For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what he has done. (Matthew 16:27)
- "Sometimes in the process of grace, you go through untold trauma in the soul."
- "If you don't give up, don't bail out, don't resist, you might be around to see the end of God's grace."
- "What a joy it must be to know that God used you to do what He wants to do."
Today, we consider the second statement.
As we read the Advent narratives in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, we see several instances where Mary could have resisted, bailed out, or given up. She could have resisted Gabriel's announcement and said no to God. Or, she could have accepted the announcement, but left her community and permanently relocated to the remote home of Elizabeth and Zechariah. She could have chosen to give Jesus over to the care of some other person or institution so that she would be spared from the challenges of parenthood, spared the pain of seeing His suffering, and spared from experiencing suffering in her own life.
She said yes. Mary bore and reared the child Jesus in the sight of her community. She recognized His power, and in His adulthood testified of His ability to do the miraculous. She watched Him die. She witnessed His resurrection and ascension. She received the gift of His Spirit. In the pain and crisis of her faith-filled, favored life, Mary experienced God. She saw the victorious life that eclipsed the pain and death of the cross, and she rejoiced.
Pastor Sam, however, placed a very important word in his comment: "might". Not everyone might get the chance to see the end of God's grace. The writer to the Hebrews laid out the truth: Some obtained a good report because of their faith, but they never saw the promise during their physical lifetime (see Hebrews 11:39).
Are we satisfied to be steadfast in our faith, to say yes to God's announcement for us, yet never see His victorious hand at work in the situations we face?
Earlier in Hebrews (chapters 6 and 7), the writer speaks at length about Abraham and about how certain things were accomplished through him. And, though they were not seen by him during his life, his descendants saw the results. Perhaps some of us will be called to end our lives without seeing physical evidence of answers to prayers, but we can nonetheless "see" the answers spiritually by faith. If God has made promises to us, and if we have remained faithful and obedient to His word, then we can be assured that He will ultimately honor and bless the word He has given to us.
Pastor Sam made the observation that ministers are sometimes pressured to sugar-coat the gospel of Christ in order to make it more palatable, more sale-able, more easily embraced. It is a pressure that must be resisted and crushed. I have had the experience of hearing highly educated clergy and congregants insist that God is obligated to work His wonders in the way we would best like to experience them, and that He must allow us to see His work with physical sight. It is a mindset that must be resisted and crushed.
Some months ago, another of our pastors (Pastor Richie) commented on God's prerogative to work His works without regard to space and time. In fact, a big part of the power of prayer is that prayer has the ability to reach backward and forward. This is how deliverance can occur. This is how miracles happen. God has the power to heal wounds that manifest in a man's adulthood today, but that were incurred in his childhood decades ago. God has the power to do a prevenient work, causing future situations to occur that should have not occurred given the "normal" course of life... like Elizabeth's pregnancy in her old age. Physics, physiology, logic, reason... God holds complete right of suspension.
This is the Christmas story. God took Himself from eternity and bound Himself to space and time in the person of Jesus Christ. He did this by suspending biological process, causing a virgin to conceive. He did this knowing that His breaking in to the world would cost some people their reputations, and others their lives.
So, here we are. Some believers might see the end of God's grace with their own eyes. Some believers might only see it through the eyes of faith. But, all believers will rejoice at the Presence and work of their King.
Resist the assumption that if you do not see it, God has not done it. Our Father is working. Have faith.
My Father sees and knows all things;
He sets up rulers, pulls down kings,
Reveals the hearts and thoughts of man.
I cannot see; I know He can.
He moves apart from time and space,
Permitting pains, extending grace.
Dear Mary, given special place,
Not fully seeing, told God yes...
Will you agree to His address?
(G.A.R.)
No comments:
Post a Comment