Posted on Sunday, October 1, 2017

Divine Grace for Humble Submission

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

Repentance is the divine path to restoration when our fellowship has been broken with the Almighty, and humble submission to the wisdom of God’s judgment is the human spigot that opens the flow of divine grace. Yes, “the wages of sin is death,” but when we yield our sin-prone lives to God through true repentance and humble submission, “the gift of God is eternal life,” some of which leaks from the eternal into the here and now.

Going Deep // Focus: 2 Samuel 15:25-26

Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”

The seeds of sin that King David planted through his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband to cover up the pregnancy that had resulted from the affair were now being harvested in the rebellion of the king’s son, Absalom. God had completely forgiven David (2 Samuel 12:13), but his sin had set into motion a series of tragic consequences, which Nathan the prophet had predicted (2 Samuel 12:14), that would devastate the humbled king both personally and publically.

The low point of David’s kingship must have been conspiracy, coup and the resultant death of this favorite son, Absalom. The events of this dark season were beyond tragic for David and Israel, and so unnecessary—as is always the case with sin. Certainly the Apostle Paul’s assessment of sin was spot on: “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a) One sin set in motion a chain reaction of death, and as a result, the stench of death was in the air over all Israel—both literally and figuratively.

In spite of his self-inflicted disaster, however, the king found a way to reach into the reservoir of grace and wisdom that God makes available to every repentant believer. David humbly submitted himself to the merciful hand of God as he journeyed through this sin-harvest season. And as he did, this broken man found just what he needed: even more of God’s great grace.

What is it that releases God’s great grace at times when grace is the last thing we deserve? It is that which always moves the heart and hand of God: true humility and complete submission to God’s sovereignty. David truly meant what he said—“ I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”

Now that is an incredibly mature response to a self-induced disaster. Unlike some people who whine, blame and pout, David demonstrated confidence in the judgment of God, he focused on God’s presence in the moment , he left restoration—if there was to be any—to a later time, and he submitted himself completely to the will of God, no matter what the divine plan would bring about. Such humility of heart and submission to the Sovereign’s will are the very reasons the Lord himself proclaimed David to be “a man after God’s own heart” despite the many mistakes he made throughout his lifetime.

It is that very posture, when it comes from an authentic heart, that allows the second half of Romans 6:23 rather than the first half to become the defining reality of our lives: “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” For sure, we have been promised life in the age to come, but when we yield our sin-prone lives to God through true repentance and humble submission, some of that divine life leaks to us from the eternal into the here and now.

Going Deeper With God: Repentance is the divine path to restoration when our fellowship has been broken with the Almighty, and humble submission to the wisdom of God’s judgment is the human spigot that opens the flow of divine grace. Today, humble yourself before the mighty hand of God and he just may lift you up by his grace!

Posted on Saturday, September 30, 2017

Silence Is Not Golden

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

Having difficult conversations is a skill that parents must develop if they are to do a great job of bringing up their children to be well-adjusted, responsible adults. To balance words of rebuke and admonishment with words of encouragement and direction is one of the most difficult things to master, but it can and must be done. To a large degree, the future of the child depends on how skillfully the parent speaks the truth in love.

Going Deep // Focus: 2 Samuel 14:28

Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face.

It is easy to put figures from history on the couch and analyze all their problems. When we do, however, we never have all the facts and nuances that went into why they did what they did, and playing armchair psychologist with their lives will lead us to a pretty dismal cure rate. As Henry Louis Menchen said,

Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.

Having said that, let me take a shot at analyzing David’s parenting technique of isolating his misbehaving son, Absalom, which from our vantage point now looking back several thousand years was horrible. Absalom was King David’s favorite, his pet. The young man was handsome and winsome, and people loved him. His attraction quotient was off the charts. He was also as devious, sneaky, and self-serving as the day is long. When his half-brother Amnon forced himself sexually on Abalsom’s sister, Tamar, Absalom was furious—understandably. And when their father seemed to turn a blind eye to what Amnon had done, Absalom fumed, and secretly plotted.

When the time came, under the guise of a family celebration, through an intricately planned trap, Absalom murdered Amnon and avenged his sister’s rape. Absalom then fled Israel and lived in exile for a couple of years under the protection of a friendly king. In the meantime, again turning a blind eye to what his son had done, David pined for his favorite child. Ultimately, through some skillful mediation, Absalom was allowed to return home to Israel.

But his ongoing punishment was the silent treatment from David. The king refused to speak to his son for two years. In fact, Absalom couldn’t even be in King David’s presence. And it was during this time that Absalom, now seething from his father’s silence, began to secretly foment the rebellion that would lead him to usurp his father’s throne. It would be a rebellion that would divide Israel, lead to the deaths of thousands of soldiers, and ultimately lead to Absalom’s own death and David’s deep and abiding grief.

Now for the analysis: In hindsight, banishing the young man from king’s presence was probably the worst thing the dad could have done for the son. Punishment yes, but silence no. In this case, the judgment was not redemptive; this was not discipline—a form of discipleship that has the goal of restoring the one being punished to a better place. This was done out of anger, frustration and embarrassment.

How much better would it have been for king David to bring Absalom close to himself and help the self-absorbed young man learn about selflessness and serving from the man who truly understood what it meant to shepherd his people? Rather, David’s silent treatment allowed what had already been festering in Absalom to now grow even more rapidly. If Absalom was narcissistic before, he was now a narcissist on steroids.

Having difficult conversations is a skill that must be developed by parents if they are to do a great job of bringing up their children to be well-adjusted, responsible adults. To balance words of rebuke and admonishment with words of encouragement and direction is one of the most difficult things to master, but it can and must be done. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:15-16,

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

A key piece of a parent’s own maturing process is to courageously and confidently speak the truth in love to their children. As Paul said, this is the only way for our family—our children—to build itself up in love.

If you are a parent, or a mentor to a young person, I plead with you: learn how to get this one right. To a large degree, the future of your charge depends on how skillfully you speak the truth in love.

Going Deeper With God: Learning to speak the truth in love is a very challenging skill to acquire. But the Lord will help you if you ask, then commit to it. So ask!

Posted on Friday, September 29, 2017

A Shield About Me

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

Run to God! The Bible says God “will never leave you nor forsake you.” When everyone else is treating you like the plague, God is one who will stick closer than a brother. When you find yourself in a mess of any variety, even a self-inflicted mess, you can still come to the God who will be a shield about you, your glory, the lifter of your head.

Going Deep // Focus: 2 Samuel 13:14-15, 21-22

But Amnon refused to listen to his half-sister, Tamar, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her. Then he hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. He said to her, “Get up and get out!” … When King David heard what his son, Amnon had done, he was furious. And Tamar’s brother, Absalom, never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister.

I am sure there weren’t too many times in David’s life when he might have felt lower. His own son, Amnon, had raped his half-sister, Tamar. This would lead to his murder by Tamar’s brother, Absalom. In later chapters in 2 Samuel, this will lead to Absalom’s military rebellion, where he usurps his father’s throne. David’s family was a complete mess.

Adding to David’s despair was the knowledge that this was his own doing. He was now in the middle of the painful consequences of his adultery with Bathsheba and his conspiracy to murder in order to cover up the affair. David’s sin had set loose some very ugly outcomes within his own family as the prophet Nathan had predicted: Amnon rapes his half-sister, Tamar. Absalom kills Amnon in revenge. Absalom had been banished from the land as punishment, and then when he rturns, he leads a rebellion that sends David into exile, costs him his national dignity, and ultimately ends with Absalom’s death.

But David found solace in the Lord. He always did. When he was on the lam from Saul, hiding in caves, staying one step ahead of death, he found comfort in God. When things went from bad to worse and the few outcasts who were David’s followers were ready to desert him, David strengthened himself in the Lord. And now, as his family crumbles before his very eyes—and from his side of this story, this was a permanent loss, there’d be no fairy-tale ending to this sad saga—David again finds that God is sticking by him. Everybody else might leave, but not God. Everybody else might lose confidence in David, but not God. David might lose everything in this world he had acquired to this point, but he would not lose God.

Part of what makes our admiration and love for David so enduring is his tenacious hold on God. Strip him of everything and what is left is David’s dependence on God. King David’s life was a mess—of his own doing—but he ran to God. Take away his crutches, and David leans on God. The away his power, and David finds strength in God. Take away his palace, the cave becomes David’s sanctuary in God. Take away his position, David positions himself in humility before God. Take away his wealth, David still worships God. Take away his refuge, David runs to God.

When it comes to David’s many flaws, we can relate, can’t we? Maybe thats another reason why we love him so much. We can understand a guy who shoots himself in the foot—we do that sometimes. We can put ourselves in his shoes because we’ve blown it in our lives, big time. We have all had times where our world comes crashing down around us; times where situations turn sour, relationships go south, bad stuff happens, things fall apart, people we thought were friends abandon us, perhaps even turn on us. And to make it even worse, we understand it’s our own stupid fault. We are brother to David!

Hopefully we can also relate to David’s resilience. Hopefully you have learned to choose the option David did when he found himself in these desperate situations—which is still a pretty good option, by the way. In fact, it’s the best option: Go to God!

That’s what David did. And why not! The Bible says God “will never leave you nor forsake you.” When everyone else is treating you like the plague, God is one who will stick closer than a brother. When you find yourself in a mess of any variety, even a self-inflicted mess, you can still come to the God who will be a shield about you, your glory, the lifter of your head. That is a line from one of the most beautiful songs David ever wrote—Psalm 3:3

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high

When you look at the whole of David’s life, he should have ended up on the trash heap of human history. His blunders were so huge, his failures so big, his mistakes so enormous. But David kept going back to God and each time he found God to be his shield, his glory and the one who lifted his head.

And so can you!

Going Deeper With God: One of the best, if not the best response to scripture reading is prayer. Here is a prayer I am offering up to God after reflecting on this story. You may want to join me in praying it: Lord, I relate to David so much, and that’s why I love his story. Like David, so much of what I suffer is the result of my own doing—bad choices, wrong thinking, and willful sin. And like David, I come to you because you are my shield of protection, you are my glorious one, you are the lifter of my head. In this moment of prayer, I look to you once again to surround me with your presence and do your work in me. Heal me, cleanse me, fill me, lift me and use me for your glory.

Posted on Thursday, September 28, 2017

My Sin Is Gone—I’ve Been Set Free!

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

Some Christians tend to make sexual immorality the unforgivable sin, but it is not. For sure, sexual sin has dire consequences, and that’s what makes it so destructive. However, as Francis Schaeffer pointed out, “The Bible does not minimize sexual sin, but neither does it make it different from any other sin.” John Newton wrote, “we serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.” I so treasure that about our merciful God, don’t you?

Going Deep // Focus: 2 Samuel 12:13-14

The prophet Nathan said to King David, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

Where do you go to get your integrity back after you’ve failed? How do you find the way forward after the personal devastation and the public humiliation of a financial, professional, relational or especially after a moral failure of the sexual kind? What can you do to get your heart restored?

I’ll bet David asked those questions after his confession to Nathan, “Where do I go to restore my integrity? What do I do to regain my reputation? How can I get my life back on track with God when I’ve sinned so badly?” God had forgiven David; now David just needed to find a way forward.

The good news from David’s story is that failure doesn’t have to define your future nor does it have to be the fatal blow to God’s plans for you. Sin doesn’t have be the final word in your story; an insurmountable barrier to moving on to a satisfying, successful and even a deeply spiritual life. What David discovered was that as enormous as his sin was, it was wildly outdone by God’s grace. That is not to minimize his sin: he was an adulterer and a murderer—and there would be excruciatingly painful consequences throughout the rest of his life—but David’s sin—and your sin for that matter—will always be miniscule compared to God’s salvation from it. In David’s story, we have been left with a roadmap for recovery, and we can note four essential elements about the way forward to restoration:

The first thing you’ll see is that the road to a restored heart begins with honesty. In 2 Samuel 12:13, David says to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” There’s no explanation, no excuse, no blaming Bathsheba for her seductive exhibitionism, no promise to never do it again. David just simply and sincerely confessed his sin, even when there’s no indication yet that God will have him back, or even allow him to live. Honest confession is what releases Divine compassion and repentance always precedes restoration.

The second thing you’ll see is the road to recovery is paved with healing grace. Verse 13 continues, “Nathan replied, ‘The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.’” Now the Mosaic Law said David had to die. It required death by stoning for adultery—even for a guilty king. Countless adulterers throughout Israel’s history have already died for adultery. So God has to suspend his own law just for David. Sounds unfair and inconsistent of God, doesn’t it? But what we’re getting here is a sneak peak of what God’s grace is all about. Now you’ll notice in the next verse that the son born to David and Bathsheba out of their adulterous affair will have to die. Sadly, the son pays the price for their sin. Sound familiar? God’s Son paid the price for our sin so we wouldn’t have to. He died so we could live! That’s grace: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. That grace is absolutely fundamental to the restored heart.

The third thing you’ll see is that the journey to recovery is fueled by humility. 2 Samuel 12:16 shows David humbling himself before God: “David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground.” He humbled himself and prayed for a crop failure, putting his hope in God’s mercy because he knew that was his only chance. If you’ve repented of sin, it’s okay to pray for a crop failure. Why? God in his mercy just may restrain his discipline. That’s his character, so why not tap into it? Micah 7:18 says, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgressions of the remnant? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy.”

The fourth thing you’ll see is that the road to recovery requires staying the course. David determined to get on with life when I’m sure he felt like giving up, unworthy to go on. He just began to practice a long obedience in the same direction.

As you skim over the last few verses of 2 Samuel 12, here’s what you’ll see: Verse 20 says, “Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.” Verse 24 says, “Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba [over the death of their baby], and he slept with her. She gave birth to [another] son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him…” Verses 29-30 say, “David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. He took the crown from the head of their king—its weight was a talent of gold [75lbs.], and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head.”

It’s no accident that these details are connected to this story of David’s restoration. It’s showing that David is getting on with life, he’s doing what husbands do, he’s doing what kings do. David is just getting back to practical faithfulness in the daily ordinariness of life. That’s where recovery happens!

Then something very cool happens at this point of the story: 2 Samuel 12:25 says that Nathan, the man who had announced God’s judgment on David for his sin, now comes and delivers a message of God’s love. That message comes in the form of a name that God has for the second child born to David and Bathsheba—Jedidiah, which means, “loved by God.” God is showing David that He isn’t finished with him yet. His failure has not been the final word on his life. God is revealing plans to prosper and not to harm David, to give him a hope and a future.

Now restoration doesn’t mean there won’t be scars. The record suggests that David was never again as great a king as he once was. Yet he kept moving forward, and though David may not have become a greater king, but he became a deeper man. And that was a far more important thing.

Going Deeper With God: Some Christians tend to make sexual immorality the unforgivable sin, but it is not. For sure, sexual sin has dire consequences, and that’s what makes it so destructive. Let us remember, as Francis Schaeffer pointed out, “The Bible does not minimize sexual sin, but neither does it make it different from any other sin.” What I treasure so much about our merciful God, like John Newton wrote, is that he is “a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.”

Posted on Wednesday, September 27, 2017

When Godly People Do Ungodly Things

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

The eighteenth-century Pioneer Methodist bishop and circuit rider Francis Asbury wrote in his journal, “My God, keep me through the water and fire, and let me rather die than live to sin against thee!” I am praying that prayer, too.

Going Deep // Focus: 2 Samuel 11:4, 27

David sent messengers to get Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, and when she came to the palace, he slept with her…But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

David was a good and godly king. The nation of Israel was at it’s best under his leadership. Although David’s son, Solomon, would lead Israel into an unprecedented time of economic prosperity, military dominion and unbelievable public works projects, David’s reign was truly Israel’s Golden Age. Not only militarily and economically successful, under David, the nation was spiritually as close to God as ever.

Much of the good times in Israel were due to David’s leadership. He was a man of passionate spirit, deep faith, and stubborn love for God. And he cared about his people. He truly “shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” (Psalm 78:72) They don’t come any better than David.

Yet even though he was a man after God’s own heart, he was still a man—and a flawed one at that. At this moment in time when we find David in 2 Samuel 11, he set his godly heart on the back shelf to indulge his sinful nature in a moment of fleshly passion. Apparently David’s success went to his head; he thought he was above the law, that the could get away with anything he wanted. He was king after all. So far too easily David committed adultery with Bathsheba, a beautiful but married woman whom he saw bathing on one night on the rooftop of her home. And after his dirty deed, he far too easily conspired with General Joab to cover up the affair. With an unusual and frightening callousness, he had Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, one of David’s mighty men of valor, abandoned on the battlefront, where he died.

The hero died from a wound, but not from the enemy. He died from being stabbed in the back by the king he served. Moreover, not only Uriah, but several other innocent soldiers were killed along with Uriah when the army withdrew to leave Uriah in this vulnerable spot.

But while there was no human being higher in authority and power than the king, the King of kings saw what he had done, and the Lord was displeased.

What happened in the mind of this man after God’s own heart that he could order such a callous, evil thing? How could the king act so brazenly? Why did he sink so low? From where did the ease with which he so quickly abandoned his values come? Who was this man, really? We assumed he was so in tune with God, but in this horrible moment, he is desperately out of tune.

David was a godly man who did a very ungodly thing. Unfortunately, that still happens. If King David, the sweet singer of Israel, the progenitor of Jesus the Messiah, the man after God’s own heart could fall so precipitously, so could I. You, too. Any number of spiritual leaders who have train-wrecked their lives, families, and ministries for momentary pleasure stand as witnesses to what I have said.

In truth, we are David, and so is every other human being on the planet. We are fully capable of abandoning our deepest values for the pleasures of sin for a season. (Hebrews 11:25) Why? Because as long as we are alive, we live with the sad reality that we are fallen human beings in desperate need of God’s moment-by-moment saving and sustaining grace. Moreover, we must never forget when we choose to set our godly hearts on the back shelf to do what our flesh desires, the same destructive forces that would haunt David all the way to the grave—in both his personal and public life.—will be set into motion in our lives as well. You will reap what you sow—don’t’ be deceived. David is Exhibit A of sin’s devastating consequences.

But, thank the Lord, David is also Exhibit B of God’s indescribable grace. Somehow, in a way that only a masterful God can, the Lord used David’s disaster to restore him to the throne—not a greater king, but as a deeper man. Moreover, God used David’s horrible mistake to bring about his own prophetic purposes. Through David’s line, through Bathsheba’s womb, the Messiah would one day come.

Now keep in mind that God never condones or winks at our sin. He didn’t simply turn a blind eye to David’s foolishness. Yet no matter how bad we fall, God has promised to restore the penitent sinner and bring good out of the incredible pain we unleash upon ourselves and others. How? Why? Only a God of grace can answer that.

All that to say, and this is the deep cry of my heart, that God would give me a David-heart, but keep me from David-mistakes! And that is my cry for you, too.

Going Deeper With God: Join me in this prayer: Lord, I commit my life into your hands, and ask that you would deliver me from evil. Keep me from the Evil One. Keep me from the evil that resides in my fallen nature. Help me to live by your Spirit, surrendered to the One who has taken up residence in my life. Help me to rise to my better, redeemed identity. I am a child of the King; now help me to act like it. Help me to want to act like it. I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm; now keep me from stooping to eat out of the gutter of my fallen human desires. I have been given eternal life; now enable me to live up to my eternal destiny. I have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus; now help me to honor his sacrifice. Help me to live every moment in a way that honors and pleases you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Reckless Abandon

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

Captain Eddie Rickenbacker said, “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.” It is courage in the face of fear that allows us to exhibit the same reckless abandon of our Bible heroes. Of course, God has given us a rational brain that we ought to use—a lot; he provides us with godly people to offer wise counsel; he has gifted us with discernment to skillfully navigate daily living. Yet there are times where God allows circumstances that are not calling for more prayer or counsel or analysis—more of those would frankly be spiritual stalling tactics. No, there comes a time when big, hairy, audacious steps of faith are the order of the moment. And it is those times when reckless abandon and ruthless trust are the ingredients necessary for spiritual victory.

Going Deep // Focus: 2 Samuel 10:9-12

Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”

Joab was one of the bad boys of the Bible. There were a few others like him. In the New Testament, Peter was cut of the same cloth. They often spoke before they thought, acted before they considered the consequence, and had to have people bail them out of the messes they created from time to time.

But at the same time, like a broken clock that is right twice a day, these guys displayed reckless abandon in their faith in Almighty God. Peter was the only disciple, and human being as far as I know, to get out of the boat and walk on water, at least for a few steps, to meet Jesus. A contemporary of Joab, King Saul’s son Jonathan, not a bad boy of the Bible but certainly a man of reckless faith, said to his armor bearer, “hey, let’s go up to the garrison and take on these dirty Philistines. Who knows, maybe God might even help us.” And then there’s General Joab, a relative of King Dyavid and a guy that even David had to distance himself from on a few occasions, who said to his brother, Abishai, “man up and let’s take on these Arameans and their Ammonite sidekicks. Let’s fight for God and Israel and leave the outcome up to the Good Lord.”

You’ve got to love that kind of reckless abandon! Of course, God has given us a rational brain that we ought to use a lot, and he provides us with the counsel of wise people to help us figure out the best way to do life well, and he has gifted us with discernment that we ought to skillfully apply in analyzing circumstances to see when things are to our advantage. Yet there will be times in the journey of faith where the Lord allows us to be in circumstances that are not calling for more prayer or counsel or analysis—more of those were be nothing more than spiritual stalling tactics. No, there comes a time when big, hairy, audacious steps of faith are the order of the moment. And it is those times when reckless abandon and ruthless trust are the ingredients necessary for spiritual victory.

It is in those moments where testimonies for the ages are born. Again, those moments don’t occur every day; they are more likely to come just every so often in a lifetime. But when they come, we must be ready to seize the day and step out. And nothing prepares you for those unique moments like living the rest of the time with the strong theological commitment that “the Lord will do what is good in his sight,” always.

The famous World War I pilot, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker said, “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.” It is precisely that kind of courage in the face of fear that allows us to exhibit the kind of reckless abandon that Jonathan, Peter and Joab became famous for.

Maybe you will have that opportunity today. Maybe I will. Or maybe we both will. Who knows, but let’s be ready. And in the meantime, today is the dress rehearsal for the moment that may come when God allows us to be in one of those defining moments. So what do we do in rehearsing for that moment? We stand on our theological commitment that “the Lord will do what is good in his sight,” always.

I think what G.K Chesterton said about courage applies to this business of reckless abandon: “Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live, taking the form of a readiness to die.” God help us to live that way today, ready to die for the Lord’s cause, if that is good in his sight!

Going Deeper With God: I invite you to join me in this prayer today: Lord, help me to cast off my natural reserve for a little Joab-like raw readiness today. Enable me to see those opportunities where faith is calling me to step out into the rare air of ruthless trust. Pour some Holy Spirit boldness into this ready heart that I might abandon myself recklessly for you.

Posted on Monday, September 25, 2017

The Object of God’s Kindness

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

Apart from grace, we are refugees. That is our identity. But out of his covenantal kindness and faithfulness and love, we are brought into God’s family, assigned a permanent and rightful place at his table, given a new identity and destiny, and showered with grace, not due to our own merit, but for the sake of Jesus—hallelujah! We are the object of God’s undeserved kindness.

Going Deep // Focus: 2 Samuel 9:1

King David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

David was looking for an object of kindness because of his incredible love for Jonathan. Jonathan was his best friend in life, and his love for this treasured friend was not even diminished by death. Now David found a way to continue his love by showing kindness to Jonathan’s surviving son, Mephibosheth, who was now a young man living in obscurity in a far away place. Mephibosheth had been permanently disabled when he was dropped as a child by his nurse as King Saul’s household fled in panic at news of the king’s defeat. (2 Samuel 4:4)

The Hebrew word for “kindness” in this verse is very interesting—its “chesed”. It is a complex word that is narrowly translated as “love”. It describes a love that is more than just an idea or a feeling or the spontaneous emotion of the moment. Rather, it refers to a sustained action.

You might say that “chesed” is kindness with hands and feet. It is undeserved, unconditional, un-repayable, unrelenting kindness that is offered without regard to shifting circumstance, personal convenience or one’s emotional state du jour. Actually, “chesed” is God’s love—the way God loves you and me.

We see this kind of Old Testament “chesed” in action in Titus 3:3-7 and as the New Testament marriage of God’s kindness and love for us: “At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another…”

That is, we were like “Mephibosheth, who at the time David found him, was living in bitterness and fear in Lo-Debar”. Literally, Lo-Debar means “the barren place”. And as the only living heir to Saul’s dynasty, Mephibosheth’s whereabouts was kept secret, for obvious reasons now that David was the new king. He grew up as a refugee in this barren place with his kingly identity suppressed, his royal privileges denied, with no hope for the future except obscurity, poverty and, if he’s ever discovered, execution. And to make an already bad situation worse, his physical handicap was a painful, frustrating, and constant reminder of the life he’d lost and that would be his forever.

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…”

Sound familiar? “Is there anyone from Saul’s house I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

“So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs, having the hope of eternal life.”

Notice the similarity to something repeated four times in 2 Samuel 9:7, 10, 11, and 13: “Mephibosheth will always eat at my table.”

You will also note that Mephiboseth’s name is repeated seven times. Why the repetition? David is going out of his way to show that Mephibosheth has a permanent place in the king’s family—that is now his new destiny—royalty restored! David is also going out of his way to show that Mephibosheth’s name is no longer an object of loathing, but an object of loving. Mephibsoheth, which was likely a nickname, means “seething dishonor”. (1 Chronicles 9:40) But the king whispers his name, and a hopeless refugee is now a redeemed child—that’s his new identity.

Now if that is not a picture of our reconciliation to God through Christ I don’t know what is! Think about it! We are Mephibosheth in this story: We too, suffered a fall that left us crippled! We have a permanent sin-limp to prove it. We too, were estranged from God—distant in Lo-Debar, the barren place—a place of emptiness and dissatisfaction. We too, lived under the fear of judgment.

That was our identity—refugees apart from grace. But out of his covenantal kindness and faithfulness and love, we were brought into God’s family, given a place at his table, given a new identity and destiny, and showered with grace, not due to our own merit, but for the sake of Jesus—Hallelujah!

We are the object of his undeserved kindness.

Going Deeper With God: Go back and re-read this obscure chapter. Change the names to read yourself and Jesus into the story. David was a type of Christ and you are Mephibosheth. And take a moment to rejoice, since it is you who is the recipients of God’s unconditional, unrelenting, un-repayable love. The good news is, God really does prefer you as the object of his kindness.