Some Reviving

For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.  -- Ezra 9:9

We were slaves to sin, to the old nature, to the powers and principalities of this world and its darkness.  The deliverance of the Jews from their captivity and exile and their restoration to Jerusalem foreshadows our deliverance through Christ who, as Philippians 2:7 says, effectively made Himself a slave like us.  He experienced the rejection of death and exile in hell.  Then He arose triumphant -- just as He had said, at the end of three days, “reviving” and rebuilding the true Temple of God – His own body. 

The world is troubled in many ways today.  There is fear and violence and uncertainty.  Financial crises loom.  Terror and persecution stalk the lives of innocent people in countries all over the planet.  Fools cry, “Peace, peace”, but there is no peace for those ruled and controlled by spiritual wickedness. The problems faced by humanity cannot be solved by military interventions, global initiatives, bail-outs, bail-ins, or changing flags. 

When it comes to eschatology, as I have said before, there is a lot I don’t know, but I do know the Lord gives wisdom to those who will ask of Him.  For those Christians who have not asked already, I would suggest that now would be a really good time to ask in earnest.  I’m not saying that the Lord has spoken to me about anything, but I have a feeling we are going to go through some changes and difficulties such that most of us in the West have not seen or experienced. 

It will, I think, be a kind of exile.  Keep Peter’s warning in mind:  For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17)  People are hollering about America being judged for court decisions and such.  The Lord might decide to straighten out His people before He starts on the world.  We should not be discouraged if that should be the case for it means we are closer to revival, renewal, and restoration than ever before.

Communion and the Verdict

But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.  But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.  – 1 Corinthians 11:31-32

Does knowing God begin with knowing ourselves?  Or do we know ourselves because we know God?  I have had those weird dreams where I am unclothed in inappropriate situations.  If I am willing to look honestly at myself, put aside my persona and lower my shields to stand naked in the light of truth, there is no need for judgment on God’s part. 

That’s a lot more than saying I’m a horrible person, which is pretty easy.  If I’m not careful I can turn my faults into a brag.  It does make for some good stories.  We need to shine the light into the dark corners of our hearts, into the locked chambers whose doors we usually refuse to open.  If I want communion, I must allow exposure and face the shame of, not just the wicked things I’ve done, but of the wicked self who was behind them.  

Our true chastisement is losing the presence of God.  By exploring and thoroughly searching past our actions and words to our motives, by being demanding, exacting and severe toward ourselves without hiding behind excuses and rationalizations, we come to see plainly the weakness of the Law.  I am not able, in the flesh, to please God.  The paradox is that we have to give up, but we can’t give up too soon. 

It’s a strange thing.  You know, from the first, that you can’t win.  At least, we know it mentally because it’s right there in plain sight, in the text, in church doctrine, on the lips of everyone sent to teach us.  Still, most of us, I suspect, take quite a bit of convincing at the heart level.  We have to bang our heads against reality more than once – my head is rather hard, to move from an intellectual acceptance to a solid and certain conviction.  Self-examination, self-judgment, and self-discipline are part of the process, and I’m not sure there’s any shortcut allowed around it.  Perhaps there are some who work it all out in a one-time flash of insight and transformation at the mourners’ bench.  I’m not one of those.   Like an ogre or an onion, I find that I have layers of stupidity that have to be painfully peeled away one at a time.  Somewhere under there is Christ. 

Mercy Triumphant

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.  For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. -- James 2:12-13

I was talking to someone recently who said that a certain prominent local Christian of our acquaintance had always looked down on him because he drank.  "You," he said, "never do that." 

I laughed and said it was only because I couldn't.  The truth is that we all have our weaknesses, and, as far as I have seen, there are no exceptions.  It does seem that some Christians do not view greed, jealousy, gluttony, or gossip in the same light as other, more flamboyant transgressions.  While Paul does emphasize the egregiousness of sexual immorality to the Church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 6:12-20), just a few paragraphs before (1 Cor. 5:9-12), he lists such immorality in equivalence with greed, swindling, drunkenness, and idolatry.  More importantly, perhaps, he cautions us against judging those outside the Body:  But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.  For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?

My occasionally hard-drinking friend is not a church-goer.  God is dealing with him, and I will leave the judging of his life to the only righteous Judge.  For my part, I will encourage moderation.  And mercy.  Mercy has the advantage. 

It is true -- never doubt -- that we are always judging ourselves.  If I were to go to hell, it would be because I condemned myself to it.  There was a time when I could not have understood that, let alone accepted it.  I think I learned some of the lessons of mercy from my granddaughter.  At least dealing with her and the overwhelming, unconditional love I have for her made it clearer to me. 

When I was very young, probably half a century or so ago, Dad gave me a Jersey heifer calf.  She was light reddish brown with a white belly and white up on her sides a little.  She even had a triangle of white on her forehead pointing down toward her nose, and she turned out to be a pretty good milk cow.  Her calves helped put me through college, bought my second car and a motorcycle or two.  I had been reading some juvenile-oriented biography of one of the Pilgrim fathers -- probably William Bradford, I don't recall, who allegedly had a lamb which he named "Mercy".  That's what I named my calf.

Mercy has always had positive connotations for me.  I say it, ask for it, and need it -- a lot.  Patience, gentleness, meekness, humility, and many other virtues, I find quite evasive.  Mercy, alone, seems to come more easily.  Perhaps it is a gift, as Romans 12 lists among the gifts a person may be given "acts of mercy".  We are told specifically that in doing acts of mercy one should be happy and cheerful, almost as though cheerfulness were part of the virtue. 

We are merciful when we give someone what they do not deserve.  Sometimes we get this mixed up because we think of innocent people condemned to death who are reprieved by a call from the governor.  However, if the person is innocent, that is not mercy; it is justice.  Mercy is when the guilty are forgiven.  When we do not condemn those who have wronged us, when we spare those who would not spare us, when we are good to those who have hurt us, that is mercy. 

In me, the Lord has accepted the unacceptable.  He has pardoned and reprieved the culpable.  Through Christ, His mercy conquers the judgment and damnation I have so rightly earned.  How can I not be merciful?
 

Thursday Thoughts

So do not be surprised at again finding yourself becoming sensitive, impatient, haughty, and self-willed.  You must be made to understand that this is your natural disposition, and without God’s grace, you will never be anything different.  “We must bear the yoke of the daily confusion of our sins,” says St. Augustine.  We must be made to feel our weakness, our wretchedness, our inability to correct ourselves.  We must give up hope in ourselves, and have no hope but in God.  Yet we must bear with ourselves, never flattering ourselves, but never neglecting an opportunity to correct ourselves.  

We need to understand what kind of people we really are while waiting for God to change us.  We need to become humble under His all-powerful hand.  We need to become submissive and manageable as soon as we sense any resistance in our will.  Be silent as much as you can.  Be in no hurry to judge, but think through your decisions, your likes and dislikes.  In your daily life, stop at once when you are aware of getting in too much of a hurry.  And do not be too eager even for good things.  Take your time.  –Fénelon

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.  For each will have to bear his own load. – Galatians 6:3-5

Drama at home is like meringue on pie.  It’s a lot of trouble to make, serves no purpose that I can see, but some people seem to insist on adding it.