The Beginning of the Gospel

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.     Mark 1:1 ESV

When I began my Bible reading this morning, I had to go back and make sure I was in the right place.  I did not expect to be reading in the New Testament yet!  But, sure enough, this is where I am.

I've been using the Bible app on my phone to read through the Bible chronologically this year.  I love the context that comes with that, and the interesting things I learn about biblical history and timelines, and I just find that reading the scriptures in this way brings new perspective in a lot of ways.

What is significant to me this day, though, is less the words of this verse from the book of Mark, and more about the unique position of this day in the brief history of 2021.  Or, more accurately, I was struck by the passage of time, and the ways in which time moves forward while God continues to work His purposes.

Just two days ago, I finished reading the lists of those exiles who had returned to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the temple, as recorded by Nehemiah.  Now, after a quick read of Joel's prophecies yesterday, including a look into things that seem to be playing out in our world today and that will happen in the days to come, I opened today to Mark's gospel.

As I may have slept through much of my Old and New Testament survey classes in college, I will need to do a bit of research to understand the timeline from the rebuilding of the temple to the incarnation of Christ.  But this morning, I'm caught somewhere between "Wow!" and "Whoah!"  It seems like a very abrupt transition from the Old to the New Testaments, and it is something that I miss in years where I read through the Scripture in a non-chronological order.

But here's what is really on my mind: time is passing.  Rapidly!

I generally try to redirect my thoughts when I start to become too aware of the passage of time, because I find it uncomfortable to consider the ramifications.  I tend to think far too much of life on earth, outside the context of eternity.  And while I know that my eternity is settled by faith in Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, it is life on planet earth that seems to consume so much of my thought life.

So here I sit in September 2021, realizing that this year is nearly 3/4 done.  This week brought the first day of fall, making my pumpkin spice friends rejoice.  And there are fewer than 100 days left in this year, meaning that Christmas shopping season is upon us.

This year has brought so many struggles - personal struggles, but also so much chaos and struggle in our nation and in our world.  From an ongoing pandemic to unsettling political and economic times to war and threat of war, and so much more.  My coping mechanisms are worn thin, at best, and while I have tried to spend much time in the Word of God, I confess that I am just weary of it all.  I have been so anxious for 2021 to be over!

And so, my thought this morning is that perhaps I should not be so anxious for this year to come to an end.  Time is a commodity that cannot be reclaimed.  I do not know what 2022 will bring.  I don't even know what tomorrow will bring.  I have this moment, and I do not want to waste it.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Whatever may have consumed the beginning of this year, today presents a new beginning.  This is not a time for debating politics or vaccine mandates or anything else that will not last.  Yes, those things impact our lives, and we should acknowledge those issues, seek God about them, and live accordingly.  But debate is not productive in the propagation of the Gospel.

As we have allowed ourselves to become consumed with "slowing the spread" of a virus, I fear that what we have really slowed is the spread of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  

And so, for the little ladies who occasionally cross my path and feel the need to express their frustration with the lack of masks being worn or of shots being taken, instead of just smiling while inwardly thinking them silly...

Perhaps, instead, I could encourage them with the words of Jesus when He said, "Fear not."

Maybe what they need to know has nothing to do with viruses and experimental drugs and face coverings.  What they need to know is that there is a God in heaven who loved them so much that He sent His only Son to die in their place.

So, yes, fall is here.  Christmas is right around the corner.  2021 will soon come to an end.  Let's make sure these last 98 days of the year count for eternity!

...Just a thought...

Expressing the Inexpressible

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!     2 Corinthians 9:15 ESV

I recently received a gift.  It was a very generous gift, and one of which I am completely undeserving.

As I was driving to work yesterday, I was marveling at the the kindness behind the gift, and the generosity of the giver.  The nature of the gift was that it would serve to lift a heavy weight from my shoulders, and I was thanking God, while contemplating how best to manage this gift so that it might bring the most benefit.

And I was reminded of another gift that I sometimes take for granted, and for which I often fail to express ongoing gratitude.

By means of the cross, the Lord has extended to me such generosity, giving to me a gift far greater than any earthly gift I will ever receive.  Jesus, recognizing that I owed so much more than I would ever be able to pay, extended to me an offer to clear my debt.  My wages - what I had earned for myself by my work (sin) - was death.  The debt that I owed was my very literal life.  Death was the only recourse I had on my own to settle the bill that needed to be paid.

My Savior, not willing for my sin to be the end of me, took on Himself my sin, and received in His body the consequence that I deserved.

This is the "inexpressible gift" that Paul references in today's verse.  

Interestingly, this verse is part of a passage about earthly giving.  Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, and in this particular portion of his letter, Paul had been reminding them about a financial gift the Corinthian church had pledged to collect for some fellow believers.  It seems that Paul was concerned that the Corinthians might not be prepared to actually follow through on their pledge.

So the apostle took some time to remind the people of some basic premises of God's provision.  Paul wrote to them about sowing and reaping, using the agricultural illustration.  He then reminded them that beyond the practical, earthly notion of planting, harvesting, and being nourished, there were spiritual principles in play here.

Paul reminded the Corinthians that the giving of their money was less about providing for others' needs, and more about giving glory to God.  Their generosity was simply a means of expressing gratitude for the grace the Lord had extended to them.

And this passage concludes with the simple reminder that their expression was at once both significant and insignificant - for the gift they had already received was inexpressibly higher than the gift they were preparing to give.

Though he pointed out to the Corinthians that they were preparing to make small expression of the inexpressible, Paul encouraged them to do it anyway.  He recognized that their giving would open the door to a better understanding of the grace of God for them, and the furtherance of the Gospel beyond Corinth.

So today, I am simply thankful.

I am thankful for an earthly gift that has eased a bit of temporary burden.

And I am thankful for the inexpressible gift of God's grace, His gift of His Son, and the Son's gift of His life for mine, lifting my eternal burden.

Perhaps you, too, are feeling weighed down by the heaviness of life on planet earth today.  

Gratitude and praise, I believe, are our best means of finding some relief in times such as we are living.  And beyond the easing of our own burdens, as our hands and hearts open to the people around us, we have opportunity to encourage others to know and give glory to God.

Simple gratitude - insufficient, but so very needed...

...Just a thought...

To Be a Watchman

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?     Ezekiel 33:11 ESV

We are living in strange and unusual times.  That sounds redundant, and, in fact, is.  It is also not completely accurate, as I think about it.  The adage that “history repeats itself” seems particularly applicable.

To most of us, the days in which we are living seem far removed from the life we once knew.  We see things and we hear things that seem unimaginable in the world we grew up in, and in America in particular.  So many things seem to be happening at once that it is hard to focus, and thus hard to process any individual concern.  Thoughts swirl nonstop in my head around issues of safety and freedom – for myself, my family, my nation, and my world.  I find discussion of times like these in my Bible, and that serves to add an additional layer to my already overwhelmed thought process.

I can easily find myself drawn into discussion and debate on any one particular issue at hand, but mostly, I am trying to avoid engaging specific topics too often.  As a whole, we - humanity collective – seem to have lost the ability to consider anything from another’s perspective.  We – individually – make up our minds about how we feel on a particular topic, and in turn judge everyone else as incorrect.  I have been shocked, saddened, and even angered at times as I’ve seen how people with whom I once had much in common manage to line up in complete disagreement with things I believe to be simple truth.

Even as I was contemplating this post this morning, I found myself engaged in conversation wherein we determined that the term “common sense” is pretty much obsolete at this point.  So the question that remains is, “What are thinking people to do in times such as these?”

The most simple and direct answer I can come up with does not address the practical concerns of the question.  That will have to wait for another day.  Today, I want to consider the true heart of the matter.

Old Testament history and prophecy serve to remind us that what we are currently experiencing is not unique.  Throughout history, plagues and wars and godless living have been commonplace.  It was not unusual in times past for a faction within a nation to attempt – often successfully – to overthrow a rightful leader.  Neither was it unusual for an ungodly leader to rise to power and do unthinkable things.  It was not uncommon for a people group to be enslaved by another people group, or for an entire nation to be overtaken in response to poor leadership from the ruling authority.

The thirty-third chapter of Ezekiel serves to give us an idea as to what we might do in times such as we find ourselves.

The Lord appointed Ezekiel as a “watchman” over the people of Israel (Ezekiel 33:7).  He was instructed to be diligent in communicating the words of the Lord to the people.  If he failed to follow this simple instruction, Ezekiel would be accountable.

God wanted very much to restore a rebellious people to Himself.  He had extended many chances for the people to turn from their sin and avoid the circumstances in which they found themselves in Ezekiel’s day.  They chose to continue in sin and rebellion, and ultimately, the Lord ceased shielding them from the consequences of their actions.  But He never stopped calling them to repentance.

As the Lord instructed Ezekiel to warn the people of Israel, I believe He is calling the Church today to warn the people of our day.  Our God is still not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), and He still desires that people come to repentance. 

The call for repentance is certainly a call for the lost to be saved.  (In Ezekiel’s day, pre- Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our redemption, the people were identified as either “righteous” or “wicked.”  Quite simply, the righteous were those who consistently followed the law, while the wicked were those who did not.)  In fact, the call for repentance is not just a call for the lost to come to salvation…

 And you, son of man, say to your people, “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.”   Ezekiel 33:12 ESV

First, we are called ourselves to repent – daily, moment-by-moment, or with whatever frequency is necessary – for our righteousness comes only through the work of Christ on the cross.  Then we are called to warn the world around us, helping others to understand the offensiveness of sin to a holy God, leading them to an understanding of repentance and salvation as holy God’s free gift through Christ His Son.

And so, in the interest or drawing some instruction from the Word without further digression, I believe that God is calling us to be the “watchmen” of our day.  Judgment is coming.  We can debate the signs and the times and the ramifications at another time, because the “when” is irrelevant.  Whether today, tomorrow, next week, next year, a thousand years from now (though none of us is likely to live that long, so we will face judgment sooner than that!) – judgment is certain.   The only question is the matter of readiness.

So the thought today is that when tempted to fall into debate over masks or vaccines or politics or social issues, perhaps I should set my focus on the greater need of the world around me, taking serious the call to stand watch.  That which is of eternal consequence is where I must direct my attention.  Whatever may happen in my country and my world, I do not want my inaction to leave me guilty of losing souls for the Kingdom of God.

Be a watchman.

…Just a thought…