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Forgiveness

February 19, 2012 / admin

It is not in human nature to extend forgiveness.

The Hebrew Psalmist, reflecting upon the destruction of Jerusalem, prayed: “Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. ‘Tear it down,’ they cried, ‘tear it down to its foundations!’ Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.” (Psalm 137:7-9)

William Willimon tells of a rabbi friend who once confided to him that he admired most of what Jesus said and did, but that he found His first words from the cross “most offensive, lamentable, and reprehensible” Why? “We’ve had enough Jews crucified by gentiles. We don’t need any more Jews forgiving gentiles for killing Jews.” (p.11, Thank God It’s Friday)

Elie Wiesel, the renown professor, author, human rights activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor was asked to offer prayer at the official events commemorating the 50^th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and Birkenau. He prayed, “God of forgiveness, do not forgive those who created this place. God of mercy, have no mercy on those who killed Jewish children here. Do not forgive the murderers or their accomplices whose work was to kill. . . . Remember the nocturnal processions of children, so many children, all so wise, so frightened, so beautiful. . . . God of compassion, have no compassion for those who had none.” (p.194, And the Sea is Never Full)

We can all be thankful that it is in the divine nature to be more gracious.

Hanging on the cross, Jesus Christ prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

The Greatest = Love

February 14, 2012 / admin

“Love never ends … For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:12-13)

Faith is necessary now because we do not see fully. God, by His grace, opens our eyes and allows us to see truth. But we do not as yet see all truth/reality. So we walk by faith. But one day “our faith shall be sight” (as the hymn puts it). Faith will give way to full and perfected sight.

Hope is necessary now because we do not see fully. God, by His grace, has given us good and sound reason for hope. His promises are true. But they are not yet fully realized. “Hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?” (Rom. 8:24). No, “we hope for what we do not see” (v.25). But one day we shall see fully and our hope will be fully realized. Hope will give way to experiential reality.

Love is necessary now. But love–unlike faith and hope–will never give way to something fuller, bigger, more permanent. We love now because we do not see fully (and thus are not able to make final judgments). We will love then because we will see fully (and understand what we do not as yet comprehend). Thank God, “Love never ends.”

Faith? Wonderful! But temporary.

Hope? Magnificent! But transient.

Love? Yes! Now. Forever. Always.

Amen and Amen — “the greatest of these is love.”

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

Helplessness and Prayer

January 30, 2012 / admin

“Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness.” (O. Hallsbey, Prayer, p.19)

Why I Keep Going to Church

January 24, 2012 / admin

My friend John Stumbo has written a wonderful book entitled An Honest Look at a Mysterious Journey. You can purchase it here. It is a must read for anyone experiencing pain and confusion over the ways of God.

Here is a great quote (pp.120-121) from John on why he continued to attend church even when, because of pain and confusion in his life, he did not feel the desire to do so.

“Looking back over the last few months, I realize that by attending church …

…I think thoughts I would not otherwise think

… I hear truths I would not otherwise hear

… I sing songs I would not otherwise sing

… I meet people I would not otherwise meet

… I give offerings I may not otherwise give

… I rejoice in missions’ efforts and in new followers of Jesus that I would not otherwise know about

… I receive encouragement and challenge I would not otherwise receive

… I she tears I would not have otherwise shed

… I receive a blessing I would not otherwise have received

… I pray prayers I would not otherwise have thought to pray

… I meet God in a way that I would not have met Him had I stayed home in my chair

… And, perhaps, my attendance is an encouragement or testimony to someone else.”

Life Truly Lived

January 5, 2012 / admin

“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:10, 12)

“… redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:16-17)

“Some live for many years but at the end have little or nothing to show for them. Take out the wasted hours, hours of drowsy lethargy, hours of luxurious sloth and hours of self-indulgence, and only a few hours of real life are left. There are men who will be seventy next birthday but who have only lived six months out of the whole time.

Others live for only a few years, but they have crowded them with strenuous, noble life . . . They have treasured the moments with frugal and miserly care . . . What books they have read! What deeds they have done! What ministries they have initiated! What friends they have made! What characters they have built up! They have lived long. They will be thirty next birthday, but in those few years they have lived the life that most men live in sixty years.” (F.B. Meyer, Joseph, CLC Publications, p.115)

Light to Live By