Midweek: Complete

It used to be, as children, rainy Saturdays were the worst thing ever. School all week, homework and early bedtime; but Saturday was the day for which we longed! Outdoors and endless play! With the advent of video games, I'm not sure that holds true much anymore. But in Grown-Up World, rainy Saturdays are just as good as the sunny ones. Rainy Saturdays are opportunities to clean the house and catch-up on laundry. Rainy Saturdays free us up for movie days, or pajama days. Rainy Saturdays provide the time we need to paint cardboard boxes. What? You don't paint cardboard boxes, too? Okay, I really didn't think you did, but my husband and I certainly do. During COVID, when Amazon deliveries were "essential" and boxes were plentiful, my husband began crafting buildings from said boxes so he and the grandchildren could play together. With our youngest now joining in on the brainstorming, they continue to keep me busy with commissions. This is the pharmacy; paint the windows and doors, please. Can you paint lamps on either side of the police station? The creation of our cardboard universe could go on indefinitely! The more we see and experience in the world God has created, the more ideas are ignited. As the boys play, the more they discover dearth. Mom! We really need a Wawa! (Sorry, Bud, you're on you're own there; I'm a Sheetz girl!) The more we examine our earliest works, the more rudimentary they seem compared to our newer buildings; thus, an update is requested.  

Not so with God and His world. Genesis 2:1 tells us the heavens and the earth were completed (NIV), finished (NKJV). God finished His work, and that includes all of His work. Henry M. Morris, in his book, The Genesis Record, explains the processes God employed were the processes of creating and making (innovation and integration). Those processes were completed when God's work was completed. What we witness today are the processes of conservation and disintegration, described in the two universal Laws of Thermodynamics; (at the risk of oversimplifying) in a closed system, energy remains constant, and randomness, disorder tends to increase. In short, no "big bang" of creation, as the energy of a closed system is what it is from its origin; and things don't spontaneously improve or integrate. Did your mother ever tell you, Dinner doesn't just make itself!? She was on to something there.

God is not continuing to design and craft new species. And neither is anyone else. Not that His creative juices have been exhausted or that He, by the work of creation, is Himself exhausted, but --Genesis 1:31, God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. It was very good, all that was needed, not just finished, but complete. There is no need for further creation. God's character is visible, expressed in all we see in the natural world. He is infinite, mighty, gloriously creative; a Protector fully aware of the needs of His people and fully capable of delivering. He is unrivaled at the creation game! And, praise Him, His work is finished. 

It's raining, however, and I have some painting to do.

  

A Reckoning of Blood

I'm thinking of blood right now. I know, weird; but stick with me. I give blood regularly. I like to give blood regularly; it's something I think is important. But lately, I've been unable to donate. These days, my blood, every drop of it must remain inside of me. No handouts, doctor's orders.

More than a year ago, a major trauma center in our area closed down. It was close to a city that itself, is broken and in need of healing. When it was operational, the neon lights of the center's ER were a welcome sight to victims of violence. Again, blood. Multiple gunshot wounds, and the life of a too-young man pouring out on a worn, cold floor.     

In Genesis 9, the floodwaters have receded, Noah and his family have emerged from the ark, their vessel of salvation from God's judgment, and God has repeated the order He had given the first human beings. Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. This time there's something new: fear and dread; the fear and dread of animals for mankind. Why? Because animals are now given to humanity for food. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And God demands a reckoning:

Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.

The mention of blood is a theme that runs all throughout Scripture. Blood represents life. The loss of blood, the loss of life is an offense to God. He created each of us for a purpose. Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, What is man's chief end?, and offers the answer, Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Our lives are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20). Perhaps that is why I believe blood donation to be so important: my blood, my life is intrinsically linked to the God who created not only me, but that too-young man whose life has been treated casually --either by his grievous decisions or by the decisions of others. My life is valued by the same God who values all the other players; the shooter, the victim, the first responders, the doctors and nurses, the frantic mother, the raging father. We are connected by blood; shed, donated, preserved and, hopefully, replenished if necessary.  

And, for those in Christ, we are joined as brothers and sisters by His blood. His blood that cleanses, atones, procures, redeems, reconciles, heals, frees, and unites. His blood poured out; life flowing from an execution stake, the destiny of criminals and the world's only sufficient Savior. His blood, His life, the only means by which new life is given to all who would stand under its fount. It is enough; it is eternal. It is the glorious display of God's hesed toward His creation. And it is blood that still today demands a reckoning and a response from every individual. What is yours? 

Chaos in Life; Character in Death

Samson, judge of Israel --what do you know about him? Well, if you've got a basic Sunday school knowledge of his life, you know he had long hair, was really strong, let Delilah get the best of him, but killed more in death than he did while he lived. But the account of Samson's life which begins in Judges 13 is not even close to being that simple. 

First of all, his mother was barren, and if we learn anything from Scripture, it's that God can work wonders with a woman labeled "barren". As such, the news she was going to have a baby was announced to her by a special messenger from God. He told her the child was to be consecrated unto the Lord, a Nazarite; she was not to drink of the vine or eat anything unclean, and he was not to cut his hair. When she relayed the information to her husband, Manoah, she confessed she'd not gotten the messenger's place of origin or name. Speaking of names, here's a fun fact: Manoah's name means "quiet, rest," but he seems unwilling to do that. He begins to pray the messenger would return; he wants to know more about how to raise this special boy. Have you ever considered the people who God places in your path? Have you ever prayed, Lord, show me how to minister to the people You send my way today? Have you asked God for the resources it will take for you to raise your children? There was nothing in this man, Manoah, that said, Yeah, I got this covered. He was chasing after whatever God was willing to give that he might accomplish the assignment he'd been given.

Secondly, the details. The announcement of Samson's birth encompasses all of chapter 13 and includes an account of what happened when the messenger did return. Chapter 14 develops the character of Samson the adult. He's arrogant, lustful, impulsive; not the usual qualities we look for in a redeemer. This same chapter covers Samson's marriage, the strange riddle Samson used to taunt his wedding party, and the giving of Samson's bride to another. Chapter 15 finds Samson using three hundred foxes to torch (literally) Philistine farms and set off a cycle of revenge that finally ends with a thousand Philistines being slain by Samson using the jawbone of an ass. Lastly, the bulk of chapter 16 records the seemingly never-ending deceptions of Delilah, an account that leaves most of us shaking our heads and wondering why Samson didn't just get himself outta Dodge before she could hire a barber. By verse 21 of the chapter, Samson is a blind slave in Philistine territory, and verse 22, renews hope with However. Something big is about to happen.

And that brings me to the final portion of Samson's life. We're told there's a celebration. We're given the words to the hymn they sang to their god. And in fewer than ten verses we're told of Samson's victory over three thousand Philistines which cost him his own life that day. Verse 26 records the words he spoke to the young man who led Samson like a dog into the temple that day, and in verse 28, we are privileged to read the cry of Samson's heart:

O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!

Samson asks for the ability to enact vengeance on his enemies and the enemies of God, but there seems to be more to it than that. There is an indication of repentance there, of a humility that only comes when one has been made to realize just how helpless they really are. Matthew Henry, in his commentary writes, The strength which he (Samson) had lost by sin, he recovers by prayer. In giving one's heart up to the Lord, in coming to know life in our physical bodies is not the highest end, there is infinite strength.

The details of his life are many and complex, but the simple gravity of his death surpasses them all, and not only because of the thousands he took with him. His final moments are a testimony to the strength of hearts broken for our King. Had Samson walked in that kind of surrender throughout his life, we can only imagine the return. Instead, it was his character in death that exhorts us today. May we live with humbled hearts and bring down the house while we still have more days ahead.  

 

Midweek: Work Has Been Canceled on Account of Words

Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.

~ Saint Francis of Assisi

NOT the words of St, Francis and NOT necessarily biblical. What he did say was (and I'm paraphrasing), Your actions should match your words. Now, that certainly has the support of Scripture. But have you ever tried to share Jesus with someone? People can resist --rudely.  

I know individuals who have the gift of evangelism. They see an empty chair at the DMV and before anyone has opportunity to object, they're sitting there chatting up those around them and sharing the Gospel. One of my sisters, with absolutely no hesitation, will grab a bottle of vitamins off the shelf at the pharmacy and ask, If you take vitamins for good physical health, what are you doing for spiritual health? No matter the reaction, she engages in those conversations with enthusiasm as long as anyone will allow. Talk about conviction and thick skin! If attempts to share the Gospel don't get you kicked out of the pharmacy, they could get you cursed out, spit on, laughed at, or pulled into the office for the "workplace decorum" talk. In short, the use of words can be unrewarding. Jesus warned His disciples they would be hated by the world (John 15:18) and called out folks motivated by earthly desires (John 6:2-27).

Actions, however, tend to be better received. You can walk away from handing out sandwiches to the homeless and feel as though you've done something truly useful. You can drive the folks to and from their appointments and no one will flip you the bird. As a matter of fact, you may be spoken of in terms of salt and earth. Serving others through good deeds has its visible results and its tangible rewards. And who turns down a freebie? The chances of getting taunted when you're donating money are pretty near zero, I would think.

I'm not saying helping others is without merit. Scripture clearly says we are to help others. But it is extremely important we are rightly motivated: for the glory of the Father, first and foremost. Whatever accolades or warm fuzzies we get out of the deal are His gift to us, a mere byproduct. Additionally, it's important we don't lead others to develop wrong motives. If Jesus had continued healing and feeding with nothing more than "God bless you", the people would have been conditioned to seek only gifts, ignoring --or never knowing --the Giver. Jesus directed folks' attention to the Father and they crucified Him for it! Are we any less responsible for the message we deliver? If we're not making it crystal clear who God is, we will be held accountable. Would the people you are currently serving be thrilled to listen to a sermon or sit through a Bible study before you handed out the free backpacks? Are we teaching people that the God of the Bible is bigger than physical needs? Do we accept that, sometimes, we're not supposed to help? What if God is trying to do something with someone's situation, in someone's situation, in spite of someone's situation? And here we come, on our white horse, ready to rescue every damsel and plug every leak. Much easier to plug a leak than walk with someone through doubt and tears week after week; to say again and again, Let's pray; to watch as they struggle.

Daniel faced lions. His friends entered the furnace. Because there was a message. That message is still important today, and it is meant to be delivered in the form of actions that uphold our words, not replace them.