting than physical pain. It means praying, not to impress people but in the secret closet where none know, except God. It means that our acts of love are done without display. It means simply that everything we do must be done for God's approval. It means "All the talents I have, I have laid at thy feet. Thy approval shall be my reward. Be my store great or small, I surrender them all to my wonderful, wonderful Lord."
Men who continue to play to the audience of men, ignoring God, will continue to reap frustration, disappointment, and death. And those double-minded men who play to God and man will find nothing but despair. For these who play selfishly, Macbeth has wisely said:
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Act V, Sc. 5
But those who have learned the secret of playing to the single Royal Audience will find a hope and joy unknown to common man. They can sing, for they have found:
The Love that in earth's greatest mystery
Clothed itself in clay like our own,
and, dying, left the low door of the grave unlatched,
so that God could come into our sorrows . . .
so that a loving Father could speak
to earth's dumb anguish
of the Glorious Day beyond our dying sun."
Peter Marshall, Rendezvous in Samaria
On Faith . . .
An Arizona man left his fortune to the person or organization that can scientifically prove the existence of the soul. At least eight religious and educational groups are vying for the estimated $200,000 provided in the will of the late James Kidd.
Five years before his death in 1951, Kidd, a bachelor who claimed he had no heirs, wrote a will in longhand. Dated January 2, 1946, the will states: "After my funeral expenses have been paid and $100 given to some preacher of the gospel to say farewell at my grave, sell all my property and have the balance of that money go to research for some scientific proof of a soul of humans which leaves at death."
In the last paragraph of the will, Kidd also mentioned that he felt the time would come when someone would be able to photograph the soul leaving the body at death. So unusual is the will that it was tied up in legal proceedings for many years.
James Kidd's request reminds us that many great thinkers have devoted their lives to furnishing proofs of God's existence and from these efforts have set forth great arguments. Among these arguments are the ontological, cosmological, teleological, and moral. But somehow the seeking mind is still not satisfied. Even if someone would qualify to receive the Kidd fortune by scientifically proving the existence of the soul, the world would not be moved to great faith.
The great philosophical ideas or proofs fail to convince, not because of their content but because of their approach. The ideas are indeed cogent and by all normal standards should convince the most doubting man, yet they fail to do so. At best they succeed only in pushing a man to a point of indecision, neither accepting nor rejecting them but resigning himself to the "wait and see" attitude. The reason why many men are still going out the "in" door lies in the fact that the attitudes of God and man conflict. Man insists, "Prove these things to me and then I will believe," while God declares, "Believe these things and then I will prove them." The writer of Hebrews expresses this thought by saying, "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (4:2). Our problem is that we tend to forget that natural man cannot comprehend these truths.
Paul reminds us that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2:14).
Man must face the fact that he is in a physical dimension while the things of God are in a higher dimension. With natural intellect it is impossible for man to understand the realm above him. We are like plants trying to understand the language of humans. There is a key that unlocks these great mysteries to us and for this reason millions do believe. That key is faith, which opens the mind to the new dimension of the supernatural where everything takes on new meaning. Paul said, "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (I Cor. 1:21).
John Bunyan found that when he tried to reach God through the intellect he was so frustrated he contemplated suicide. However, when he fell at Christ's feet in simple faith God became real to him. And God began to make of young Bunyan one of the greatest men of faith. "But," we ask helplessly, "how do I believe?" So many wish for faith, try to obtain it, want desperately to believe, but still come back to the problem of not being able to direct their minds to faith. Faith seems so elusive. After being introduced to many philosophies of religion the seeker often despairs and feels faith is an impossible thing. There are too many new ideas to digest. Can one really have simple faith when he learns that nothing in life is simple? Often in this state of confusion the seeker wishes he had never been introduced to doubt.
Again, here is a misunderstanding of the supernatural. We in the natural realm try to obtain, seek for, pray for, or force ourselves to faith. This merely frustrates our hearts and makes us dishonest with ourselves. It is good that in times like these God remembers that we are but flesh. There is an answer, of course, and again it comes through God's Word. Christ talked much about the Kingdom of God and faith. One of the greatest keys He gave us in understanding the problem of faith was the mustard seed. At one time He compared His Kingdom with this tiny life; at another time He compared faith to the mustard seed. He encouraged His followers to have "faith like a mustard seed." The mustard seed, although minute, grows into a mighty tree in which birds can rest. God gives each a measure of faith and, given opportunity, this faith will grow. The power of growth is in the seed. When buried in the warm earth the outer shell of the tiny seed rots away and life pushes first a tiny blade, then firmer leaves through the ground. Given time the plant becomes full-grown.
Often we try to force the harvest. We wish to develop too quickly or to grow without being buried. But as we take the simple step of being buried with Christ by giving the reins of our lives to Him, the growing process begins. Often we are tempted to dig the seed up when the decaying process begins. The shell of emotional protection we have grown around our souls is comfortable, but when growth begins, that shell decays and a finer and more abundant life springs forth. Then, through the months, our hearts are made more firm as the faith grows into a mighty tree watered by the Word.
This first active step of placing our lives in His hands, obeying His direction, receiving His power, and searching His Word for guidance opens a door unknown to natural man. Our mind is suddenly illumined with a new light, and a foundation of faith has been laid. From that point the seed grows and faith begins to develop. We cannot force faith, or find faith. We must let it grow in our lives.
After this transformation takes place, we then know a thousand scientific reasons for our faith. Life takes on meaning and the universe is in harmony. For those who have this faith man no longer goes out the "in" door, but enters into eternal salvation.
On Prayer . . .
During the 1930 Communist uprising in China, Dr. Walter H. Judd spent tense times there as a medical missionary. For eight months he was in a sort of polite captivity with clothing packed, in case of emergency evacuation. He said the one thing sustaining him during these trying times was prayer. Relating results of those private conversations with God, Dr. Judd said, "There would come into my spirit something that supported and held me steady, gave me confidence and assurance during the day."
Asked to elaborate, the famed former congressman commented, "I can't explain it. I can't explain how some food J ate tonight for dinner becomes brain, some bone, some blood, but I haven't stopped eating just because I can't explain it. In the same way I can't explain this. It is not in the realm of explanation yet, or of logical proof. It is in the realm of demonstration; prayer works."
Thousands testify with Dr. Judd that prayer changes things and people. Yet, many of us struggle with the perplexing problem of how God answers prayers. Dr. Judd suggests there is an "inner Tightness" which is beyond understanding. Great saints and writers have helped us with the problem of how to pray. Perhaps it would be well to see some of the ways we listen to God. The language of God has many voices and His Word suggests various ways He speaks in answer to deeper prayers of our spirit. The psalmist said, "Be still, and know that I am God . . ." (46:10). There are times we must tune our spiritual ears to His voice and learn of the Lord.
Whispers through Creation
An ancient poet, standing silent under star-studded skies, was moved to muse: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day ut-tereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard" (Ps. 19:1-3).
History is replete with "nature worship," from the first pagan rites through sun gods to the modern Deist. These have worshiped the "voice" rather than the "Speaker." However, the fact that some have misused religion does not mean that all religion should be avoided. God did and is speaking to His people through creation. Seeking hearts ask, "What is He saying?"
God's Eternal Power. The writer of Romans states, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (1:20). God's careful creation speaks of His concern and care. One who lovingly provides for His creation is well able to forgive and forget sins. Certainly the Power to speak worlds into existence can speak gently words of forgiveness to sin-ladened hearts and guilt-plagued souls.
God's Faithfulness. Creation and nature eloquently speak of the great faithfulness of a loving Father. Jeremiah said, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" (Lam. 2:22, 23). One shudders to think that one morning dawn might not come, or fall refuse to follow burning summer. What if rain would not stop, or snow continue until all are smothered in powdered death? Yet, we know this can never be, because God in faithfulness ordained a life-sustaining balance in nature for our protection. No wonder the hymnwriter noted:
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Tender Love. God not only speaks through nature of power and faithfulness, but also of His deepest, committed love. Jesus called on creation to share eternal truths. One day, speaking about worry, He noted: "Behold the fowls of the air, they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" Driving His point deeper He spread hands across flowered fields, "Consider the lilies of the fields, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matt. 6:26, 28 29, 30). Jesus further illustrates God's tender care by saying, "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows" (Luke 12:6, 7).
God has answered many prayers and yearnings through creation. William Cullen Bryant rightly advised,
Go forth, under the open sky, and list
to Nature's teachings, while from all around
Earth and her waters, and the depths of air
Comes a still voice. Thanatopsis
Direction through Friends
The Proverbist notes, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (27:6). Advice and information from our friends is often valid for spiritual development and God uses them at times to tell us His desires for our lives. David's encounter with Nathan is an example.
By way of a parable of two men, one rich with many sheep, one poor with a single, loved sheep, Nathan arouses anger in David's heart. The shepherd king asks self-righteously, "What kind of man would take the only lamb of a poor man?" Then, demanding justice, David declares, "As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die." Friend Nathan replies, "Thou art the man!" Conviction seizes David's heart concerning his sin with Bathsheba (II Sam. 12:1-14). Hot tears roll down his face and David cannot eat or sleep until he receives forgiveness. Psalm 51 is his deep cry for God's love to be restored. Nathan loved David enough that he was faithful in delivering God's message to him.
There is another situation recorded in New Testament Scriptures. One of the shabby times in Peter's life was when he lived by a double standard. Church fathers were arguing how many Jewish rites to retain in Christian worship. Circumcision seemed to be the key issue and Peter vacillated between two extremes of the issue. Paul, a dear friend, records, "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. ... I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" (Gal. 2:11, 14).
Friend Paul spoke to Philemon for the runaway slave, Onesimus. He asked that he adopt a proper attitude of forgiveness. Friend Paul loved members of the infant church so much that he often wounded them in order that they might see their errors. At other times he praised them highly. Always he felt God using him to speak to His friends about God's highest will. Paul's single desire was, "That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might ... in the inner man" (Eph. 3:16).
Of course there is a danger in listening to our friends without evaluating their advice. Often they can be honestly mistaken about God's will. The story of God's nameless prophet from Judah in I Kings 13, warns of the tragedy of taking bad advice. The words of an elderly prophet were heeded rather than the explicit instructions of God. Tragedy resulted. God sometimes speaks through friends, but their advice must be weighed carefully in the light of God's Word.
Messages through Ministers
No one is really sure who the first preacher was. Perhaps Noah could rightly be called the first preacher in the modern-day sense of the word. Their origin notwithstanding, God has chosen to speak to man through anointed messengers of His Word. And the list of preachers is impressive men such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Zechariah, John the Baptist, and even Jesus. Paul, himself a great preacher, asks, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" (Rom. 10:14, 15).
Privilege demands responsibility as Jesus reminds "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48). While some preachers might hide behind such admonitions as "Touch not mine anointed" to excuse their wilful ways, the real preacher of righteousness will recognize not only privilege but responsibility.
At least three Bible chapters, Jeremiah 23, Zechariah 11, and Ezekiel 34, deal specifically with the responsibility of the clergy. Ezekiel, who talked in visions and theophanic forms, left little doubt of a preacher's accountability before God. He points to preachers of his day saying that they fed themselves rather than the sheep, clothed themselves with wool from the sheep, refused to strengthen the diseased, nor healed the sick, nor bound up the broken, nor found the lost. Ezekiel then charged, "But with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them" (34:4).
God speaks through his preachers and their words must be heeded. We preachers, in turn, must recognize that our position demands more than average commitment. God in His love has chosen preachers to communicate that love to His people "it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (I Cor. 1:21). Paul, recognizing this responsibility, states emphatically, "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (I Cor. 2:4, 5).
God Speaks through His Son
High in the dome of the Palace Rospigliosi in Rome is a beautiful painting by Guido Reni entitled, "The Aurora." To see its beauty one had to strain his neck and look long upward. Then, some thoughtful person placed a mirror on floor level. It reflects perfectly the beauty of Reni's painting.
One day Philip asked Christ to tell him what God is like. To this Christ replied, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). Christ is the reflection of the Father.
The wise writer of Hebrews, under inspiration, prefaces his book, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son" (1:1, 2). The most direct way God speaks is through His Son.
Many decisions for our lives have already been answered in the marvelous example of the life Christ left. Personality qualities we must develop have been left indelibly in time by the lovely life of our Lord. Indeed, God has spoken and is speaking through His Son. We can easily learn methods of evangelism, decisions for our prayer life, how to act and react in crises, and all other lessons of life from the account the Lord left in the Gospels.
His Word a Lamp
Most preachers emphasize the importance of the Bible for answered prayer. This is proper because of the high esteem Christ gave to the written Word. John adds a new dimension by saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
Appropriately the longest chapter in the Bible is a hymn in praise of God's Word (Ps. 119). The Word was the foundation philosophy of all the prophets and New Testament preachers. Paul admonished Timothy to be adept in the Word while the psalmist David outlines the value of the Word. David states there are six vital values of the Word.
The Word, David notes, is for teaching, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." It is also viewed as testimony, "Making wise the simple." The examples of those who followed and those who failed to follow are ample testimony of the Word's value. David understands the Word also as a prescription, filling one with joy and justice; as commandments to avoid moral defilements; as an object of reverence; and as ordinances of righteousness. Paul adds that the Word is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
Some men, such as Samuel, Moses, and Abraham, have had the privilege of hearing God's audible voice. Others (Jacob, Daniel, and Joseph) have had angelic visitors. Some (Peter, James, and John) walked with Christ in the flesh. But we in our day have the privilege of an even greater understanding of His voice and direction through His words. Christ told skeptical Thomas, "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed" (John 20:29).
God is speaking in various tongues to His people today. May we have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. An old Indian proverb says, "Be silent lest thy tongue keep thee deaf." In these times we need to tune our ear to His voice, and then make decisions.
It is true that most prayers have already been answered and all we need do is seek to hear God's voice and direction. From the most general problem to the most specific, God has faithfully heard and answered His people. Prayer works as we are receptive to His answers.
Famed Judge Harold E. Medina of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York has said, "I have lived a full and exciting life as a lawyer and as a judge fighting for what I thought was right. In every crisis I turned to God for help and I never called for help in vain."
On Apathy . . .
Danish Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard told about the barnyard goose. It seems as though all the geese were flying south for the winter. One goose, who prided himself on his wit and wisdom, thought to himself, "What's the use of all of this?" Then looking down from the sky he spotted a barnyard where several chickens were eating corn. Deciding he would cash in on the windfall he told his friends good-bye.
They urged him to stay with them because winter was coming. The goose, however, said No. He could enjoy the warm comfort of the chicken house and would not have to spend all that time and energy flying south. So he stayed.
Winter came and the goose was quite happy with himself over the decision. He had all the corn he could eat. The farmer had taken a real liking to him, and the other fowls in the barnyard did not object to his presence. How glad he was that he was smart enough to recognize a good thing.
When spring came all was well. The earth warmed again and the breezes blew softly. Soon the wild geese began returning for the summer. The barnyard goose heard their cry as they flew over, and his nature told him to join them. With heart beating fast with anticipation to again greet his fellows in the sky, he stretched forth his wings to rise. However, to his sorrow he fell back to earth. He tried again and again, but each time he slammed back to the ground. During the winter, while eating the farmer's corn he had gotten fat and now to his dismay he found he could not follow the call of the wild that surged in his heart.
The application is clear, and the truth certain. How often we choose the easy way, only to find that eventually it robs us of the very best. We limit ourselves to the barnyard, when we were created to soar in the heavens.
Easy Way Out
Commentator Paul Harvey has vividly called to our attention that we are a nation going fat. He says this is the age of the "common man." To show his distaste for those who would be content just to be average, he defines "the average man," as: "best of the lousiest and lousiest of the best." His cry is that we rise from the barnyard of conformity and excel.
What is true of a nation can also be true of a Christian. Some may be willing to settle for second, but to do so is to eventually cheat ourselves. God desires our very best. He spoke of pain-filled pathways, crushing crosses, and demanding duties. There is no room here for goldbrickers or pikers. There is no easy out for the truly successful Christian.
Paul echoes this same admonition to the church at Rome when he says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice. . . . And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds . . ." (Rom. 12:1, 2).
This is the day of thirteen-week vacations, relaxation in the sun, and the cry for leisure. Yet, it is still true that those who really get ahead are those who go the second mile and perform above the call of duty. Leo S. Bickmore, president of the National Biscuit Co., recently wrote a brilliant essay on success. He told of seeing nine drafts of one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speeches. The first was rough; the second was improved; the third showed greater improvement. The ninth draft differed from the eighth in only one word. He suggests that this was one of the keys to President Roosevelt's success. He concludes his thought-provoking article by saying, "Long days and sleepless nights. If you don't want to pay this price, you had better not shop at the leadership counter."
There is no easy way out. To be a successful Christian and a successful person takes work. While some loll in the barnyard of conformity there are others who rise to the peaks of mountains never scaled before, because they are willing to expend the effort.
Only a Homebody
Half the battle of rising to the heights is believing you can do it. This is the confidence Christ gives. As He lives within us He inspires us to things we never thought possible.
Remember, you do not have to stay in the barnyard of conformity. You too can rise. Abraham Lincoln's stepmother was "only a homebody," yet she inspired him to rise from the cabin to the White House. He said of her: "The greatest book 1 ever read, you ask me? My mother." D. L. Moody's wife was also a homebody, but she taught her husband how to write and sent him forth as one of the greatest evangelists of all time.
No matter how small our capacity, if we operate with maximum efficiency wc will change our world and the lives of those about us.
Frog in the Buttermilk
When Michelangelo was ordered to decorate the walls of the Sistinc Chapel, he refused, saying he was not qualified. He had never before attempted that kind of work and feared he would be a failure. His refusal was not accepted however, so he started to work. We all know the result: one of the greatest paintings of all time. Few of us realize the possibilities within us. We can do it if we will.
To rise to pinnacles calls for another quality of character: perseverance. Gibbon labored twenty years on his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. George Bancroft spent twenty-six years on his History of the United States. When someone asked Lyman Beecher how long it took for the completion of his famous sermon, The Government and God, he said, "About forty years." Marcus Morton ran for governor of Massachusetts sixteen times before he was finally elected.
Paul says something about perseverance when he urges, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. 6:9). Remember, the race is not always to the swift. It is to the one who finishes first.
There is a light little poem that sums up this point very well:
Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl,
One was an optimistic soul;
But the other took the gloomy view,
"We shall drown," he cried, without more ado.
So with a last despairing cry,
He flung up his legs and he said, "Good-bye."
Quoth the other frog with a merry grin,
"I can't get out, but I won't give in.
I'll just swim round till my strength is spent,
Then will I die the more content."
Bravely he swam till it would seem
His struggles began to churn the cream.
On top of the butter at last he stopped,
And out of the bowl he gayly hopped.
What of the moral? Tis easily found;
If you can't hop out, keep swimming round.
To live our best means to go against the grain and work in a world of resters. It means being not conformed to this world but using every fiber of our being to accomplish His will for us, and to never give up. Such an exercise as this certainly keeps our soul well exercised so we can rise on strong wings of faith to sit together with Him in heavenly places.
And, work is therapy. Many of our frustrations would disappear if we learned to work.
On Inferiority . . .
One of the most moving stories Jesus told was about the prince in the pigpen (Luke 15:11-32). Thousands of sermons have been preached about this story of the Prodigal Son, and many more will probably follow because the parable is so rich in truth about man's condition and God's personality.
The son of a wealthy man one day asked for his inheritance. After receiving it, he went away to a far country. Part of his downfall was brought about by his own actions, and the other part was beyond his doing. While he spent the money foolishly on false friends, he never gave thought to the time when his provisions would be gone. He may have thought, "I'm well educated. I can always get a job and earn more." But Jesus said, "And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want."
Circumstances had suddenly changed. His education and background meant nothing. Jobs were scarce during this great depression and the people were not anxious to hire a foreigner even though he was well-bred and educated. Finally, hunger drove him to the lowest job in the land, feeding swine. So hungry was this fallen young man that "he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat."
Jesus did not say how long he remained in this horrible state. We do know, however, that one day in the midst of this squalor, he came to himself. Sharp pangs of hunger removed any pride that may have been there and he reasoned, "How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" That did it. He picked himself up and started home.
The story tells of the glad reunion that followed and how the loving father not only forgave, but brought him back to the warm fellowship of the home. The son that was dead was now alive. The prince was no longer in the pigpen, but at his father's table.
Husks Are for Hogs
Jesus told the story to illustrate the heavenly Father's love for the lost. But, when one reads the story, he cannot help thinking how many children of God, born through His Son's blood, are eating husks meant for hogs rather than dining at the King's table. Those born into His family are called to a higher purpose than dwelling in the pigpen of inferiority and self-condemnation.
Psychologists say that one of the four demons that plague man is that of inferiority feelings. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale suggests, "A sense of inferiority and inadequacy interferes with the attainment of your hopes, but self-confidence leads to self-realization and successful achievement. ... It is appalling to realize the number of pathetic people who are hampered and made miserable by the malady popularly called the inferiority complex."
Jesus speaks of kingdoms, crowns, glory, and honor. But so many saved people of God shuffle through life not really taking advantage of all that He offers because they somehow feel they are not worthy or able. So they continue to eat husks while others dine on angels' food.
The Master Race
An insignificant paperhanger, dedicated to a new political idea, stood before huge enthusiastic crowds and told them they were the master race. The German people, drunken with the power of flattery, believed Adolf Hitler and made him their leader. It took a world war and the blood of thousands, before the evil deeds of this single man could be expunged.
The apostle Peter, however, recognized that there really is a master race: the Master's race. He says, "But ye are a chosen oeneration, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people" (I Peter 2:9). This is not the flattery of a mad leader or the empty promises of a power-hungry tyrant. This is truth from God's Holy Word. Are we not called to be a redeemed people who will one day reign with Christ?
Add to this the words of Paul in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." There are no inferiority feelings here. Paul recognizes that he is a child of the King and that he has a source of power unknown to others a source of power that is available to all who are called according to His name. No wonder Paul could say confidently, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed" (II Cor. 4:7-9).
You may think this writer feels too strongly about this subject. Yet, how many people I have seen come to my office for counseling who really do not need a new touch from God, they just need to begin enjoying the blessings which they already have. Faith is not like gasoline which runs out as you use it. Rather, it is much like a muscle: as you exercise it, it becomes stronger.
Danger Signs along the Way
Feelings of inferiority are sometimes hard to recognize because they take many forms and have many results. There is no such thing as a superiority complex. There is self-centered-ness and self-will, but that which seems to be a superiority complex is really a defense mechanism to cover up a deep inferiority. Inferiority feelings breed fear, doubt, and skepticism. Because of this it would be well if we learned to recognize some of the most obvious symptoms the danger signs of pronounced feelings of inferiority.
Psychologists Louis Thorp and Barney Katz offer the following danger signs of an inferiority complex:
Seclusiveness: The individual feels uncomfortable in a crowd, avoids being with others, and seeks to be alone.
Self-consciousness: The individual is reserved and easily upset in the presence of others.
Sensitiveness: He is sensitive to criticism or unfavorable comparison with other people.
Projection: The individual blames and criticizes in others what he feels to be unworthy in himself.
Ideas of Reference: The person applies to himself all unfavorable remarks as well as criticisms made by others.
Attention-getting: He endeavors to attract attention by any method that seems likely to be successful; he attempts to gain notice by crude devices that are not socially rewarding.
Dominating: He endeavors to govern others, usually smaller and younger persons, by bullying and browbeating them.
Compensation: He covers up or disguises his inferiority by exaggerating a desirable tendency or trait, sometimes in a socially acceptable manner and sometimes in a socially disapproved one.
All these are symptoms of a deeper problem inferiority. And, as Dr. Peale has said so effectively, inferiority keeps us from our best. This is why God wants us to realize that we are children of the King.
How to Get Started
"So," you say, "how do I get started in shedding this unpleasant coat of inferiority?" There are two important steps, the first of which is to accept yourself.
Few of us are happy with ourselves. We feel we are either too fat or too skinny, too tall or too short, too boisterous or too quiet. We have an ideal self and a real self. Often the gap between the two selves is so wide that our life is a constant frustration of inferiority. So the first step is to accept ourselves as we are, remembering that God made us this way.
There is a Scripture in the Psalms that is always a source of comfort to me. The psalmist, in speaking of God's faithfulness said, "But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh . . ." (Ps. 73:38, 39). In other words God accepts us as we are. If He does, then we should also.
Dr. Charles L. Allen has written a beautiful exposition of the twenty-third Psalm in his excellent book, God's Psychiatry. In explaining the phrase, "He leadeth me beside the still waters," Dr. Allen states that sheep are instinctly afraid of running water. In fact, they will refuse to drink from running water, even though there is no other alternative. The shepherd, knowing and understanding this fear, leads them to the still waters to drink. If he cannot find still waters, he makes a dam with rocks and sticks to provide the sheep with a quiet pool of cool water. The author goes on to say that this is what God does for us. He understands our limitations and does not laugh at our weaknesses.
Perhaps we should sing the old song, "Just As I Am," with a new emphasis praying not only that He would accept us, but that we might accept ourselves. Inferiority dissipates when we realize we are God's handiwork. He has made us, and not we ourselves.
The second step to freeing ourselves of inferiority is to realize what God can do for us. In a certain novel published several years ago, a woman cried out in sudden sorrow, "I wish I had never been made!" Her friend answered, "My dear, you're not made yet; you're only being made, and this is part of the Maker's process." How true is this statement! We are not what we will be. God is now making us, and if we believe in Him the trend is always upward.
John tells us about the first meeting between Jesus and Peter. After the introduction, Jesus looked deep into the soul of Peter and said, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone" (John 1: 42).
Jesus was not too concerned about the weaknesses he saw in this tall, brash fisherman. He was only interested in what He could make of him as Peter trusted fully in Christ.
So here is an important key. Remember that although we are not what we want to be, Christ is not concerned so much about our shortcomings as He is about our complete devotion to Him. You are in the process of being made. We, like the old Negro saint, can surely say, "Maybe I ain't what I want to be. But, praise God, I ain't what I used to be and I ain't what I'm gonna be."
A prince does not belong in a pigpen and a child of God is out of place in the throes of inferiority. We should remember what Paul said to the Galatians: "You, my brother, are not a servant any longer; you are a son. And, if you are a son, then you are certainly an heir of God through Christ" (Gal. 4:7, Phillips).
On Salvation . . .
A Midwestern farmer, sleeping by an open window, was suddenly awakened on a sultry night by a bat that swooped in and bit him on the ear. The next day he laughingly told friends about the unusual incident. Three weeks later he was dead. The cause of death was recorded as rabies.
Not long before this, a Big Spring, Texas, woman stooped to pick up what she thought was a dead bat from the steps of the post office. The creature fluttered, sank its teeth into her forearm and then flew away. Twenty-five days later she was dead. The cause of her death was listed as hydrophobia.
The real tragedy of these incidents is that the victims need not have died at all. If they had realized their danger they could have been saved by an inoculation. Many years ago a bite from a rabid animal meant sure death. Today, however, the death rate has dropped to less than one-half of one percent. Only six people per year now die of hydrophobia, and these deaths generally occur because they refuse to be inoculated.
Developed by the famous scientist, Louis Pasteur, in 1884, the inoculation treatment includes cauterization of the bite wound with nitric acid, followed by three weeks of continual administration of successively stronger doses of preventive vaccine.
Until recently the Pasteur treatment was accompanied with some slight danger of paralytic reaction and severe pain. Today die inoculation has been so perfected that there is no danger and very little discomfort.
There are four stages of development in the spread of rabies through the human body. First there is the incubation period which lasts from three weeks to a year, with the average period being about six weeks. The only pain felt during this time is from the bite itself. Then comes the premonitory stage which is accompanied by anxiety, depression, and numbness around the wound. This period lasts about two days. Then comes the excitement stage. During this stage the victim is constantly in a state of terror, has extreme difficulty in swallowing and breathing. He is extremely thirsty but goes into convulsions when water is presented or mentioned. This stage lasts about four days and leads to the last which is the terminal or paralytic stage. This lasts only a few hours. The victim's spasms and convulsions stop, he becomes unconscious, and dies. When the premonitory stage of rabies is entered the disease is invariably fatal. Only during the incubation period can the dreaded germ be stopped by inoculation.
Sin is like die bite of the bat and the terrible disease of rabies. Most people know that they will be punished for their wickedness. If they steal, they will eventually be caught. If they lie, someone will eventually uncover the untruth. If they kill, the crime will be discovered. However, the most tragic thing is that often these people feel that the immediate punishment is all they will have to endure. They fail to realize there is a greater day of reckoning coming, and a second death.
When the farmer and the woman were bitten, both felt a sharp stab of pain. Too late they realized that the consequence was far more than just the small amount of pain suffered in the moment they were bitten.
It is normal for man to feel a sharp stab of conscience when he does wrong. Regardless of his hardened heart, there is still that haunting voice within that man cannot escape. If by chance he escapes detection by society, still he must live with himself. As John Milton wrote:
Me miserable! Which way shall I fly
Infinite wrath, and infinite despair?
Which way I fly is Hell; myself am Hell.
And yet, even this private punishment of conscience is not the finale. Milton goes on to say:
And in the lowest deep a lower deep
Still threat'ning to devour me opens wide,
To which the Hell I suffer seems a Heav'n.
The great English poet is merely echoing the warning which God's prophets declared long ago, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die!" Isaiah warned that Hell enlarged herself because men refused to acknowledge their evil and repent. He adds: ". . . and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled" (Isa. 5:14, 15). Indeed the sins of man will be punished. The seeds of sin are the seeds of death!
God's Word declares, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption . . ." (Gal. 6:7, 8). Man laughs about his sins, suffering only the pangs of conscience or the rebuke of society for the moment. He forgets that the lethal germs of judgment are already working in his soul. Unseen, these germs of the second death spread like rabies. Left unattended, man is sure to die.
All have been bitten by sin. The Bible says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). At birth the seeds of sin were planted, and they grow throughout life. It is sad indeed to see men who do not realize they are infected. Like the Texas woman and midwestern farmer, they are unaware of their terrible danger.
The picture, however, is not all dark, for God has provided an inoculation for the bite of sin. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Death from rabies is completely unnecessary. Vaccine is available. Doctors are more than willing to administer it. All the patient has to do is to accept it. So it is with salvation. God gave His Son and His Son gave His life that we might live. It is free to all. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:13). Salvation has already been paid for. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us . .." (Gal. 3:13).
A word of caution should be given. Just as in rabies there is a stage beyond which there is no salvation, so it is with sin. The Bible says, "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Cor. 6:2). Salvation is impossible after death. Therefore it is vitally important that we accept God's salvation now, before the final stage of sin's disease sets in.
And it is not difficult at all to accept His salvation. ". . . if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:9, 10).
On Marriage . . .
A young couple was recently married after having been introduced by an IBM computer. They are among many young people now engaged in the experiment of matchmaking by machine. An individual's physical characteristics, personality traits, background, and mental prowess are all fed into the computer. His card is then matched with another of similar traits. This is a very serious endeavor by psychologists who are trying to cut the staggering divorce rate. They feel proper matching is an answer.
While matchmaking by machine is an innovation, yet matching as opposed to selection is not new. In fact, one of the first cases of matchmaking was by Abraham, who chose his son's bride. In this beautiful Genesis story, the servant Eliezer was sent to Mesopotamia in search of a suitable bride for Isaac. Through the direction of God, Rebekah was found and brought back. The matching was perfect: "Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death" (Gen. 24:67).
Today's youth would certainly object to such matchmaking, wanting to retain the right of selection. However, before dismissing the account, two important truths should be considered. First, Abraham knew successful marriage is not only finding the right mate, but becoming the right mate. With America's overemphasis on rights of selection, often overlooked is the vital necessity of being the right mate. Abraham knew the marriage would succeed because he had built character into his son that would make him the right kind of husband. Therefore, Isaac did not have to court a thousand girls to find one who would cater to any petty whims and immature traits.
Staggered by the soaring divorce rate, (seven times that of 1870) psychologists and marriage counselors are willing to try almost anything. The IBM arrangement is one effort. Some even propose the old idea of "trial marriage," suggesting that a couple live together for a time to decide if they should go on to marriage. The Bible clearly rejects this "take-it-or-leave-it" arrangement. Such unions would not only bring psychological torture, but spiritual ruin.
To establish a successful marriage in the sordid seventies seems to be almost impossible. However, this is the task facing young people today and many are worried about it.
Marriage success means proper selection before marriage and proper behavior after. The Bible has much to say about both. If young people rely on God's Word, illuminated and understood through meditation and prayer, the perilous path of matrimony can be trod smoothly and without incident.
Selection of a mate for life can be an exacting and exasperating task. Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that those seeking see each other only at their best. Each is careful to be on his best behavior in the presence of the other. But the veneer is penetrated after marriage when the stresses of everyday living prove the humanness of each.
Even greater in magnitude than outward actions is that of inner makeup. The adolescent by nature is awkward, immature, and insecure. He has a tendency to select someone stronger than he or someone who is mature in areas where he is weak. Thus the old adage, "Opposites attract." However, this can be disastrous; as the youth matures, his need for such an individual lessens, and traits once attractive to him now irritate. The mate he would select at thirty-five might be completely different than the one he would select at eighteen. Who can predict the rate of maturity of each partner and how can one be sure one does not "outgrow" the other?
There is a system of selection more sure than IBM computer and much safer than "trial and error" dating. God's Word simply states: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (II Cor. 6:14). Immediately the field is narrowed to those of like precious faith.
It was not by accident that Paul used the five words he chose in these verses: fellowship, communion, concord, part, and agreement. These five ingredients must be present in marriage if true happiness is there.
Fellowship, as defined in the Amplified Bible is partnership. Paul asks pointedly, "What partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness?" Yet marriage counselors stipulate successful marriage means partnership. In partnership there must be one rule book and one set of values. How can this be if one takes God's Word as guiding principle while the other follows his own feelings or desires?
Communion, or communication, is vital for success. Most divorces stem from communication breakdown. Paul suggests communication is impossible when interests are so divided. One wishes to talk of God and His goodness, while the other chooses to completely ignore these issues, discussing only temporal things.
Concord is defined as harmony. Rightly, the apostle points out there will not be harmony in a home when the couple cannot agree on such a large issue as religion. Without harmony on this great issue there can be little agreement in smaller issues.
Part is what we have in common. The Christian has different values, goals, interests, and viewpoints than the non-Christian. Can two opposing forces be one? Yet marriage is a merging of two individuals into one unit. Impossible, Paul says, unless they agree on the meaning of life.
Agreement is thought of as a contract or pact. Indeed, what pact can be made between believers and unbelievers? The Christian is careful to keep the marriage pact, while the non-Christian does not feel as strongly about the marriage vows. To see the tragic truth of this, one need only look at unequally yoked couples.
Therefore, the first step is in selection to narrow the field to believers. Some go a step further and advise young people not even to date unbelievers. Others suggest it unwise to marry outside a particular religious denomination, although beliefs might be similar. Certainly, we cannot go wrong when we follow Paul's inspired commandment to not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
Yet, after narrowing the field to believers, there is still much to consider. Psychologists feel Paul's words, "Be ye not unequally yoked together," are wise in the natural realm also. They suggest young people marry within their own social and economic bracket, within their own race, and with people of similar interests and background. Marriage adjustments are great enough without having the greater barriers of race or social differences to overcome.
Having done all that the Scripture commands in selecting his mate, the wise young person will recognize, above all, that God's choice must come first. Isaac's story is one that thrills the youth's heart. To know that God is indeed concerned about one's mate for life is reassuring. The young person can rely on the God of Isaac to give spiritual direction.
This learning to trust God can be a deeply moving spiritual experience as the youth sees how God directs his life as miraculously as he did the lives of Isaac and Rebekah. Then when stress and strains of life wear, he can remember it was God who brought them together, and "what God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."
Proper selection is an important step, but is only a step. There also must be proper behavior after marriage.
Each must become the right kind of mate.
At the time of the wedding, excitement is running high. The flustered bride hardly hears the vows as read by the minister. The groom is so anxious to get the ceremony over, he assents to almost anything without understanding what he is saying. Consequently, few remember the vows they made on their wedding day. Many break marriage promises simply because they do not remember them.
However, far more effective than repeating or remembering wedding vows, is to know the perfect formula for marriage-survival given in the Bible. Peter outlines how to become the right kind of mate and have a very happy marriage (I Peter 3:1-9). He calls for individual response with both mates conforming.
A Word to Wives: Peter first admonishes wives to be in subjection to husbands, to recognize that God ordained men to be heads of households even as Christ is head of the Church. Men are spiritual leaders; they set the moral standards and guard the spiritual welfare.
Next comes a frequently misunderstood passage: "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."
The meaning here is not to neglect the outward appearance. Rather, it stresses the importance of the inner appearance.
Helps for Husbands: The Amplified Bible says: "In the same way you married men should live considerately with your wives, with an intelligent recognition of the marriage relation, honoring the woman as physically the weaker, but realizing that you are joint heirs of the grace of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered and cut off. Otherwise you cannot pray effectively."
Husbands are the protectors and providers even as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it. When a husband becomes other than what God has outlined, he cannot hope to pray effectively since his prayers will be blocked by his wrong attitudes and actions.
Pointers for Partners: Peter now states the responsibilities of both parties to make the marriage work. He briefly notes five attitudes and actions.
"Finally, be ye all of one mind." Common goals, purposes, principles are necessary for marriage success. The Christian marriage prayer should be, "Lord, draw us closer together, but most important, close to Thee." As we are drawn to Him, we become more alike.
"Having compassion one of another." In marital arguments, it is easy to concentrate on each other's faults rather than on the problem. However, sincere Christian compassion for each other will eliminate this temptation. All marital misunderstandings could be eliminated by compassion.
"Love as brethren." We are careful not to offend our brothers in Christ with unkind words or actions. But often it is easy to hurt the ones we love and be unkind to them. Peter talks of a dignity in marriage and in learning to treat each other just as kindly as we do our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
"Be pitiful." Understanding would be a good word here. To pity someone is to understand them. Understanding is one of the roses in the bouquet of marriage. Lack of it is a thorn. A rose beautifies, a thorn bruises.
"Be courteous." A Christian home is a courteous home. There is beauty in hearing "please," "thank you," or "excuse me." This raises the dignity of the family as well as the individual. Respect is bred through courtesy. This is what raises humans above animals and gives meaning to life.
"Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise blessing." The circle of revenge can only be broken as good is returned for evil and a soft-spoken word for yelling. The Christian couple who has learned this has overcome one of the greatest obstacles in marriage.
Simply stated, yet profoundly wise, these scriptural steps in selection and behavior can and will guide the Christian young person to a happy Christian marriage. Those who have lived by these rules have found a relationship that is indeed rich and meaningful. Those who have neglected even the smallest have found marriage to be great heartbreak. As in all sin, when we refuse to keep His commandments, we hurt ourselves. If we will but follow His commandments, we will have life more abundantly.
On Children . . .
It's easy for you to be a Christian," a young lady said to a friend, "because you are by nature unselfish."
This comment raises an important question: "Is it really easier for some people to become and remain Christians?" If so, why?
To be Christlike is to be unlike ourselves. Human nature fosters "getting" while Christ demands "giving." He talks of crosses to carry and races to run. He says we must lose our all if we would gain His all. This is why the rich young ruler turned sadly away. What Jesus asked seemed too much for him to give. He had not been conditioned to sacrifice.
Likewise, it will be harder for today's child who has not been taught proper values and the rewards of loving and giving to see the value of the Christian life. On the other hand, it will be easier for the disciplined child to accept Christ and build from that point.
This is not to imply that it is impossible for some to be saved. Jesus, commenting on the fact that the coddled rich would have a difficult time getting to heaven, added, "With God all things are possible." This is the real miracle of the new birth that a person can start afresh, whatever his training and environment, and begin building a Christlike life from that point. But for these it might be farther to Calvary than for others. To Peter, Christ merely said, "Follow me," while He had to knock Paul to the ground to get his attention and his heart.
In explaining the Parable of the Sower, Jesus said, "He that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that hear-eth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arise th because of the word, by and by he is offended" (Matt. 13:20, 21).
It is quite obvious that some do not continue in the Christian faith because the soil of their hearts is not adequately prepared to receive and nurture the seed. Nothing is wrong with the seed. It is the soil that has been neglected. Someone failed to prepare the soil.
Parents can do much to prepare the hearts of their children to receive and nurture the Gospel seed as it is sown in their lives. Discipline is one of the processes of removing the stones from the shallow soil so the child will respond favorably to the seed of the Gospel, and the soil will be deep enough that the child will have "root in himself."
Some are slow to understand God's love because they have never known a parent's love. Some find it difficult to ask forgiveness of God because they were never taught to say, "I'm sorry," to another person. Some cannot say No to the world because they have never been trained to stand for the right. Others are slow to give themselves freely to God because they have never learned to give to anyone else. They were always on the receiving end.
Of course, each of us must give account for his own sins, and each must have his own personal encounter with Christ. But it is obvious that parents can make that encounter more natural by consistent Christian training in word and deed. We must believe this if we believe the promise of Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
God's Word never tells us what to do without showing us how. It offers some definite helps in guiding our children to be all they can become by His grace.
Recently Reader's Digest carried an article on "Why Good Parents Have Problem Children." The various reasons given could be summed up as lack of communication and lack of discipline. In conclusion the writer, Ardis Whitman, said, "There seems to be no doubt whatsoever that parents who have the least trouble with their children take the task of discipline seriously."
A few years ago psychologists were warning against spanking children on the grounds that it was old-fashioned and would cause severe emotional problems for the children. However, today they are warning against overpermissiveness. To refuse to spank a child, they now say, is like letting a child wander aimlessly in traffic. They add that 85 percent of our criminals are now under twenty-five years of age and that this is largely due to a lack of discipline in the homes.
While the psychologists change philosophy from time to time, the Bible remains very clear on the matter. "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasten-eth him betimes" (Prov. 13:24). God encourages discipline that transcends the child's tears when He says, "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying" (Prov. 19:18).
Responsibility is taught through discipline: "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him" (Prov. 22:15). And again, "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame" (Prov. 29:15).
Discipline should be thought of as putting the child in control of himself. After spanking her disobedient five-year-old, a young mother said, "I can't believe that her being allowed to make everyone else miserable now is going to make her more lovable twenty years from now."
Dr. Walter Alvarez says, "Don't let your kids run your house. It's a mistake, and they will be worse for it later in life. Learn to put your foot down in key situations. A little discipline now will make them wiser and more competent adults." It will also prepare them for the discipline of the Christian life.
Along with discipline there must be love and communication. The story of Abraham and Isaac is a vivid example of this. The teen-aged Isaac, learning he was about to be sacrificed on an altar by his aged father, did not run away. Rather he submitted to his father. Apparently Abraham had been so successful in communicating his great faith to his son that the boy shared his trust even to the point of death.
What happened on Mount Moriah did not drive them apart; if anything, it drew them closer together.
Often we do not understand our children, and they do not understand us. There are various reasons for this. Perhaps we see in our child what we see and dislike in ourselves. Maybe we do not let them grow up, but insist that they remain children. Wc might expect them to learn from our lectures what it took years of experience for us to learn. Perhaps we do not admit our failures, and because of that they think of us as so perfect we would be extremely disappointed in an imperfect child. Maybe they resent us because we never say, "I'm sorry," even when we fail. They need to learn that parents are people too.
The father of the prodigal son could teach us something about humility and forgiveness and love. The wayward son had finally come home. Seeing him afar off the father ran to the boy who hesitated in humiliation and shame. Hot tears no doubt flowed down the boy's cheeks as he admitted his failure. There was no lecture from the father, no rebuke. He "fell on his neck and kissed him." What a wonderful father he was.
Contrast this with what a prominent judge recently, said: "Hundreds of juvenile offenders and their parents have come before me, and I have never seen one parent touch one of these youngsters, or put his arm around the lad's shoulder, or show affection in any way." Communication was gone.
Dr. Alvarez gives additional excellent advice when he says, "Give your youngsters the love and affection they need and deserve. . . . Make them feel they are equally loved and wanted."
So, through discipline, love, and communication, the Christian parent can do much to prepare the heart of his child to accept Christ. If we follow God's Word, we can cause our children to have roots in themselves. They can more naturally accept the discipline of the Christian pathway if we have given them proper training. They can communicate more freely with their Heavenly Father if they have shared the love of earthly parents. They can love more unselfishly if they have seen love in action in the home. Let us so train them up that the seed of the Gospel will find good soil in their hearts.
On Family Life . . .
Today social scientists and psychologists are standing beside preachers in declaring the tragedy that occurs because of the "little wars" within the home. We have been staggered in the past fifty years by the rising tide of social problems that have stemmed from these little wars. All agree that something must be done.
According to a recent report from Family Service, each year there are 786,000 divorces in America, 700,000 tried cases of juvenile delinquency, 201,700 illegitimate babies born, an estimated 1,000,000 separations and 100,000 desertions.
These figures become even more frightening when we realize that the delinquency rate has tripled since 1940, the current divorce rate is seven times that of 1860 and the illegitimacy rate has tripled since 1938. In addition to this, a late report indicates that 20 percent of all brides today are either pregnant when they are married or think they are. Last year one out of every 3.8 marriages ended in divorce, and there is an indication this record will be broken before long.
After carefully analyzing these frightening statistics, psychologists say these problems are caused because of family breakdowns and tensions in our homes. They say these little wars are tearing away our morality and destroying those principles on which our nation was founded.
Although today's problem is severe, it is really not new. Historians generally agree that before the fall of any great nation or kingdom there was a breakdown of family life. This was true of Rome, Babylon, and even some modern kingdoms. Sometimes the breakdown in family life spills over into Christian ranks and even touches those who are otherwise righteous.
One of the saddest stories ever recorded is found in the nineteenth chapter of Genesis. Here was a society similar to ours where delinquency, perversion, and moral corruption were common. God, fed up with this corruption, decided to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; but first He warned the relatives of righteous Abraham of the impending doom. Lot, his wife, and his family were told to leave the city immediately and not to look back. They began to run, but suddenly Lot's wife looked back and lost her life.
Many sermons have been preached on why Lot's wife looked back. Most of them indicate she could not leave her possessions behind or she was hesitant about leaving the exciting society of the city. These explanations are substantiated by the words of Christ, recorded in Luke's Gospel, when He warned us not to let our possessions possess us. He ended His admonition by saying, "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32).
However, there is perhaps another reason why Lot's wife looked back toward the city. The Bible indicates Lot had more than two daughters. Notice verse 8. "Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man. . . ." Then in verse 14 we read, "And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy the city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law." By comparing the two verses, we note that Lot had at least two more daughters who were married.
Therefore, the most important reason Lot's wife looked back toward the city was because some of her children were still in the burning inferno. Possibly she had small grandchildren who also perished, and her mother's heart was probably broken because she had lost her most precious possession the children God had given her. No wonder she looked back!
Just why Lot and his wife lost their daughters, we don't know. Perhaps they were so interested in making a living they had forgotten to take time for their children. Maybe they were so involved in the society of Sodom they failed to teach them the precepts of the one true God. Perhaps they neglected the family altar and failed to give spiritual direction so when the girls grew they had no real faith on which to build their lives. Whatever the reason or reasons, the end result was tragic and heartbreaking. Their children were lost!
In our society of secularism and materialism there is also a strong bid made by the enemy for our families. As revealed in frightening statistics, too many are being overcome by this bid and are losing their moorings. Family life is in severe danger, even among Christian families.
Most of us remember singing the civil war song "John Brown's Body." However, few of us know the tragic but true story of this man. John Brown was driven by a fanatical desire to free the slaves. While this was a worthwhile project, he went to insane ends to accomplish his purpose.
While he was on his mission and leading his wild campaigns in this great cause, his wife and thirteen children were back home in the mountains, starving. Nine of his thirteen children died of malnutrition and two more were killed in his wild raids.
In the famous Harper's Ferry raid, in which Brown was captured and hanged, he sent his son into enemy lines to try to "work out a deal" with the enemy. His son was wounded but was able to crawl back to his father. Although the boy was dying, it is said that even then John Brown had no sympathy for him but was angry because his son had not succeeded in cutting the line.
While it is true that most fathers would not be as heartless and ruthless as John Brown, yet many do neglect their children's spiritual welfare. Some fathers leave the spiritual training of the youngsters up to the wives. This is not only taking advantage of busy mothers but is actually in direct violation of God's Word. The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (6:4).
It always was and it still is the responsibility of the father to raise the children for God. Too often fathers are so busy working that they cannot take time for their children's spiritual welfare. This leads to tragic consequences. Without strong fathers, there cannot be strong families. And without strong families, there cannot be a strong America.
The late Peter Marshall recalls in one of his sermons an old legend about a European town. The city council was trying to overcome a financial crisis. In order to do this it was necessary to cut the city payroll. The city fathers decided they would find the least important job in the city and do away with it. After much searching it was discovered the city for years had been paying a hermit in the hills to keep the sticks and stones out of the spring that fed the town's water supply. The council decided this job could be eliminated. So they fired the little hermit.
After a few weeks a strange sickness invaded the town. Many were dying, and doctors from all over the country were being called. After diagnosis, the council was told the disease had come from the water they had been drinking. No one was in the mountains to keep the spring clean, and disaster followed. Of course, the city council sought out the hermit and put him back on the payroll. They had learned that the seemingly least important job was in reality the most important.
Motherhood is like this. Mothers are to keep the small sticks and stones of corruption out of the lives of their offspring. When this job is neglected, history has proved, the stream of civilization is corrupted and men die in their own evil. Their job may seem unimportant, but it is the most important thing in the world.
Mothers make love come alive. They help children understand love, and when we understand love, we can understand Christ's love for us. Mothers are for scratched knees and hearts. They are for bruised fingers and bruised feelings.
Peter, inspired of God, wrote of pure motherhood when he said, "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price" (I Peter 3:3). What Peter was saying was that mothers are to be selfless rather than selfish, more interested in their families than in themselves.
What a message for the day in which we live, when mothers tend to leave home to find work outside the home. Sometimes this is necessary, but according to God's Word, the first responsibility is to those He has given us. It is still true that nations begin to backslide through their mothers.
Every family needs a father and a mother. And every family needs laughter.
Being a minister means dealing with very serious problems. Most of the calls that come to our home are those of need and echo some of the sadness mankind suffers. The other day my wife and I began to reevaluate our home and decided laughter was too infrequent. While we must deal carefully with the problems that come to us, still we cannot let them worry us until our home becomes depressing for our children. Proverbs says, "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance" (15:13). And again, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine" (17:22). Recently some doctors have issued reports which indicate that much of today's illnesses could be eliminated if we learned to laugh in our homes. Some of these physicians state that from 50 to 75 percent of all illnesses are caused by tension because people have not learned to cope with their problems. These doctors encourage laughter around the table to help digestion, a pleasant atmosphere to induce sleep, and a sense of humor to relieve tension.
A house full of laughter and good Christian fun is a home that will attract others who are not so privileged. This is a tremendous witness for the wonderful Savior we serve. Learn to laugh, and you learn to live.
Every family also needs love.
Both Paul and Peter thought this subject of love in the home was of sufficient importance to devote the majority of two whole chapters of their books to it. Note these words of Peter, "Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing . . ." (I Peter 3:8, 9).
In this exhortation there is one phrase that stands out: "Love as brethren." This means we should have the same respect for those in our family as we do for our Christian brothers and sisters. We are not nearly so quick to accuse them, snap back angrily, or take advantage of their affection. Therefore, Peter states, we are to treat our mates and members of our family with the same respect.
There is another phrase here we should consider: "That our prayers be not hindered" (I Peter 3:7). It is possible that if we do not love in the home and exercise Christian attitudes, our prayers will be hindered.
The "little war" in Korea took as many lives as did Hiroshima. In like manner, the little wars in our homes kill our families and threaten our society. It may be that making our family a family of love, strong in Christian principle, will not do a great deal to change the entire world. But it will enable us to take all of our children from this burning society of Sodom when the Lord comes for His own.
Here is a wonderful way to heal our ulcers and get rid of our aspirins: eliminate the "little wars." A happy family is a healthy family; and a spiritually healthy family is spiritually wealthy!
On Hearing . . .
After a particularly good gospel service an excited boy ran home to tell his parents about the sermon that had so impressed him. He opened the conversation by saying, "Dad, the pastor preached a terrific sermon this morning. You ought to have heard it."
To this the interested father replied, "Oh, really? What did he preach about?"
"I don't know," responded the boy enthusiastically, "but it sure was good!"
A similar incident probably has occurred in the experience of many families and most preachers. It points out a real problem the difficulty of remembering what is preached. An impromptu survey will reveal that most people have difficulty in remembering what was preached last week or even yesterday, even though some of these people are the most dedicated Christians.
Because of this problem some have gone so far as to suggest that preaching is a waste of time and should be eliminated from our worship periods. But Paul reminded the Corinthian church that "it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (I Cor. 1:21). And again he wrote to Titus that God "hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour" (1:3).
In defense of preaching it should also be said that Christianity is made up of principles rather than rules, attitudes rather than platitudes, character rather than endless genealogies. Therefore, preaching must take on this form. A preacher, anointed of God, must try to portray an attitude rather than to set down strict observances. It is not nearly as important to remember all the beautiful phrases about love as it is to actually love. It is more vital to possess the Holy Spirit than just to repeat high sounding words about Him. So if a preacher's sermon results in these attitudes, principles, and character, his sermon is successful even if every word is not remembered.
However, there is still a great need for some system to help people remember sermons so that their lives may be directed by the words sent from God. Sermons are instructive, and they expound God's great Word.
It is interesting to note that three of the four gospels were written about thirty years following the ascension of Christ, and the fourth about sixty years after this event. But each of the gospels quotes the sermons of Christ with amazing accuracy. Only two of the writers, Matthew and John, actually heard these sermons from the lips of our Lord; Luke gained his information from Paul and the apostles, and Mark from Peter. Yet the sermons are the same, and there is very little data available that would indicate they had access to each other's writings.
It is safe to assume, therefore, that these men, each of whom wrote from a different location, remembered well the words of our Lord so they could pass them on to us. Of course, the Holy Spirit recalled to their memory what Christ had said; but still they had to use their human faculties to give us these glorious Gospels. If these men had not remembered the deep, moving sermons of the Master, Christianity today would be much poorer.
By the same token, we should remember that which is preached today by anointed men of God. The question remains, "How?"
One of the most effective ways to remember what is said is to take notes. Most preachers feel grateful to see those in their audience who are so spiritually hungry that they take the trouble to write down what is said. While we have no record to indicate that the disciples took notes of what Jesus said, there is much to indicate they must have. Evidently the enemies of our Lord took notes also, because they were to accuse Him before Pilate with the words of His sermons.
In taking notes for future reference, perhaps you will want to include the preacher's name, the date and place of the sermon, the occasion and most certainly the subject. The Scripture references are most important, for all true preaching centers around the Word of God.
Preachers have many different styles of preaching. Some follow a strict outline, while others ramble. Some may even read parts of their sermons, while others feel it bad even to have notes. All of these styles have their place, and none should be criticized or considered less spiritual than another. While it is easier to take notes from those preachers who follow a strict outline, you can learn to take notes from any style of preaching. Your form of notes will depend on the type of preaching you are hearing. If there is a definite outline, short sentences or mere words will help you follow the stream of thought. If the preacher does not follow an outline, then full sentences and direct quotations will be necessary. The important thing to remember is to take notes in the most convenient way you can.
With the sermon still fresh in your mind, it would be well to discuss its virtues with your family. Actually, it is better if the note taking is a family project and all notes are compared after each service. This gives good opportunity for spiritual direction and development. The notes would also be excellent to use in family devotional periods.
Then the notes can be filed for future reference. Such a file will provide a tremendous wealth of spiritual help for hours of discouragement or need.
James, the very practical preacher of old, wrote to members of the early church about this very problem of remembering sermons. His advice, as recorded in the Phillips translation, is: "Don't, I beg you, only hear the message, but put it into practice. . . . The man who simply hears and does nothing about it is like a man catching the reflection of his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, it is true, but he goes on with whatever he is doing without the slightest recollection of what sort of person he saw in the mirror. But the man who looks into the perfect mirror of God's Law, the Law of liberty, and makes a habit of so doing, is not the man who sees and forgets. He puts the Law into practice and he wins true happiness" (1:22-25).
Regardless of the sermon subject, it would be well for us to examine ourselves and apply that sermon to our hearts. Even sermons to the unconverted can be considered with profit by Christians and can be used by God to stir up that precious gift within us. The very best way to remember a sermon is to live it!
Those who are spiritually hungry, God has promised to feed. But they must first come to the table. If we make a determined effort to remember the Word of God as it is spoken and to apply it to our hearts, God will certainly bless our efforts. May we cry out with the hymn writer of long ago:
Break Thou the Bread of Life,
Dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves
Beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page
I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee,
O living Word!
On Reacting . . .
During the last turbulent months of President Andrew Johnson's administration a bitter feud erupted between General Ulysses S. Grant and himself. The final blow came when Johnson's party rejected him at their political convention in favor of Grant. Grant, of course, was elected president by a large popular majority. Johnson was so embittered that he refused to ride in the carriage with Grant to the inauguration and did not even attend the ceremonies. This action was looked upon by the American people as childish and certainly not that which should befit a United States president.
Circumstances, tensions, frustrations can press in on one's life until he is tempted to act out of character. This is also true of the Christian and in that moment he can act and react wrongly.
We all have days when things just don't seem to go right. Even Christians aren't free from the tensions of life that tear at the nerves and cause us sometimes to act out of character with our convictions. Christ never promised freedom from tensions but inner peace in tension.
A good step toward accepting life is to realize that tension is a part of life. It should be remembered that it takes tension to run a watch. However, Christ did say, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Isaiah said, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee" (Isa. 26:3). There is a peace in the time of tension.
The ocean at a certain depth remains calm although the summer storms of the sea churn the surface waters and the springs in die ocean floor gush forth with fury. Similarly there is a place in God where there is a calmness of spirit although everything about us is tense and trying. The question is, "How can I attain that state?"
Affect Rather than Reflect
Many reflect their environment. When it is tense, so are they. When the environment is relaxed, they feel this relaxation. Christ spoke about Christians as salt of me earth, lights in dark places, and cities on hills that cannot be hid. In other words, Christ desires His followers to affect the environment rather than reflect it.
Joseph was a master of affecting his environment. Although sold into slavery he became a high ruler in a faraway country. Even in a depressing dark prison he did not wince, but so adjusted to his environment and so affected it that he was lifted to the loft of leadership.
When Joseph's father was about to die, he blessed all of his sons and said of him, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall" (Gen. 49:22). He affected his environment instead of reflecting it.
This has been true of all who have contributed to the world. Florence Nightingale refused to reflect the despair of her environment; because she did, we have the Red Cross. Madame Curie did not fold her arms and quit because experiments failed and her husband died. She went on to give the world radium, one of die great blessings.
Napoleon struck at the heart of the matter when he said, "Circumstances? I make circumstances." This was not the raving of a maniac but the philosophy of a man who knew he could affect his environment. So can we!
When this truth dawns on us that we are thermostats rather than thermometers life takes on a new challenge. Tensions take their proper place, and we have the power to resolve our frustrations. Paul said it so very forcefully, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13). We can too, because Christ lives in us.
Instant Access
Tensions have a way of piling up on each other until they become a crushing load. Often people come into my office to talk about something bothering them. Sometimes they do not even know what it is. But after prayer and talking we uncover problems that have become buried under other problems. A problem of frustration unsolved is not forgotten, even though it might be pushed into the subconscious by a more weighty problem. But one day the load becomes too much and the person breaks. Perhaps this is why the psychologists insist on talking about one's childhood and other things that may seem insignificant.
How much better we would feel if we could learn the secret of instant access to God. At the point of frustration we take it to Him and let Him give us the wisdom to cope with that which bothers us.
On Judgment . . .
Nothing man accomplishes surprises God or should surprise the child of God. While man punctures the thin atmosphere of earth's surface and places a man on the moon, the Christian's mind is drawn back to an ancient prophecy, given long before people ever heard the word astronaut.
Almost six hundred years before Christ, Obadiah said, "Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord." (v. 4)
Hebrew legend had it that the eagle could fly to the sun. People saw the giant birds rise from the earth and fly so high they became just a speck in the heavens. Finally they would disappear from sight, so the primitive people assumed they had their nests among the stars.
Reading Obadiah's prophecy today we are suddenly struck with new meaning. Is it possible that God could look down through the centuries and see the age in which we live? Certainly we believe this. Could it also be possible He had a little-known prophet record this in the Holy Word some twenty-five hundred years preceding the event?
Whether or not the reader is willing to accept this as prophecy concerning this day, there is a great similarity between the words of Obadiah and the age in which we live. We have placed our nests among the stars. The latest count indicates that Russia and the United States have 682 objects orbiting the earth like "nests among the stars."
Add to Obadiah's words what the prophet Amos said, "Though they dig into hell, thence shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down" (Amos 9:2). Could Jesus have been talking about the possibility of interplanetary travel when He said of the end time, "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:31)? How would it be possible to gather them from over the heavens unless they had some way of getting there?
All of this, of course, is just speculation and is not presented to convince the reader the Bible foretells space travel. It is merely presented to draw attention to Obadiah's prophecy and the fact that his message is for us today. His prophecy is rich in meaning and warning and in this age of the missile and the spaceship it would be well to reconsider what Obadiah says to Edom.
Little is known about Obadiah. We do know he appeared out of Israel and preached one message to the Edomites, bitter enemies of the children of Israel.
The Edomites were descendants of Esau and the bitterness between him and his brother Jacob continued throughout the generations that followed. These pagan people constantly har-rassed Israel, raiding their camps, carrying away captives, murdering their young men. The Edomites had settled near Israel on the rocky ridge of the land overlooking well-watered and rich plains. After their raids they would retreat to the security of the mountains and the Israelites dared not follow.
Their opposition to Israel began early; Moses had trouble with them when he requested leave to take the Israelites through their land on the way to Canaan. Edom said No and the people had to go around. The feuds continued when, under Ahaz, Judah became involved in a war with Rezin of Damascus. Edom took advantage of the situation and seized Elath, thus cutting off Judah's sea trade. Because of this Judah was defeated. Edom then carried more away as slaves.
Finally in 586 B.C. Babylon marched on Jerusalem and subdued the children of Israel. The Holy City was burned, men murdered, women molested, and children starved. Those who were left were carried captive to Babylon. A few managed to escape, making their way back to Jerusalem through Edom. But the evil Edomites caught the escapees and turned them over to the Babylonians. At this time Obadiah preached his scorching sermon against Edom.
His preaching was greeted with scorn by Edom. They laughed at him and boasted that nothing could happen to them because they were too well fortified. After all, they reminded the daring preacher, look where they lived. No one had ever penetrated their stronghold in the mountains. They were impregnable!
To this Obadiah retorted, "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwelleth in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?" (v. 3). Then the anointed preacher went on to say that even if they were able to build their homes among the stars God would bring them down because of their wickedness. And great would be that fall. Obadiah added that if thieves would come to their land they would take only what they wanted. Or, if grapegatherers would raid them, they would take only the best. However, when God's judgment came, everything would be gone and they would be as if they had never been.
The Edomites laughed saying, "Even if we are not impregnable, yet no one would dare touch us because of our friends." They had made friends with the largest and most powerful empire in the world, the Babylonians. With friends such as these it was absurd to listen to the words of this foreign preacher.
Obadiah's answer was straightforward, "All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him" (v. 7).
They still mocked. Even if their stronghold was not enough, or their friends, they still had their wise men. They boasted the wisest men in the world. Their military might was second to none and if anybody could be secure in their wisdom they could. Why listen to this preacher any longer?
The man of God answered, "Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by the slaughter" (v. 8, 9).
Of course the Edomites refused to believe the message and did not repent of their evil. History reveals the tragic result of their arrogance. Just four short years later Babylon, the same Babylon that Edom had aided, turned against the Edomites and raided their land. They killed and plundered, robbed and burned. The slaughter was one of the worst ever recorded. Those who were left were made servants of the Nabathaeans.
For four centuries they continued under this bondage; then in 126 B.C. the land was again raided, this time by John Hyrcanus, one of the Maccabean rulers.
The bitterest part of this capture for the Edomites was that they were forced to worship the God of Israel and give of their goods to this cause. When Palestine was captured in 63 B.C. by the Romans, the Herods, an Edomite family, were placed in control of Judah. This, however, was to be the last of the Edomites. With the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 they disappear from history completely. Obadiah's prophecy had indeed come true.
God's Word is eternal and the same message Obadiah gave to Edom is to be declared to those who continually rebel against God. Judgment will fall on those who hate God and refuse to accept His Son as their Saviour. The apostle Paul says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption . . ." (Gal. 6:7, 8).
There may be those who, like Edom, feel secure in their position. They point with pride at that which they have gained and claim that nothing could happen to them. One such man remarked several years ago that he did not need God because he had fortified himself. His spiritual advisor suggested this attitude was dangerous and the man laughed. Today, he is a broken man, penniless, just released from prison after serving a long term for his greed. He found, too late, there is no security in things we possess.
Jesus makes this point in the parable of the rich farmer recorded in Luke 12:16-21. This man had worked hard and accumulated great wealth. He then said to his soul, "Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." To this God replies, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." No one can feel secure in that which he possesses or the position he holds if he neglects God and fails to accept His Son. There is security only in the eternal Rock of Ages, Christ our Redeemer.
Even those whom we love and who love us cannot keep us from God's wrath if we continue to reject Him. Even the most popular must die alone, face God alone, and be judged alone. We are not judged in groups, but individually, and we each must give an account for his own sins. There will be no earthly friend there to plead our case. There is only one Friend acceptable to god and that is Christ, who sticketh closer than a brother. Unless we take Him as our Saviour we stand alone and naked before God.
Edom found out too late that friends don't count in God's judgment. But the truly wise man will turn from his wicked ways and serve God.
Some rely on their own wisdom to get them by. Some rely on science. One woman, when asked about death, replied, "I don't think about it because I figure that by the time I get old enough to die, scientists will have done something about it."
Wisdom passes and soon is gone. Our own cleverness or the cleverness of others will not stay God's judgment. God still says, "The soul that sinneth, it will die" (Ezek. 18:4).
Obadiah's mournful message is still true. Sin will be punished. Some ask why does this punishment seem so long in coming to those who are wicked? The psalmist asked, "Why do the heathen rage?" Millions of others ask, "Why do the wicked prosper?"
Often we forget the mercy of a great God. He postpones judgment until man has had every opportuntiy to repent. However, the fact that judgment is delayed does not mean it is dismissed. It may be slow in coming, but come it will.
Probably the reason God's judgment is so slow in coming is because when it comes it affects many. God said, "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me . . ." (Exod. 20:5). With this in mind, no wonder God delays His judgment so long.
Lest this message of Obadiah seem completely negative, we should remember that God sent His Son into the world that we might escape the judgment that came to Edom. Christ came, lived, died, and was raised again that we might have life without judgment and joy without death. Judgment is reserved only for those who reject Christ. Those who accept Him are turned from punishment to peace.
And how does one accept Him? ". . . if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9).
So in this age of guided missiles and misguided men it would be well to consider Obadiah's burning message and turn again to God who is joy and peace. Those who do this can sing like those of old:
When at the judgment bar, I stand before my King
And He the book will open, He cannot find a thing;
Then will my heart be glad. While tears of joy will flow
Because I had it settled, And settled long ago.
On Eternal Life . . .
Perhaps no other religious holiday has so many myths connected with it as does Easter, the day Christians consider the time to honor the risen Lord. Many of the legends originated long before the time of Jesus and the Resurrection.
For instance, historians say that Persians believed the earth had hatched from a huge egg. The egg, then, became the symbol of new life brought by the spring. They started coloring eggs to represent the sunshine of the season and would exchange them with friends as tokens of love and appreciation. Scholars say that after the crucifixion of Jesus early Christians dyed the eggs red to symbolize the blood of Christ.
The origin of the name Easter is lost in the dim past. Some say it is derived from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated Eastre monath, corresponding to April. Traditions of this festival survive in the form of the Easter bunny, as rabbits have, since ancient times, been symbols of birth and new life. People believed the rabbits brought the eggs and hid them for children to find.
The date of Easter had been argued for many years until a church council held in 325 settled the issue. In Asia Minor the people had observed Easter with the Lord's Supper on the evening of the 14th of the Jewish month of Nisan, which was Passover, regardless of the day of the week. Romans, however, preferred to observe Easter on a Sunday. So it was finally decided that the holiday would be the first Sunday after the first full moon following March 21. It could never come before March 22 or later than April 25. It is interesting to note that even as late as 1928 the question of the date of Easter was discussed before the League of Nations.
Probably the most popular and universal symbol of Easter is the Cross. Most ancient people considered this a religious object, but during the time of Christ it represented the most cruel and shameful death.
According to legend the dogwood tree was the size of the great oak and because of its size and strength was chosen as timber for the cross of Christ. The tree was brokenhearted and wept. Jesus forgave the tree, the story goes, and promised it would never again grow tall and strong and thus would never be subjected to such shame again.
The Easter lily has long been associated with this holy season. The legend of the lily is told in this very old poem:
When Christ arose on Easter morn, in glory and in grace,
He walked within the garden, making it a holy place.
For everywhere the Saviour walked, a pure white lily grew,
And shed its fragrance on the air, to scent the morning dew.
And still the Easter lilies grow, and blossom on the way,
As they flowered in Christ's steps, on that first glad Easter day.
Chuch bells have also been associated with Easter, as has the lighting of candles. One European legend has it that the bells fly to Rome during Lent, refusing to ring from Good Friday until Easter. Then, on their way back they drop colored eggs for children to find.
Candlelighting goes back to the third "century. A church father declared that on the night of the Resurrection none should sleep and all should have a light as a reminder that Christ had died and now was risen, bringing light into the darkness of sin and the grave. The large paschal candle used in Roman Catholic services represents Christ risen from the dead as the Light of the world. It is blessed and studded with five grains of incense, symbolizing the wounds He suffered on the Cross.
There are many legends of Easter; however, there is just one eternal truth we should remember about this season. Christ, the Son of God, died, was buried, and rose again as the Scriptures said He would do. This is not legend. This is truth. Ewald said, "Nothing is more historically certain than that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His followers." Add to this the words of Edersheim, "The resurrection of Jesus may unhesitantly be pronounced the best established fact in history."
There are those who would like to water down the truth and tell us the Resurrection was merely a myth, that it cannot be taken literally but was just a symbol of a new religious life. To this the Bible scholar replies that the Resurrection was the pivotal point of Peter's Pentecostal sermon and his defense before the council, that it was the burden of the apostles' preaching and the heart of Paul's message, and that it is the theme of the New Testament.
Is the Resurrection a legend or a fact? If it is a legend, what became of the body of Jesus? If an enemy had stolen it he would have certainly produced it to discredit the disciples' story. If the followers of Jesus had taken it they would not have become martyrs for such a lie.
Was this merely a hallucination? Did the followers just think they saw Jesus raised from the dead? Hardly! Holy writing records that He appeared to them at least ten times, not only to one or two but to seven, ten, eleven and finally five hundred. Five hundred people in a crowd could not possibly have the same dream at the same time. They would not all be fooled. And these were still alive when the early Church began and the apostles preached so boldly the resurrection of our Lord.
Could the records have been tampered with? No, because historical sources outside God's Word tell about a sect known as Christians coming into existence about the time of Tiberius, a sect which preached that their Christ had risen from the dead.
After considering all of the information available about the Resurrection, we have to agree with De Wette who said, "Although a mystery which cannot be dissipated rests on the manner of the Resurrection, the fact of the Resurrection can no more be brought into doubt by honest historic evidence than the assassination of Caesar." As John A. Broadus said, "If we do not know that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead, we do not know anything historically whatsoever."
Another significant argument for the fact of the Resurrection is that the disciples were not expecting it. It is true that Jesus had told them He would die and be raised again; however, they believed this to be just one of His parables with some deep spiritual explanation. They did not really believe it would occur.
John, alone, believed at the sight of the empty tomb (John 20:8). Mary Magdalene had only one thought: someone had removed the body (John 20:13). When the women told the disciples He was risen they considered this "idle talk" (Luke 24:11). When the two on the road to Emmaus told them of seeing the risen Lord, "neither believed they them" (Mark 16: 14). Peter, the leader of the group, told them that Jesus had appeared to him, but still they would not believe. Finally Jesus appeared to them and upbraided them for their hardhearted unwillingness to believe that He was raised from the dead (Mark 16:14).
Because of their attitude toward reports of His resurrection it is easy to see they were not expecting it; therefore, it could not have been some evil and clever scheme to delude people. Neither were their emotions playing tricks on them. Jesus had indeed risen, and when they saw Him their lives were transformed to such an extent that all but one of them would give his life as a martyr, rather than denounce Christ.
Add to these arguments the greatest assurance of all, that of personal experience. Like the song writer, we too can sing from a certain heart:
I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He's always near.
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
Legends come and go. Traditions are often transitory. But truth is eternal. And the eternal truth is that Christ is alive. What does this mean to believers? John summed it up very well when he quoted Jesus: "Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19).
On Prejudice . . .
Haman died on that dark day when his diabolical plot against the Jews was exposed to an angry king. But his spirit didn't die!
Haman typified hate, raw and ugly! The same spirit motivated the mad paperhanger of Germany who perpetrated the mass murder of millions of Jews. It lives in the Communist anarchists; it causes religious bigots to persecute missionaries, burn Bibles, and kill preachers of faiths different than their own. It incites the racist to ugly words and dark deeds. The Haman spirit is not dead!
Hatred is subtle and is not confined to larger issues. Individuals can and do hate without being Communists, racists, or anti-Semitic.
The bulk of the Book of First John is devoted to warnings against personal hatred. Dislike, personality clashes, and an "I-can't-stand-him" attitude are all preludes to hatred in our interpersonal relationships. Hatred of those with whom we live, work, or associate is just as self-destructive as that directed toward a larger segment of society.
Hatred always harms the hater more than the hated. Hainan's story illustrates this.
Hatred Prejudiced Haman against a Race
Haman first became angry with Mordecai because that man of low social standing would not bow down to him. His hatred grew until it poisoned him against the whole Jewish race. "And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had showed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews ..." (Esther 3:6).
Are we, like Haman, guilty of judging a whole race by a few individuals?
While on earth Jesus showed His scorn for the narrowness of prejudice by associating with the detested Samaritans. He even told a story about a Samaritan who possessed more love for his fellowman than did a Jewish priest and a Levite (Luke 10:30-37).
Hatred Caused Haman to Plot Murder
Hatred, uncontrolled, purposes to destroy its object. Hainan's example is classic. He first lied to the king about the Jewish people, representing them as contentious and disobedient. He recommended mass extermination and pointed out that the spoils would add substantially to the king's coffers. The weak king yielded to this counsel and ordered a massacre.
The Haman-spirit is still destructive, though it often kills with the tongue rather than with the sword. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21).
Hatred distorts our thinking. It bares the ugliness of human nature and drives men to unnatural cruelty. It is in direct contradiction of Jesus' command, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). The Christian way to destroy our enemies is to make them our friends.
Hatred Spoiled Hainan's Success
Haman was second in command in the land and was exalted above all the other princes, about 126 of them. He should have been happy. The king and his lovely wife had invited him to dinner, an honor indeed. But hatred spoiled the occasion for him. "Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai" (Esther 5:9).
When he arrived home, he told his wife about his success and then said, "Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate" (Esther 5:13).
Booker T. Washington once wisely said, "I will not let any man reduce my soul to the level of hatred." Many lovely things in life are spoiled when hatred fills the heart. Recently in a large restaurant a man became incensed because there was not enough meat on his sandwich. He complained loudly and with strong language to the manager, waving his arms in anger. The manager obligingly brought him another sandwich, but the man could not eat it. His outburst had so upset him that he was ill.
Hatred Made Haman Mourn
So bitter was Haman's hatred, the Scripture says, that it actually made him emotionally sick and probably physically ill, too, "But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered" (Esther 6:12).
Many have taken lightly Jesus' command to love our enemies. But today the psychiatrist and the preacher concur in giving this advice to the emotionally ill. Medical doctors have discovered that a great many severe diseases come because people harbor hatred and refuse to love.
In his book, None of These Diseases, S. I. McMillen points out that toxic goiters, high blood pressure, ulcers, and heart ailments are a few of the diseases which can be caused by hatred. One pays a high cost indeed to "get even." Dr. McMillen cautions that either we learn to love or we perish.
Famous physiologist Dr. John Hunter knew what anger and hatred could do to his own heart. He said, "The first scoundrel that gets me angry will kill me." Later, at a medical meeting a speaker said something with which he disagreed. He stood up and bitterly attacked the speaker's position. As his anger grew, he became ill and fell over, dead.
Hatred Destroyed Hainan
Haman was hanged on the gallows he prepared for the one he hated. Hate had destroyed him. It always destroys its victims.
David said, "He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate" (Ps. 7:15, 16).
Many have been hanged on the gallows of hate. A fine Christian lady was deeply offended by a friend. Rather than forgive that friend, she built a wall about that ill feeling and watered it with self-pity until hatred took root in her heart. Today that lady is spiritually dead, a physical wreck, rejected even by her own family. She has killed a fruitful life on the gallows of hatred.
Take the Initiative against Hatred
Kill hate in your own heart and learn to love. Hatred is death, but love is life. Note that John said, "He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (I John 3:14), and again, "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (I John 4:16).
But love is a positive action. "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (I John 3:18). Take the initiative against hatred by starting to live with love toward others.
John D. Rockefeller learned this secret the hard way. He was a millionaire at 33. At 43 he was a billionaire, the world's wealthiest man. At 53 he was a physical wreck, given only a year to live. A stomach condition had reduced his diet to crackers and milk. He had hated and hurt, and in turn was hated by many over whom he had walked roughshod on his way to the top. He was hanged in effigy. He kept a bodyguard day and night to protect him from those who would have killed him.
During the long nights of pain, the wealthy man did some serious thinking. As a result he made a decision about his wealth, and more important, about his soul. He established the Rockefeller Foundation which has been such a blessing to mankind. He gave away millions to missions, universities, and hospitals, and financed important research projects which have improved the public health. The Foundation still helps mankind in many ways.
As a result of his conversion, Rockefeller's health returned and he started eating again. He did not die that year, but lived to be 98. Such is the power of love when it replaces hate.
Each man must kill the Haman in his own heart if he is to live abundantly. We can only do this if we will give ourselves to the One who is love, our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone can empower us to keep His commandment, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matt. 22:37-39).
On Fear . . .
Mocking Babylonian soldiers, drunk with victory, derided the captured people taunting them by chanting, "Sing us a song of Israel!" But the singing people of God had lost their song and their harps were hung on willows. They sat sobbing by the roaring river in Babylon saying, "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Ps. 137:4).
Israel had been taken captive because of their continued sin and rejection of God's message and messengers. The enemy had slipped in while they slept and that which they thought would never happen to them was now a stark reality. Homes were pillaged, fathers were murdered on home doorsteps, and children were torn from their mothers' arms. Now they were driven like cattle to the land of Babylon to become servants and slaves. There was indeed no singing in a strange land.
The people of God have always been singing people. Joy is characteristic of Christians and is part of our redeemed personality. However, sometimes the enemy of our soul can slip in and carry us into a strange land. And suddenly we become slaves to our own emotions and problems. There is no singing there. One imaginary land to which Satan would like to carry us is the land of fear.
Psychologists generally agree that four "demons" plague mankind: fear, guilt, inferiority feeling and hate. And, of these four the one which seems to plague man most is "fear."
Although we are born with only two fears fear of falling and fear of loud noises we add many more before we become adult. These range from fear of the dark to fear of death. There are myriad fears and sundry reasons for them. Some fear is good and is a built-in protection for our physical body. For example, the fear of snakes keeps us from becoming too familiar with those which are poisonous. Fear is bad only when it begins to twist our personality and cause us to "half live." When this occurs fear must be dealt with promptly and firmly or we will be captured by it and carried into a strange land a land where there is no singing. A very prominent actress once summed it up by asking, "What's the use of being outwardly successful if you are inwardly miserable?" When fear drives us to this point, it ceases to be a device for our safety and becomes rather a master that enslaves us.
Fear Keeps Us from our Best
Fear is folly when it keeps us from being our best. The Bible tells us about this.
Fear makes us long for the security of the past. When the Children of Israel were commanded by Pharaoh to leave Egypt they were extremely happy. Shortly, however, they found that all was not well. Mountains were on each side of them, the Red Sea in front of them, and now there was a rumor spreading like wild fire through the camp that the enemy army was hot on their trail. In this moment of fear the Bible tells how they murmured among themselves and longed for the land of Egypt.
Fear had erased from their minds the hardships they had faced as slaves of a pagan people. They soon forgot the privations they had to suffer and the almost unbearable beatings they received at the hands of their captors. They also forgot how God had delivered them and that even now He could help them. Rather, they would gladly exchange all their gains for the losses of Egypt.
Moses, being the wise leader he was, refused to listen to their complaining and looked up, instead of back. God divided the seas and gave the fearful people a victory that would go down in history as one of the great miracles of all time.
God, like Moses, wants us to go forward. Sometimes we come up against the sea of doubt, sickness, or even death. In those moments we long to look back and desire the security of the past. Then it is that we need to remember that the path to God is always in front of us and God will divide the sea before us if we but rely on Him. The circumstance before you is but an opportunity for God to reveal His great power in your life. This is what Jesus meant when He said, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62).
Fear makes us victims of our problems. Peter walked successfully on the water until he began to think of his weakness rather than of God's strength. Without hesitation he stepped over the side of the boat and began boldly to walk toward Jesus. But somewhere between where he started and where he was going his attention shifted to the wind and the waves and he sank.
Fear often does this to us. We begin to concentrate on our problems, and the more we think of them the larger they become. It is like a toodiache the more we think of the ache the more it hurts.
Many people ask me how they can conquer unpleasant habits. They tell me they pray and pray about it but nothing seems to happen. Almost always I advise them to stop praying about the habit and start thinking about God's power. Some of the greatest prayers ever prayed were exaltations of God rather than petitions about problems. Examples of this kind of prayer are found in Psalm 46 and Psalm 48. These prayers concentrate the attention on God's greatness, faithfulness, and love; not on the weakness, problems, and sorrows of the psalmist.
How often we pray about some problem, bringing it again and again to the altar, acting as though God did not hear. God wishes us simply to believe Him and accept His healing; to quit thinking about our problems and think about His strength. Paul was pleading with the people to do this when he said, "Whatsoever things are true . . . honest . . . just . . . pure . . . lovely ... of good report; if there be any virtue . . . any praise, think on these things" (Phil. 4:8).
Fear causes us to bury our talents. One of the saddest verses in the Bible is recorded in Matthew 25:25. The slothful servant is making excuse to his master saying, "And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth."
Often I have wondered how many beautiful songs have never been sung because the composer was afraid to share it with the world, perhaps afraid of rejection, criticism, or afraid someone would laugh at his effort. The same applies to books and poems. God gives each a talent, but fear can keep us from using it. God has given each the gift of a talent, but it is up to the individual to cultivate what God has given. What a great loss if Brahms had been afraid to use his genius, or Edison his talent. How much poorer we would have been if fear or rejection had kept Shakespeare from writing or Raphael from painting.
Yes, fear is a damaging thing and keeps us from our very best. That is why we cannot sing in this strange land of fear. It shrinks God to the size of our problems and undermines our faith and confidence.
What Is the Cure
You say, "I agree with all of this but how do you get over fear?" The Bible has the answer plain and simple. Be our fears incidental, such as fear of speaking or being alone; or more severe, such as fear of sickness, loss of a loved one, or death; whatever our fear there is one universal answer.
Several years ago Dr. Karl Menninger, the famous psychologist, said, "If we can love enough . . . that is the touchstone. This is the key to the entire therapeutic program of the modern psychiatric hospital. Love is the medicine for the sickness of the world." Although this thought is both beautiful and true it is not new. Almost two thousand years ago, John, inspired by God, said, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love castest out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (I John 4:18).
It is almost too simple. Love and fear seem so far apart. They do not seem even to be related. However, John said, if we would just learn to love we would have no fears. Psychologists recently have shed some important light on this subject. They claim that 90 percent of our fears are our own wishes and projections coming back to us. In other words we wish evil on others subconsciously and our conscience condemns us for this. We then feel we will be punished for our secret thoughts and desires. Therefore we begin to fear punishment in the form of sickness, loneliness, or death, or whatever fear plagues us. In other words we would be getting what we deserved.
This theory would seem logical, and it certainly is in line with the Scripture. If we really loved others rather than resenting or harboring ill feelings against them, then our own feelings would not come back to haunt us in the form of fears. Whether or not this theory can be verified, we do know that God said if we have perfect love we will have no fear.
Love Is Active
We, like God, choose to love. God chose to love us in spite of our sinful state, and for this we are eternally grateful. We have no control over God's love for us, but we do control our love for others. When we choose not to love we disobey God's specific command to love.
One of the assurances of our salvation is our love for our fellowman. John says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. . . . Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (I John 3:14, 16).
Love is an active force. While we may say that we love our brethren and our neighbors, the real test is, do we show active love? John says, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (I John 3:18).
So, here is the all-important key: LOVE. Love of God and of man. The case of Clare S. illustrates this. Clare was the mother of several small children. Her husband owned a large supermarket. They had been married eleven years and were very happy. But into this scene came stark fear. The doctor announced that her husband was suffering from a fast growing cancer and would be dead within a year. Clare's immediate response was one of self-pity mixed with doubts about God's love, and fear. After six months of suffering her faith had dwindled to the point where life became unbearable.
She entered a class of Prayer Therapy directed by Dr. William R. Parker at the University of Redlands. After counseling and prayer she began to see that fear had drained all joy from life. God, through the help of others, helped her to realize that the antidote for fear is love. She started practicing this revelation. As time progressed she was transformed. Self-pity and resentment disappeared. She began to care for others and show active love not only for her family but for all the family of God. Soon new joy came and she was able to say confidently, "Death is not the important thing. Love is love, right this minute. God present, right this minute." She went on to say that this new concept of love freed her from apprehension and gave her new life. She stated that she had an insatiable desire to worship.
Reporting on this remarkable case Dr. Parker mentioned that five years have passed and her husband is still alive. In fact, his latest medical checkup revealed no malignancy. Medical authorities do not attempt to explain it and neither do Clare and her husband. They are only grateful that they have learned to really live through love. As Dr. Menninger said, "Love is the touchstone."
Let Us Be Up and Doing
Some will ask, "How do I attain this state of love?" Love is both the means and the end. We must learn to love by loving. As we practice the art of helping others and showing active love toward others, our love is developed and deepened. As we learn to talk by talking, so we learn to love by loving.
The best way to start is to start now. Let us then be up and doing. Today, right now, begin loving God with all your heart. At different times during the day remind God and yourself of your love for Him. This need not be at the altar, just a simple statement said in the heart. A hymn written expressed it so well try singing this to your Heavenly Father:
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine,
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, My Saviour art Thou.
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
But, we need to be reminded that love demands our best. It was Jesus who said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). So, this is not some mushy sentimental love. This is positive, active love that demands our best. If our love toward God is made perfect we will not only love Him in word and tongue but in deed and truth.
Still, this is not enough. Love has two dimensions. There must not only be that vertical love toward our Heavenly Father but also that horizontal love toward our fellowman. Therefore, half the prescription is not enough. If we are to be well, we must take it all. Today let us start loving our neighbors. Not only does this include our family but all the people of the earth. Look about you right now to see if you can do something for someone around you. They might not even be in need. Here is the real test. We all help when we are needed but what about when we are not? Yet, love demands that we give of ourselves to others, even if they do not need us. Today begin a heavenly habit of helping all those you can.
So simple a formula, yet so difficult to grasp. Yet, if we did follow it we would be brought back from the land of our fears, and a new song would be in our heart. The harp would be taken down from the willows, the captives would return home. The voice of the turtledove would be heard in the land. The people would rejoice.
Yes, we can really learn to live by learning to love. And God said our fears would die in the light of this love. Then we can sing together:
Wonderful story of love, Jesus provides a rest;
Wonderful story of love; For all the pure and blest,
Rest in those mansions above us
With those who've gone on before us,
Singing in rapturous chorus,
Wonderful story of love.
On Prophecy . . .
Scientists claim that they have so mastered the task of space measurement, and that universal laws are so rigid, that they can now predict within seconds celestial happenings millions of miles away. Perhaps the greatest step in this direction came when Edmund Halley in 1682 observed a large comet, checked with previous observations, calculated its orbit, and predicted its return to our skies in 1758 or 1759. Halley died before that date but the comet did appear as he had predicted. Named after this great scientist, the comet last appeared in 1910 and is due again in 1986.
The more astronomers probe the depths of the universe the more they feel we are on a giant time schedule which is amazingly accurate. They say a mysterious universal law dictates certain celestial happenings which always occur on schedule.
What is apparently true in the universe is certainly true concerning the coming of the Messiah. Probably no other event in the history of mankind has been more carefully planned or more exactly executed than the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The more we study, the more we find that the short span of thirty-three years which Christ lived almost two thousand years ago, was the only time in history the Messiah could have appeared.
The Pinpoint of Prophecy
According to most Bible scholars the Old Testament contains 333 prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ. These were so specific in detail that only the Son of God could have fulfilled them. Among these prophecies were those which pinpointed the place of His birth, His royal lineage, Egyptian exile, betrayal price, cruel death, place of burial, and resurrection. By the law of mathematics Christ had only one chance out of 84 million to fulfill all of these prophecies. Yet, Jesus fulfilled each one of them. Many were peculiar to His own time in history and could not have been fulfilled during any other age than His.
Most scholars agree that the most amazing prophecy concerning Christ was given by Daniel over five hundred years before Christ's birth. This is the famous prophecy of the seventy weeks that were accorded to Israel to make an end of sin. There have been several interpretations of this prophecy but perhaps the clearest is that given by the majority of evangelical theologians. Some of these go so far as to say that the very day Christ would appear as King was foretold in this prophecy. Whether you agree with this interpretation or not, it would be well to consider their viewpoint.
Recorded in chapter 9 of Daniel, God reveals that at the end of the sixty-ninth week the "Messiah the Prince" will appear. He will then be "cut off, but not for himself." The Hebrew interpretation of the word "weeks" actually means "sevens." Therefore, Daniel is literally saying that at the end of sixty-nine sevens Christ would come and be killed. (See Living Prophecies, The Minor Prophets Paraphrased.)
These scholars further point out these 69 weeks are a total of 483 years based on the Jewish year containing 360 days. Broken down to days, this would mean that 173,880 days from the beginning of these 70 weeks Christ would appear. The Bible says this time period would start, "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem."
According to history the only decree of this sort issued was given during the twentieth year of Artaxerxes on the first month of the Jewish month, Nisan. Encyclopedia Britannica says this date was March 14, 445 B.C. Now, if this prophecy is truly to be interpreted this way, it would mean Christ should appear April 6, A.D. 32. (Scholars figuring this date took into account the difference between the Jewish calendar and the one we know.) This would be 173,880 days after the decree.
Did Christ appear on this date? Sir Robert Anderson, for many years head of Scotland Yard, says in his book, The Coming Prince, that on April 6, A.D. 32 Christ rode into Jerusalem on an ass, being hailed king and prince of Israel. Just a few days before this event He had refused to let His disciples make Him known as the Messiah, but now He encourages them to join in the celebration. In just a very few days He would be dead, cut off by His own people, not for Himself but for the sins of the world.
Admittedly, time is difficult to calculate because of the conversion of our calendars. Although we should not dogmatically demand that others hold to the dates mentioned as the time of Christ's appearance, we can certainly see that Christ could only have appeared during this crucial time in history. What great assurance this gives the believer that indeed Christ was, is, and ever shall be the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, the Saviour of the world.
Passover and Pentecost
Not only was the prophetic time of Christ's appearance significant, the very season He was crucified was meaningful also. Christ was killed during the Passover, thereby becoming the Paschal Lamb. John refers to this in both his Gospel and in the Revelation. Christ is known as the Lamb of God, the slain Lamb, and the Passover Lamb. Paul wrote the Corinthians, "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (I Cor. 5:7).
Passover was one of the three feasts celebrated by the Israelites during the month of Nisan. It was instituted to recall how God had delivered them from Egyptian bondage and the fact that the death angel had passed through Egypt but over Israel. In later years prophets would refer to this first Passover as the spriritual and national rebirth of Israel. It was the time of the redemption of the nation.
However, God intended the Passover to be much more than a time of remembrance. This great feast and that first Passover were types of the coming redemption offered by the Messiah. Therefore, if Christ were to completely fulfill prophecies about Him, He must be cut off during this time of the year. He had to become the Paschal Lamb.
Therefore, there are some very interesting comparisons between the traditions of the Passover and what actually happened at Calvary. A few of these could be considered with profit.
The feast lasted for seven days. On the first day the father of the household was to select a lamb of the first year, a male without blemish. He was to slay the lamb at sunset and take the blood and strike it on the two sides of the door and also above it. The flesh was to be eaten along with bread and bitter herbs. No bones of the lamb could be broken. They were commanded to eat in haste, fully dressed to reinforce the fact that the deliverance had occurred so hastily that their forefathers had hurriedly packed their kneading troughs containing the morrow's bread that had not yet been leavened. Wine was to be drunk with the meal, symbolic of the blood deliverance.
Immediately one sees the similarity between this feast and what happened to Christ during the crucifixion. He was chosen by the Father, without blemish, and offered as a sacrifice for sin. Death came at sunset and His blood applied to the very doors of our lives our hearts. There were the bitter herbs of His death, the dregs of the cup He was forced to drink. No bones of His were broken although this was the custom in such a death. The deliverance from sin was swift and all of the tragic occurrences of Calvary took place within the short span of a few hours. Christ had eaten the unleavened bread with His disciples telling them this was His body. He drank the wine symbolic of His blood. All of the beautiful symbols of the Passover were fulfilled in Christ.
Pentecost, in the Jewish mind, had always been closely associated with Passover. This was because fifty days following Passover they had a feast of thanksgiving for all that God had given. It was a day of great rejoicing for deliverance, blessing, and promise. The priests would wave two loaves before God in appreciation for what God had given. No one could or would participate in rewards of the harvest until this feast was held.
It was again no accident that fifty days later, when the day of Pentecost was fully come, that God poured out the Holy Spirit on the waiting church. This feast was only for one day, yet His Spirit came on that very day. While the priests were waving their loaves in the temple, in another part of the city the new church was rejoicing because of eternal deliverance, blessing, and promise through the crucified, buried, and risen Lord. It was most significant that the Comforter had come on this great day of rejoicing.
Christ Is Coming
As we consider how carefully His first appearing was planned and executed, our hearts are made to rejoice because we realize the Father has just as carefully planned His second coming. In fact, we see signs around us now that point vividly to the fact that the day of His appearing is very near. In the fullness of God's time outstanding prophecies of His second coming have been fulfilled, many within our own lifetime and we wait in great anticipation for His early appearing. Paul encouraged us to comfort one another with these words.
May we sing with those of like precious faith:
We see the signs appearing of His blessed coming,
Lo, behold the fig leaves now becoming green;
The gospel of His Kingdom has gone to every nation;
That we are near the end can be seen.
Gladly may we herald the message of His blessed appearing,
Soon He's coming in glory, tell to one and all;
Then awake, ye saints of the Lord, why slumber when the end is nearing,
But get ready for the final call.
On Doctrine . . .
The church had been chased underground. Mad Nero blamed the Christians for Rome's burning and demanded persecution and purging. Some may have wavered, but overall the church did not flounder because Christians were made of finer mettle. Secret church meetings were held where believers gathered to sing of their Saviour, encourage one another in the faith, and pledge together to keep themselves from sin.
During this persecution someone decided it would be wise to have a symbol to identify the meeting places of the Christians. Because public meetings were forbidden, signs were not the answer. Still they needed some sort of identity for their meeting places so all interested could attend their worship. Out of this situation was born one of the first symbols of Christianity the fish.
Just why the fish symbol was chosen has been the subject of much discussion. Some say it was because Christ had told His disciples He would make them "fishers of men." This could very well be true. However, the best scholars advance this theory: the five letters constituting the Greek word "fish" are identical with the initial letters of the five Greek words meaning, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour." The fish symbol has survived throughout the centuries to identify the Christian faith.
This Christian symbol was neither the first nor the last time that symbols would be used as a means of communication. In ancient times the Europeans used the olive branch to denote peace. The palm represented triumph, while the anchor denoted faith and hope. Later religious symbols designated Christ as the Lamb of God and God as Alpha and Omega. Other Christian symbols included the peacock representing immortality, a ship denoting the church in which the devout are carried over the sea of life, the serpent or dragon representing Satan, and the stag as denoting die soul thirsting for baptism.
One of die most interesting Christian symbols had its origin in Egyptian mythology. According to this legend the phoenix, a bird of the Arabian desert, periodically consumed itself by fire, rising in youthful freshness from its own ashes. Thus this mythical bird evolved to become the symbol of the resurrection.
Many of diese interesting symbols have fallen into disuse through the years. Symbolism, however, still communicates important truths to the believer. Four such symbols tell us much about the personality of God and His relationship to fallen man. These symbols are: the manger, the cross, the empty tomb, and the trumpet.
God's Lasting Love
One of Michelangelo's famous statues is only half finished. This nearly nine-foot stone carving of St. Matthew is exhibited at the Academy in Florence. After spending many laborious hours on this great work, the artist abandoned it. Michelangelo conceived of his task as that of liberating from the stone the figure that was imprisoned there. When the marble was perfect, he did this with great success. In the case of the carving of St. Matthew, however, he felt that the stone would not give up some essential part of its prisoner so he dropped the work entirely. He could not produce the work as he envisioned it because the marble was of inferior quality a disappointment to him and he refused to be satisfied with a lesser work of art.
The human race could well be called "God's great disappointment." Although a perfect creation, man turned from God and has continued to do so throughout the ages. A human artist would have abandoned such a work long ago. Not so God.
God revealed much about His personality to Jeremiah in the vision of the potter's wheel (Jer. 18:1-10). Although the potter's first creation was imperfect, he did not cast away the clay but reshaped it into another vessel. This has been the story of God's dealings with man. Through prophets, priests, and great kings He has continued to salvage humanity. Finally He sent His only begotten Son that all may live. He was born in a manger, the lowest possible birth, that even the lowest might have light and life. God did not abandon His work because His creation disappointed Him. Rather He gave His all that we might live. We do not understand such love but we really do not have to. He does not ask us to understand. He only asks us to accept. Toyohiko Kagawa has so beautifully mused:
Holding a beggar's child
Against my heart,
Through blinding tears I see
That as I love the tiny, piteous thing,
So God loves me.
His Help To Holiness
The cross is designed to bring out our very best. It vividly illustrates God's hatred of the unholy. It confuses some people that such a loving God can also be such a "harsh" God. They forget that God is our Father and that the word Father denotes many things. A real father not only shows love to his offspring; he also shows firmness. The good father cannot tolerate wickedness in his child, nor that which is self-centered or self-destructive. Likewise God cannot overlook that which degrades human life and degenerates the soul of man. God asks our best and through the cross makes provision for us to do our best. We do not have a weak half-God who winks at sin; our God is all wise and knows that sin leads to self-destruction. Because He loves His children He asks and demands a holy and separated people.
At Calvary Christ gasped, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" The lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and the earth trembled. God had forsaken His Son because His Son was made sin for us (II Cor. 5:21). The day Christ died for our sins was one of the bleakest, yet one of the brightest, in all of earth's history. Such a terrible purging was necessary. Just as salve cannot cure a cancer nor aspirin heal polio, so nothing less than the brutal murder of God's Son could have brought redemption to man. All of the hatred a man can have the utter disregard of other's feelings, the brutality of the heart of wicked man was vividly portrayed that day around the cross. Because Christ was made sin and died for us that day, we no longer must live under the curse of sin but are now made whole by the washing of His blood. Through the cross He stamps out our worst and brings out our best. No wonder we sing:
Upon that cross of Jesus mine eyes at times can see
The very dying form of one who suffered there for me:
And from my smitten heart with tears, two wonders I confess,
The wonders of His glorious love and my own worthlessness.
The Doom of Death
Talleyrand, adviser to King Louis XXIII, once asked how he could start a new religion as effective as Christianity. To this the wise king replied, "Very simple, just be crucified and rise again on the third day." The empty tomb spelled the doom of death and all the other ills that plague mankind.
Much of the New Testament is preoccupied with preaching about the resurrection. The question is often asked, "Why is such emphasis placed on the resurrection?" The answer seems obvious the resurrection means the final death of death.
There are those who insist that the rich appeal of Christianity Ues in its promise of eternal life. Certainly this is one of our most precious promises and should not be depreciated by anyone. However, there is another reason why the resurrection is so important if Christ was able to defeat man's greatest foe, death, then we, through Christ, can defeat any foe that may come our way. Life takes on new meaning because we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. We do not shuffle through life, half living, but are filled with joy and enthusiasm, knowing that nothing is able to separate us from that love. As Paul so vividly puts it, ". . . neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38, 39).
Death has died and all of man's foes have been overcome because Christ is not the "I was" but the "I Am." He has the keys to death, hell, and the grave, and because He has overcome we too will overcome. The redeemed sing from bursting hearts:
Tis the grandest theme thro' the ages rung;
Tis the grandest theme for a mortal tongue;
Tis the grandest theme that the world e'er sung,
"Our God is able to deliver thee."
A beggar boy stumbles through the streets of Viet Nam. The bloated belly of an emaciated Indian girl is the telltale sign of the last stage of starvation. In bloody battles around the world men kill or mutilate each other, emerging as half-men. Hellish prejudice erupts in massacres of innocents and not-so-innocents. The dying alcoholic lies in his own vomit on a street corner in a Chicago slum. Blind and crippled children are found both in hovels and in hospitals. Brutal murders and rapes occur in every large city. All creation groans in agony.
God's Word promises that one day the heavens will split with the sound of the trumpet and Christ will come. Then all the sin, suffering, and sorrow of this earth will cease. Then the prayer, "Thy kingdom come," will be answered and there will be peace on earth and goodwill toward man. Then Christ will reign forever in a kingdom such as the world has never seen. This is the glorious hope of the Christian and the trumpet is the glorious symbol that tells of this glorious future.
First century Christians greeted one another with the word, Maranatha. Scholars have differed on the exact interpretation of this Aramaic word but all agree it has to do with the Lord's second coming. The interpretation that seems most appropriate and appealing is, "Take heart, the Lord may come today." What a thrilling greeting to give those of like precious faith! In our world of ulcers and aspirin, when tensions stab our troubled hearts and choke us with fear, the word "Maranatha" rings clearly and meaningfully. Take heart, the Lord may come today! Paul said, "Comfort one another with these words" (I Thess. 4:18). The singing heart rejoices:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus our blessed Redeemer!
Heav'nly portals loud with hosannas ring! Jesus,
Saviour reigneth forever and ever,
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet and Priest and King!
Christ is coming! Over the world victorious,
Power and glory unto the Lx>rd belong:
Praise Him! Praise Him! tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! ever in joyful song.
Symbols are never ends in themselves. They always serve as reminders of something or somebody far greater. As John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ, so these symbols prepare the way for that which is perfect. What a thrill it is to think of the symbols of our Saviour and all that they mean. When we think of Him, all words fail. Perhaps that which is perfect can only be described by the words of John the Beloved when he said: "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sounds of many waters . . . And when I saw Him, I fell at his feet . . ." (Rev. 1:13-15, 17).
On Pride . . .
Recently a Kentucky newspaper reprinted a speech given in 1909 by Colonel Andrew Cowan. The occasion was the laying of the cornerstone at the Lincoln Shrine in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Colonel Cowan recalled a significant event from his early army days.
"I was twenty years old," he said, "and was stationed near Washington when President Lincoln came to our camp one blazing hot day in June, 1861. I ran to the colonel's quarters to feast my eyes on a president.
"There was Abraham Lincoln surrounded by nearly a thousand men of our regiment and as I gazed on him my heart sank. He was very homely and to my notion he seemed uncouth and without dignity. He was shaking hands right and left while the sweat streamed down his strong, homely face. On his head was a 'plug' hat, weatherbeaten and faded. He wore a faded linen duster coat. I was but a boy; my young eyes could not see through the homely husk the whitest soul a nation knew. / turned away without shaking his hand."
The last time Cowan saw the president was just three months before his assassination. By this time the years had taught him much, and he knew it was an honor to shake the president's hand and look into that warm and kindly face. In his speech at the dedication Cowan confessed how foolish he had been to judge this great man by his appearance.
Centuries before this one greater than Lincoln was also rejected by a vain young man. A rich young ruler came to Christ with the question, "What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" "Keep the commandments," Jesus said. And the young man answered, "All these things have I kept from my youth."
Then Jesus touched the real issue. "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor . . . and come follow me." The young man failed to see any future in following the Man of Galilee, so he went away sorrowful (Matt. 19: 16-22).
History is filled with examples of those who have turned away from Christ the Son of God, just as young Cowan did from Lincoln. "Man looketh on the outward appearance" (I Sam. 16:7), and is often deceived.
There are certain apparent reasons why men turn away after a superficial look at Christ. His teachings do not appeal to the intellect. Man finds it hard to believe that all he has to do is to "Come," and "Believe." Therefore, the man gifted with "knowledge" seeks a more complicated and "logical" way. But the common people heard Christ gladly. They did not need high-sounding dogmas or scores of platitudes. They just needed peace and healing and forgiveness. They had little difficulty in accepting His offer it met their deepest need. Those who were schooled in religious law, however, preferred to argue.
Each generation has had its share of men who turned away from Christ and influenced others to do so. Paine, Ingersoll, Henley, Voltaire, and a host of others have come and gone. But have any of their teachings brought liberty, peace, or joy to man? Has the best they could offer given comfort in crises, glory at the grave, or singing in sickness? Not even the atheists themselves make such claims for their teachings.
But Christ offers all this and more. His simple way of salvation can be accepted because it works. The highly educated and scholarly Paul said, ". . . the natural man rcceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2:14). Again he said, ". . . it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (I Cor. 1:21).
The Christian way lacks the luster that appeals to fleshly appetites. To be like Christ is to be "unlike" ourselves. Fleshly lusts and desires are to be subjected to Him.
The natural man shuns "going the second mile." It is not easy to "turn the other cheek." Human nature is not attracted to "losing one's life" even to save it. Therefore, the Christian way does not appeal to the natural man.
The other day at the grocery my wife noticed a can of vegetables with a most attractive label. The can was less expensive than the kind she usually buys. Attracted by both the price and the label, she purchased it; but the contents did not measure up to the beautiful label, and we went back to our usual brand.
Because neither the label nor the cost of Christianity appears attractive to the natural man, many turn away from Christ. They cannot see that the benefits of Christianity far exceed the cost they are asked to pay.
Peace cannot be purchased; it comes as a result of accepting Christ. Deliverance from years of bondage is to be found in Him. There is joy beyond measure in knowing Christ and having Him live in us. There is security in knowing that He who holds the future of the world also holds our personal future in His loving hands. The cost to us is really minimal when we consider the many hidden values. Christ never takes anything away or demands we rid ourselves of anything unless He offers something much better in its place. Yet just as the young soldier turned away from Lincoln, so many turn away from Christ because of foolish pride.
During World War II a German officer was taken prisoner by the French. He was badly wounded and a blood transfusion was required to save his life. When he learned the blood was British he refused the transfusion, saying, "I would rather die." And he did.
We say he was foolish, but are we not more foolish if we let pride of intellect or fleshly desires keep us from the greatest gift ever given, God's own Son? Take Him as your personal Saviour today! Accept His invitation to abundant life. He is saying to you: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).
On Christian Living . . .
WHAT IS living matter? This question has intrigued man since he first began to wonder about this great earth on which God has placed him. At first glance the answer would seem obvious. However, scientists will tell you that often it is very difficult to distinguish living matter from nonliving matter.
Good examples are the viruses. Some authorities classify them as living matter, while others point out that they have no cellular organization and therefore should be classified as nonliving. Other simple examples are the stalactites and stalagmites in deep, dark caves. These rock formations grow, but certainly they could not be classified as living matter.
To eliminate confusion about living matter, scientists have drawn up four basic rules. If something is to be classified as living, it must possess all four of these characteristics: growth, adaptation to environment, metabolism, and reproduction. If the matter under consideration fails to qualify in all four, it must be classified as nonliving matter.
It is interesting to note how these attributes of physical life resemble the attributes of spiritual life. When we accept Christ, we immediately become a new creature in Him. However, at times the enemy of our soul may creep in and lull us into a lethal sleep. When this occurs we are not exhibiting all the attributes of life and perhaps should be classified as nonliving Christians. It would be well to evaluate our own spiritual existence in view of these physical laws of life.
"All living matter converts food into more living matter with a consequent increase in the size of the living thing." So reads the law of science. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things. . . ." So reads the law of God as expressed by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (4:14, 15).
Peter, who did a lot of growing up himself, had these words for the young church: "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" (I Peter 2:2). As the physical body takes in physical food and water, converting it to energy for growth, the spiritual man does the same. He is nourished by the "Bread of Life," the "meat of the Word," the "manna of obedience" and the "water of the Holy Spirit."
The Word of God also gives direction for growth. We are admonished to grow in grace, in knowledge, in wisdom, in understanding, in holiness, and in love. And we are to grow the fruit of the Spirit. While the gifts of the Spirit are given, the fruit of the Spirit is grown. And that fruit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
If there is life, there must be growth.
Living matter also has the ability to adapt to its environment. The plant turns to the sun. The pupils of the eye contract or dilate to adjust to the light. There seems to be long-range adaptation also. For example, the desert rat lives in the arid region of the western United States. He can live all of his life without ever taking a drink of water although he eats only dry seeds. Because his kidneys are four times as efficient as those of the human, little water is lost from the body. He has adapted to his environment.
Some Christians may complain because of the environment in which they find themselves. Their neighborhood is so wicked, their lot so hard. They feel the pressure is too great and say they could be much more effective as witnesses if only they lived in a Christian community. They have never learned to adapt to the environment in which God has placed them.
This was not true of Joseph. His brothers sold him into Egyptian slavery, yet he remained true to his God. He was dishonored and cast into prison. This could have been the fatal blow, but Joseph, rather than complaining about the darkness, tried to light a candle. He worked and witnessed even though he seemingly had every right to crumble under the burden of his environment. Because of his faithfulness to God in hours of deepest depression, God could trust him as "vice-president" of the greatest nation on earth. He also became the preserver of the children of Israel and of the line of our Lord. The walls of his environment could not close him in. Joseph adapted to his environment, and his branches of blessing extended over the walls of circumstances.
It should always be remembered that a diamond is most beautiful against a drab background, that a light can be seen most clearly in darkness. Instead of fighting the environment in which God has placed us, we should accept the fact that this is where He wants us and then do our best in the place where He, in His wisdom, has placed us.
The complicated process of metabolism, which constitutes the third test of life, is basically the building up of a store of potential energy and the release of that energy. It is the process of the conversion of food into chemicals for absorption into the bloodstream. We are not even conscious of its function in our bodies, yet a malfunction in this delicate procedure can be fatal.
Spiritual metabolism is referred to in the Scripture in various ways. For example David said, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Ps. 119:11). This is an example of storing up spiritual food for later use.
Jesus spoke of praying in private and being rewarded openly. This is another example of spiritual metabolism. The time we spend in prayer is actually spiritual food being converted into spiritual energy, which helps us live close to Christ through every crisis.
One time Jesus' disciples were worried about the time when persecution would come their way. Jesus had just told them some of the signs of the end and they were afraid they would deny the Master in those trying hours. To this Jesus replied, ". . . take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak" (Matt. 10:19).
Jesus was saying that by being with Him and learning of Him, they were building up a store of spiritual energy for the hour of crisis. In the hour of trial that store of spiritual energy would be used by the Holy Spirit to cause them to remain true to Christ.
The writer to the Hebrews knew the importance of spiritual metabolism when he wrote, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, ... as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:25). As we worship together we receive spiritual strength. Add to this Paul's admonition, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). This is spiritual metabolism.
The law of science demands also that living things must have the ability to reproduce themselves. In fact, without reproduction there could be no life. When a cell is destroyed by disease, it must be replaced. If it is not replaced, death ensues.
Spiritual sterility is death. Christ did not tell His followers to go into the world and enjoy their religion, although there is great joy in knowing Him. Rather, He said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you . . ." (Matt. 28:19, 20).
Paul had many spiritual sons. Among them were Timothy, Titus, and Onesimus. He followed the command to reproduce himself. This command is extended to us also.
The leaders of Russia have tried in numerous ways to eliminate religion in that country. They seem to have settled on one plan as the most practical. People are allowed to worship together, but are not allowed to evangelize. Their religion is to be confined within the four walls of the church. There are indications that the Russian Christians are not obeying this law, but if they did, it would mean sure death for the church. Without reproduction there can be no life.
Nat Olson summed it all up by saying, "Winning your neighbor is your soul responsibility."
Are you dead or alive? Living, vital Christians have operating in them all these laws of life. Those who do not should seek life from Jesus Christ, who said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
On Involvement . . .
22. The Church and Politics
A midwestern governor's aide talked with a pastor encouraging him to become involved in an active campaign against political corruption. "If all churches in our state would unite," the aide said, "we could wipe out this evil by defeating those involved." The pastor listened, prayed, turned to Scripture, and then decided that by becoming "involved" to the extent advised he might win a political battle but lose the spiritual war. He declined.
Pressure is being put on the church and church leaders to become political voices and forces in the community and the nation. It is popular today for critics to accuse the church of being out of touch with the times. They insist that ministers should be disclaiming social injustice, imperialistic tactics, and war involvement. There are those who chide the church, saying it has lost its effectiveness and now must "run to catch up."
Many ministers have gone to the streets in protest marches, joined committees of dissent, and become spokesmen in such fields as federal aid to education, civil rights, foreign policy, disarmament, higher minimum wages, and urban renewal. In all of this the honest clergyman and layman sincerely wants to know to what extent he should be involved in human government, protests, and social injustice. It is an honest question demanding an answer.
In all our rush to "help humanity" by political involvement, there is a word of warning being spoken by careful and prayerful church leaders. Dr. David H. C. Read, a New York pastor, says, "I find there is something lopsided, incomplete, and sometimes even false about the new activism in the churches. Renewal of the church does not come from new forms of social action, however necessary these may be. It begins within. A church that sets out to do the works of God, spreading into every area of life, yet neglecting the living center of belief, is doomed not to renewal but to decay." Add the words of a noted Church of England theologian who visited America. He said, "It would be tragically ironic if the church, grown skeptical about God's power to redeem society by transforming human nature, were to fall into the same ideological error as communism and attempt to transform man by altering his environment."
More important than man's words or wisdom, however, are the words of God on the burning issue of the church's involvement in politics. As on every vital issue, the Bible is not silent here. If we seriously study Scripture we will find admonitions we must heed if we are to lovingly follow the Lord.
Separation of Church and State
A prominent congressman commented, "Separation between church and state is a principle deeply embedded in our tradition. Yet the church leaders who would raise the loudest outcry if government attempted to interfere in any way with church matters, see nothing contradictory in maintaining Washington lobbies and trying to dictate to Congress the kind of legislation they feel should be enacted on almost every conceivable economic, social, and political question."
Some may think our U.S. Constitution first spoke on separation of church and state, but the student of the Word realizes that Jesus set down this important principle, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:21). Admittedly, circumstances giving birth to this statement were unusual, "But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites" (v. 18). While the primary purpose of Christ's answer may have been to confuse those wishing to trick Him, still He never told an untruth, even in elusive answers or parables. Christ draws a distinct line between human government and the spiritual kingdom.
Christ's philosophy was that when man's spiritual and moral values change, these in time will change society and create a healthy environment. To study comparative religions one need only buy a ticket, not a book. The lands touched by Christianity are those that are filled with hospitals, orphanages, welfare, and justice. Those lands unreached by the Gospel still struggle with superstition, disease, and human suffering. Paul Harvey notes that Christianity not only takes the man out of the slums but also the slums out of the man.
The antithesis of Christ's philosophy is Communism and materialism. These philosophies contend that changing man's environment makes man better. Yet, the very ones first propounding the theory had deep personal problems unaffected by their "new philosophy." Karl Marx was described by his biographer as a hopeless drunkard, while Lenin's wife admits he was a reckless gambler who had no compassion for her or anyone else. Richard Wurmbrand, a Rumanian pastor who suffered fourteen years in prison under this philosophy said, "Communism has wiped out millions of innocent victims, bankrupted countries, and filled the air with lies and fear."
Human government, Christ taught, is temporal; His followers, as a body, must not shift emphasis from the eternal to the secular. Although He admonishes us to "render unto Caesar," the emphasis is "render unto God." The coin Christ held gave the answer to His inquirers. The coin carried the inscription of Caesar and so belonged to him. However, each life carries the "image of God" and belongs to God and to eternity. When the church leaves this emphasis, there is a void that cannot be filled by social activism.
It is a wise church and government who recognize their very different roles in man's earthly life. The church brings man face to face with eternity while the government helps man face problems of earthly existence. King Stephen of Poland was asked to make all his subjects members of his religious faith. He replied, "I am king of men, not of conscience." Similarly the church is primarily a proclaimer of righteousness, not of social justice. The blackest hours of church history were during the Middle Ages when the church forsook its spiritual role to gain temporal power. John Calvin said, "The church has no Scriptural authority to speak outside the ecclesiastical field." He warned that meddling in politics was divisive and inimical to the church's success.
Obedience to Government
Controversy has raged as to the proper interpretation of Romans 13:1: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." To those in the free world, this is an easily-obeyed commandment and hardly questioned. In fact, one western paraphrase of Scripture suggests "Obey the government, for God is the One Who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power" (Living Letters). However, thousands of saints who suffer in bitter oppression behind the Iron Curtain find this a difficult Scripture indeed.
One tortured pastor from Rumania offers this interpretation, "Before going further, ask yourslf how the authority approved by God came to power. It's usually the result of an upheaval; so submission to authority means submission to those who have made a successful revolution. Eventually the man will come who will end the Communist tyranny and bring free government. Then he will be the authority from God. Then we should submit. The real teaching in this part of Scripture is not submission to tyrants, but avoidance of useless bloodshed in futile revolution." Before condemning this interpretation perhaps we should remember that even today Christians are being thrown into prison, having their children taken from them, and being subjected to torment and torture merely because they believe. Until we have walked in their shoes we must be careful in making value judgments.
One learned commentator suggests Paul's words be understood in their proper sphere. At the time Paul wrote Romans the relationship with the Roman government and the Christians was relatively cordial. However, this changed abruptly when Rome became "drunken with the blood of the saints." He says, "Paul's words are to be understood of the civil authorities as he knew them, and the functions of justice which he saw them discharging." Paul's teaching here is wrongly interpreted when it is taken to mean that all existing authority of any kind and character are divinely appointed. Paul himself suggests the test: they are a terror not to the worker of good but to the evildoer. J. B. Phillips suggests this translation, "Every Christian ought to obey the civil authorities, for all legitimate authority is derived from God's authority."
It would seem that just government should be obeyed and appreciated and our interpretation of Scripture should be broad enough to let our suffering brothers behind the Iron Curtain and in Haiti, Cuba, and other crushed countries determine God's will for them in their particular crisis. However, it should be pointed out that Paul formed no political party, and early apostles were not political revolutionaries but preachers of the Gospel. John submitted to Patmos and Paul to Rome, just as Jesus submitted to Pilate.
Again we must recognize the supreme mission of the church. One layman said, "Like most, I go to church to hear heralded the mind of Christ, not the mind of man. I want to hear expounded the timeless truths contained in Scripture, the kind of preaching that gets its power from 'Thus saith the Lord!'"
Not long ago fourteen unshaven, longhaired, "hippie"-type youth placed themselves strategically throughout our church congregation. About half-way through the service they began interrupting the service with loud shouts and proclamations of judgment. In many ways it was a frightening experience. The next day I talked with the leader of the group and asked his motivation. Surprisingly he said, "Man, when I was a teen-ager I was messed up with drugs. I went to church and heard more sermons about Viet Nam than I can remember. Yet, I never heard about Jesus Christ. This is why we are doing our thing now." His message got through to me clearly. The pulpit is not a platform of political philosophy but a point of proclamation of the saving power of Jesus Christ. The church that forgets this is irrelevant!
This is not to suggest that we hide our head in the sand and forget our "rendering unto Caesar." We have a responsibility to government. But this is a personal responsibility and should be carried out by individual Christians rather than the corporate church body.
Prominent layman J. Howard Pew comments, "Action to correct existing ills in secular society should be taken through secular organizations: political parties, chambers of commerce, labor unions, parent-teacher associations, service clubs and many others that can supply skilled leadership and techniques to do the job. To commit the church, as a corporate body, to controversial positions on which its members differ sharply is to divide the church into warring camps, stirring dissension in the one place where spiritual unity should prevail."
First of All
Jesus was no revolutionary. He did not court civil disobedience, nor did He use existing political forces to promote his spiritual kingdom. He made it clear that His kingdom was not "here or there" but in the heart of man (Luke 17:21). He changed men and, in time, these. changed society. Paul gives young Timothy a wise word concerning involvement, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority . . ." (I Tim. 2:1, 2). Before anyone raises a voice in support of or opposition to those in authority, Paul says we must first pray for them.
Sometime ago I was leading a prayer meeting which had a beautiful visitation of God's Spirit. I felt driven to ask prayer for a particular leader who was most liberal in his views, even to the point of causing a deterioration of the Christian faith. Immediately one young man angrily absented himself from this prayer period. Later he came and asked forgiveness saying God had convicted him for his action. At that moment I reminded him that I too was opposed to the views of this leader but, as a Christian, I first must pray for him. Then, after praying sincerely, in deepest love, and careful concern, and only then, would I dare criticize. Too often we fail in this admonition. It is much easier to criticize, become revolutionaries, and overthrow leadership, than to pray. Prayer seems too passive. However, only if our actions are tempered with prayer can they be extensions of God's will. We must never leave Paul's admonition unheeded as we, as individuals, go into the secular world to try to change our society.
In his book, Christ in the Communist Prisons, Richard Wurm-brand says, "When I asked why the Soviet Union had eased its campaign against religion at the time, one man said, 'You tell us!' I replied that I thought it was a concession to Britain and America. The official smiled. 'That's the explanation that I would give, as a Communist. If I were a Christian, I'd say it was God's answer to prayer.' I was silent, because he was right. I knew many people had prayed for me, both prisoners I had met and members of my congregation, as well. But not for many years did I realize how many thousands around the world had joined in their prayer. So I say to you now, that if I have recovered, it is a miracle of God and an answer to prayer."
On Things That Count . . .
Zechariah trembled in his half-sleep. The strange vision he had received blanched him with fear, yet warmed him with hope. It was in February, the second year of Darius' reign that the Word of the Lord came to this intellectual young priest and stirred his soul. God gave him eight visions and the first was of the man among the myrtles.
Some sixteen years had passed since Zerubbabel had brought a defeated but determined people back from captivity to build again their homeland. A temple was the first order of business but soon such opposition developed that the project was abandoned. Foundations of the mighty structure cracked in the hot desert sun. Mud-encrusted trowels lay unused while people forgot the temple and built their homes. To this scene God called an unlikely pair of preachers with searching, searing sermons. Haggai, old and sharp-tongued, threw barbed questions, "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?" (1:4).
Answering his own question Haggai snaps, "Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put into a bag with holes" (1:5, 6).
The second preacher God called was Zechariah. Teamed, these two very different men brought a wayward people back to their calling and encouraged a disheartened people to take up their task. One night after falling asleep, Zechariah is disturbed by an angelic visitor.
Zechariah sees a man on a red horse deep in a glen of myrtle trees. Beyond this theophanic form looms horses, red, speckled, and white. Shaken by the strange sight, Zechariah asks what it means and the angel says he will show Zechariah. Then the shadowy figure among the myrtles speaks, of horses, "These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth." The horses report to the man among the myrtles, "We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest" (1:11).
The disturbing thing to Zechariah is what the horses say. After looking all through the earth they see nothing stirring. Strange that the horses had nothing to report, for the earth at that time was a boiling political caldron. Sparta and Athens were eyeball to eyeball in a nervous cold war. The Ionian city-states were stirring with strange new philosophies and Darius himself was empire building. Couldn't the horses hear? Certainly something was stirring! Yet they report to the man among the myrtles that nothing is going on in the earth.
The young prophet-priest knew what the report meant. While there was much activity on the earth, yet none of that activity really counted. Earthly kingdoms rise and fall. Dictators come and go. Philosophies blow in and with a new generation blow out again. But, that which is eternal the kingdom of God was being sorely neglected. The temple of worship was disregarded. Its foundations were overgrown with weeds and cracked by the insistent roots of wayward trees. While God's children lounged in plush homes, drinking sweet wine, flirting with buxom Persian girls, there were hungry, poor, downtrodden people crying for the message of deliverance that can only come from God. The spirit of the day was selfishness, self-centeredness, getting, gaining, regardless of who was hurt by such actions. The heart of God was broken with the report that nothing that really counts was going on.
Zcchariah wondered how long God would delay punishing His people. Would they who had so recently returned from captivity again be driven to defeat? Just at that moment the Man among the myrtles prays. Little did Zechariah realize that the mysterious guest he saw would later ride into Jerusalem, not on a red horse, but on a lowly donkey. It would be this One who would be led away to die for the sins of men and in so doing bring man back to God. God heard the Man among the myrtles and through an interpreter told Zechariah "good words and comfortable words." Hearing His Son, God says: "My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem" (1:17).
There seems to be great similarity between Zechariah's day and ours. There is much going on political unrest, new moralities, and empire building. Yet, could it be that the horses of God that patrol the earth can find no riders against evil in our day? Could it be that our earth is also "silent" that none of these activities really count? Can Isaiah's heartbroken cry be applied to our century, ". . . and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor . . ." (59:15, 16)?
In our age stabbed with strife and torn with tension, God is calling on those who emphasize the things that really count to let their voices be heard. Ezekiel, an enigma to many, speaks clearly on the matter of intercession. In a vision God spoke loudly in Ezekiel's car His clearcut order of prayer. Ezekiel saw six men with destructive weapons come before God. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer's inkhorn by his side (9:2). To this man God says, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof" (9:4). Then God tells the others to follow, slaying utterly young and old, maids and little children, except those that had the mark of God on their foreheads. God added a frightening footnote, "and begin at my sanctuary" (9:6).
Application of the vision is clear. God demands we be involved in redeeming mankind through our prayers and heartbroken intercession. Through His Word wc learn how deeply God feels about fallen men. He longs for their salvation. His heart was so broken for lost men He sent His only Son to die for them. Can we be any less concerned if we call ourselves His?
War has smashed the face of our century. While half of the world is dieting, the other half is starving. Babies with bloated bellies wail through the long hungry nights and die in the dust while weeping mothers stand by helpless. Hate is strong and mocks the song of peace. People have become instruments of cruelty, destroying one another, and God's heart is broken. Can He help but be angry with us if we do not respond to these cries, care about these agonies, dry these tears? God has chosen to make this imperfect world better through His children. Israel failed to recognize what "chosen" meant. They felt they were pampered and petted by a genie God. They failed to realize that God had chosen them as missionaries to a lost world. His intent was that they show by their example how good life with God is, and to extend their hands to share the glorious knowledge with others. They chose rather to be self-serving, consequently God cut them off.
A friend visited Hong Kong recently, and at one point he slipped away from the beautiful bustling city to visit a native Christian family in the slums. He walked past cardboard homes and little shanties; he saw half-naked and half-starved children staring up at him with hungry, hopeless eyes. His heart was broken and by the time he arrived at his destination he was so choked with emotion that he could hardly talk.
After visiting in the humble but holy home of these native Christians who also suffered the pangs of poverty, he made an excuse to go and the father asked him to pray before he left. Bill said, "What could I pray? What could I say to God when I saw starving children and felt the chilled breath of death whisper through the little shanties? Then, almost as a revelation I began, 'Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come . . .' and then it hit me. This is the answer . . . Thy kingdom come. When Christ's kingdom comes there will be no more death, no hunger, no war, no heartache."
Men ponder the imperfect world in which we live. We who live in comfortable circumstances tend to forget the heartbreak of most of the world. If only we could learn to pray, Thy kingdom come. Dr. Bob Pierce so often says, "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God." If we could be moved to great compassion and learn to sigh and cry with Christ over the world's despair, what great and wonderful things would be done. Or must God say of us as He did in Ezekiel's day, "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none" (22:30)?
In our age when we are much better equipped to meet the needs of men may it not be said of us that we failed to suffer with Christ for the sins of men. When God's horses roam the earth, prowling for those who really care, those who have denied self to serve Christ, those that sigh and cry, those that emphasize the eternal, may they not return to the man among the myrtles to report that all is silent. Rather in our tiny part of this world may we create an eternal stir; may we pray that His kingdom may come; may we minister in deed, not just in word. And the promise is, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (II Chron. 7:14).
Read carefully the prophets, see how preoccupied they were with the neglect of God's people to the heartbeat of God and the heartcry of man. Jesus forever settles our responsibility by saying, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:48).
God has so blessed us and for this we are eternally thankful. My deepest prayer is that God will constantly remind us of our responsibilities and wake us with the cries of mankind. May we always be haunted with this refrain:
I wonder, have I cared enough for others,
Or have I let them die alone?
I might have helped a wan-d'rer to the Saviour;
The seed of Precious Life I might have sown.
How many are the lost that 1 have lifted?
How many are the chained I've helped to free?
I wonder, have I done my best for Jesus,
When He has done so much for me?