Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. -- Genesis 13:11

As Lot learned through much suffering and loss, the path that looks easy in the beginning does not always end so pleasantly.  Sometimes, too, there are separations that need to take place.  The man who would become Abraham had been called to leave behind his land, his people and even his family to follow God and found a new nation.  Loyalty and love had caused him to keep his nephew, Lot, with him as he sojourned in Canaan.  We read how both Lot and Abram prospered and how the increase of their herds caused conflict that led to separation.

Before jumping too far ahead and saying, “Abraham good; Lot bad”, I note that both men had their weaknesses.  Abraham could be controlled by fear and be less than forthright in his dealings.  Meanwhile Peter’s Second Epistle calls Lot “righteous” and speaks of the torment of his “righteous soul” as he dwelt among the lawless in Sodom (2 Peter 2:7-8).  I’m reminded, also, of the conflict between Barnabas and Paul that caused their parting (Acts 15:36-41).  When the Lord divides us from a friend, associate, or family member, it isn’t always because one of us is pulling the other down or because one is right and the other wrong.  It may be part of a greater plan that He has, the ends of which are beyond our powers of speculation and discernment. 

I think about that a lot these days.  You may have seen that map of the United States where it is divided regionally into, I think, eleven different cultures like the Deep South and Greater Appalachia.  Whether there is much to that or not, we seem to be hearing more talk of secession and of unsustainability of the current national model.  We are seeing greater disagreement between the secular and the sacred, between Muslim and Christian, black and white, left and right, often with violence and bloodshed.  Jesus does say (Matthew 10:34-39) that He has come to divide, to sift and to separate, the believing from the unbelieving, the righteous from the wicked, the wheat from the tares, and the sheep from the goats.

We lament these divisions, conflicts and losses, in part because we do not see the destiny to which they move us, but also because of our natural human affection for one another, for the American dream, for a simpler time, or whatever it is we feel is slipping away.  Abraham never stopped caring about Lot.  He rescued him from the king of Elam (Genesis 14), and he interceded for Lot and his family when God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Death, disagreement, or distance, partings of the ways are unavoidable.  Trust God.  Continue to love the departed and pray for an unbroken circle.

Chance

As soon as the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, It is the king of Israel. So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; God drew them away from him. – 2 Chronicles 18:31

I guess it was Jehoshaphat’s lucky day. 

What constitutes a miracle?  How do we tell a miracle from chance or coincidence or a random occurrence?

First, we need to define chance or random.  We can define chance in terms of probability as in the classic coin-toss.  There are only two possible outcomes.  Depending on the starting point, air pressure, force applied, distance the coin falls, etc., which we do not know, we say that a coin will be heads 50% of the time and tails the other 50%.  But when we consider that for a moment, we realize that what we mean by chance or random is “causes unknown”. 

Even the Bible uses this term.  Reading on from the verse above:  For as soon as the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.  But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded (vv 32-33, emphasis added).  The words in English translations that say “at random” or “by chance” are, from the original Hebrew, something like “in his innocence”. 

The king of Syria had ordered his soldiers to specifically target only Ahab, the king of Israel.  Ahab, having heard a prophecy that he would be killed in this battle, thought to escape by disguising himself and allowing attention to be drawn to his fellow king, Jehoshaphat of Judah.  Something happened – we have no idea exactly what – to convince the Syrians that Jehoshaphat was not Ahab and they turned their attack from him.  However, like the famous story of an appointment in Samarra, Ahab could not escape God’s decree.  An arrow released by a Syrian bowman toward the Israelite warriors found its way through the armor of Ahab and mortally wounded him. 

The bowman had no idea that he was shooting at the king of Israel.  Our friend, the Preacher explains, Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all (Ecclesiastes 9:11).  It strikes me that the most ardent and militant of atheists must agree that the Bible contains at least this one truth.  Time and chance explains the whole of existence to the unbeliever.  We and not something or someone else are here because of time and chance.  The wise man, though, uses time and chance to say that there are things beyond us that we cannot know.  The foolish thinks that because he knows of time and chance, he understands all. 

Ahab was destined to die that day in the battle that he had chosen to fight.  The prophet spoke out the decree of the Lord.  There was no chance Ahab would escape. 

I was lucky.  I was unlucky.  What a coincidence.  It was just an accident.  We have all said those things in the past and will again in the future.  Someone fell asleep.  Someone was distracted.  Someone left late.  Someone left early.  I slowed up just before the deer crossed the road.  I never saw it coming.  Why did the deer cross the road in the first place?  Chance.  Causal chains of events collided, for good or for ill, to make someone smile.  To end someone’s life. 

No miracle will ever convince anyone of God’s existence or of His goodness and grace, except those who are touched by the Holy Ghost.  There is no chance we will escape. 

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I wrote this and pulled up the browser and came over here to post.  At that point, I read the comments on Friday's post, and John's last comment:

Something similar happened this weekend. Cousin Rick, one of my few relatives and somebody I really liked but saw maybe 6 times, called me and left a message on Friday. He had never called me before. Didn't notice until Saturday. I called and left a message Saturday night and again Sunday morning. He died on Sunday morning from a heart attack we found out last night. Make of it what you wish. Guess we will chat later.

The Hawks Are Gathered

Seek and read from the book of the LORD:  Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate.  For the mouth of the LORD has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them. -- Isaiah 34:16

The context of Isaiah 34 appears to be the certainty of God’s wrath falling upon the descendants of Esau in retaliation for Edom’s animosity and frequent treachery toward their Semite cousins in Israel.  Judgment will fall and the land of Edom will be turned over to the various wild beasts and birds for there will be no human inhabitants to trouble or disturb those creatures. 

Looking at verse 16 from this perspective, we see that the Spirit of God will gather all those creatures to overrun and inhabit the desolated territory.  There are numerous prophecies alluding to this so a person can go through the Scriptures and see that each creature listed will indeed be present with its mate, ready to multiply in the absence of human dwellers. 

Or, consider the birds and beasts as manifestations of the prophetic word.  We can find these words in the “book of the LORD”.  None of God’s words will fall to the ground to be lost or fail.  Each word He has spoken will have its “mate” – its fulfillment.  The Holy Spirit works to gather those words into the Holy Scripture – so that we may trust it to be truly the word of God.  But He also works to bring about the complement, to cause the word to come to pass. 

If an owl or a hawk, a porcupine or a hyena is used by the Spirit to fulfill and complete the word of God, are we thinking too highly of ourselves and those around us if we think that He is working in us to build the kingdom, to accomplish His will and to live out His truth in this world?  The Word is alive in His people. 

An owl, being a creature of instinct, will tend to follow the opening that is before it apart from hesitation caused by caution.  We, as creatures of intellect, imagination, and will, made in the image and likeness of God, may choose to rebel against the Spirit’s urgings.  Kind of a sad thought, isn’t it?  I suspect there are many, unaware of the Spirit’s work among them, thinking to do their own will, who end up furthering the purposes of a God they disdain.  Origen says that Christ was put on the Cross by God, by man, and by the devil, but the intentions were vastly different. 

Whether we are aware of it or not, the Lord has called to us and spoken to us about our destiny, in Scripture, in circumstances, and from the lips of those around us.  If we are willing to follow Him, not one of those words will be missing from our lives and each will be present with its fulfillment. 

Defense, Destiny, and Death

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say to the LORD, My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. – Psalm 91:1-2

I have always struggled with Psalm 91, more, perhaps, in the last few months.  The response of my natural thinking to the solid yet soaring promises of protection is to point out that I have not been so protected, that I’ve suffered loss, that I am broken in one way or another.  And it is not just me.  I can hardly make a claim to righteousness.  I could assume I deserve what happens to me, but I see those far more righteous than I am suffering, in pain, impaired, enduring tragedies, and even dying “before their time”.  How do I reconcile human experience with God’s assurance of shelter and defense?

One way in which the Holy Spirit answers my objections is to show me that the psalmist is giving us a picture of the Anointed One.  Here’s how it ends (vv. 14-16):

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name.

When he calls to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.

The viewpoint shifts from the narrator speaking to someone about God’s nature and love to that of God Himself speaking about His Servant. 

The Incarnation was not a trip to the amusement park.  From the moment of His conception to His arrest in Gethsemane, Jesus was under attack.  The adversary sought to end His life before He could fulfill His destiny.  Everyone from King Herod to His own extended family in Nazareth took a shot at Him.  But Jesus was protected and His life preserved:   And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. … And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.  But passing through their midst, he went away (Luke 4:16-29).

Jesus was destined to die – as are we all.  What difference did it make if He died at the foot of a bluff up north or in agony on a Roman cross atop Moriah in Jerusalem?  The shield and buckler of God that allowed the Lord to pass untouched through the crowd of Nazarenes might seem pointless as the hammer drives the nails through His hands and His feet. 

The difference is the meaning that Christ’s death upon the Cross has.  Even if He had been raised up from a death that occurred under other circumstances, only His death that day in Jerusalem as the Passover Lamb could fulfill the prophecies and promises of God recorded in the Book from Moses to Malachi.  Thus Psalm 91 speaks of Christ and how the Lord kept Him even through death and hell and brought Him out of the grave triumphant. 

Does it apply to us at all?  There’s another verse in another Psalm:  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints (Psalm 116:15).  It is not only the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus that is part of God’s plan.  Our lives, our trials, and the time, place, and manner in which we leave this world are significant and bear meaning and purpose as well.  Death is part of our destiny.   

When I read that last verse from Psalm 116, I tend to put the emphasis on the saints.  Certainly His holy ones are greatly loved and valued by the Lord, but that is not where the weight belongs.  We can have many struggles and tribulations and victories in this life, but most of us will die only twice – once to self as we are crucified with Christ and once physically.  Both of those deaths are indeed precious to our Father, and He is careful to make the best possible use of them.  No death of a saint is a waste, and no death will be wasted by the One who watches over the sparrow’s fall.

Practicing Perfection

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  -- Matthew 5:48

Perfect is a challenge.  The underlying word, though, is one with which Raccoons might be familiar:  τελειο, which comes from τελος – that is, telos, which refers to an end or a goal.  We should not think of degrees of excellence but of fitness.  If you have one lock that you really need to open and you have ten keys on your key ring, the one you want is the perfect one, the τελειο. 

My goal in life is to be the right one when I am needed.  It’s like the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan.  The priest and the Levite who passed by on the other side of the road were concerned with being “perfect” in the sense of being clean and inoffensive – not bad things in themselves.  The Samaritan, on the other hand, was the τελειο for the man who had been beaten and robbed.  We don’t know much about him other than what he did for a stranger.  Jesus did not relate this parable to endorse the Samaritan’s lifestyle or to condemn our efforts to keep ourselves pure and unspotted by worldly thinking and the corruption that accompanies it. 

Perfect may be translated as mature or complete.  Sometimes I think telling someone to be perfect can be a little like telling a small child to “grow up”.  On the other hand, if a man is over twenty-one but still irresponsible, spoiled and self-centered, telling him it is time to grow up is appropriate.  Even a child can act his age.  He can be perfect at that point.  And so may we be perfect. 

Our lock and key analogy, while helpful, is limited.  Our destiny is not static but dynamic and evolving.  Every time our “keyness” fits the situation, the door is opened to a new level of changes and challenges where the old “perfection” is no longer “perfect”.  We are always moving toward the goal of attaining (here’s that verse again)  … to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).  

This is the ultimate Telos, the Attractor which draws our history and history in general.  So we are to continue … to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love (Ephesians 4:15-16). 

That will be just perfect.