All great, and not so great, men and women through-out all time have died.
Some started great religions and many more followed in their foot steps through
this wilderness. Today legions follow their paths claiming to be following the
straight and narrow path of their founder. In many religions their proponents
claim the path leads exclusively to God. Others, even some which call
themselves Christian, in their zealous behavior claim that all paths lead to God.
How does one sort this out, or are we left alone in the dark to figure it out
on our own. "If it feels good to me it must be right!"
This week we have finally worked our way through five life style curves or
representations and six principles of what I call Enterprise Symbiosis. This
week we cover the final principle, one of two taken directly from the Bible.
This principle is taken from 1 John 2:17b: The
world and its desires pass away,but the man who does the will of God lives
forever. (NIV)
Put more in context of the New King James: Do
not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is
of the world. And the world is passing away and the lust of it; but he who does
the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
Looking to man for religious insight soon makes idols of them and of their
work. These men are all dead or in the process of dying in this world, this
earthly cosmos. But if this Bible passage is true, then the will of God is for
humanity to live forever. How can that be? From our perspective, it must be to
get our religion right. If there is truly only one path then for the sake of
our eternity, it better be the right path. There is a religion that makes that
claim among many others, but differs from the others in one historic fact. In
historic Christianity, the claims of the followers of Jesus state that he is no
longer dead, but he is alive forever more. And these claims in this historic
sense go far beyond the pie in the sky in the sweet by and by. Historic
Christianity bases all its marbles on the facts, these facts. 1. God (in the
person of Jesus of Nazareth) came to earth, born of a virgin and was crucified
on a cross in propitiation (from the person of God the Father) for the sin (in
the absolute complete sense) of all mankind. 2. On the third day He was
resurrected from the dead (as prophesied) by the person of the Holy Spirit,not
as an eternal spirit, but in the form of a material matter type person. Real
stuff. 3. As He rose so He also ascended to the right hand of God the Father in
heaven, where He in this resurrected real form, continually makes intercession
for those of the created human condition who believe in the grace offered by
Him alone, by faith alone. We will one day see Him face to face.
Job reported to be the oldest book in the Bible puts it this way: "Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they
were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen
and lead, forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at
last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my
flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold,
and not another. How my heart yearns within me! If you should say, 'How shall
we persecute him?'-- Since the root of the matter is found in me, Be afraid of
the sword for yourselves; For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, That
you may know there is a judgment." (Job 19: 23-29)
So if Job and the historic teachings of Christianity are true. The path you
choose makes all the difference. It is a path that gets amazing grace right by
proclaiming the truth, not only of the right person of Jesus among many others
named such, but also the right person of God the Father among at least two
choices, and also the right person of the Holy Spirit, who raised Jesus from
the dead and can bring about that same rebirth today, through sovereign grace
alone. The first fruit of this new life we have seen in Jesus Christ. There are
many books written on these subjects drawing directly from Biblical accounts,
if the original Bible is not clear enough for you. So rather than continue to
push these doctrinal points you may not be ready to accept at this time, let us
return to our little story of our journey through Orient and see what fruit one
more trip up there might entail. This time we will use a couple of short
discourses or applications that might take place if the story of the fall of
man (Genesis 3) were set in, and updated to present times. In these stories I
will use myself as Adam. Since I am naturally a man (we all know how tender the
male ego is, thus saving any Robert, Steve or John etc. any actual
embarrassment) and I am not naturally now married (saving any Kathy, Nancy or
Amy etc.) I will call her Grace. Which if men were truly willing to admit it,
would be their wife's real name no matter the meaning of their natural name.
The Devil comes to me and says, "Hey dude,
You cool stud you, how would you like to be like God? Just eat this fruit and
see what it will do for your ministry and your Christian witness!"
"Far out man! (I always liked John
Denver but that is another story.) This is some apple, you devil you. Is it
true about playing the music backwards? Say, I think I am catching the
anointing."
Returning home and before I can even say a word Grace announces, "What did you do now? I'm not even going to
listen to any lame excuse you have this time. You are sleeping on the couch
until you repent of your sinful ways and the Lord says it is all right to
forgive you. From now on until further notice your only friends are that new
guy on 'Monday Night Football' or 'Everybody Loves Raymond' it is your choice!
Don't use any of those, 'but Grace lines', as far as you are concerned Grace
doesn't live here any more."
We moved on up the road from Orient, crossed the Canadian border and slowly
most of our acquaintances either took the left fork of the road and went in to
Grand Forks to start a church or continued up the road over Bonanza pass.
Others went off into the wilderness trying to see if they could find a path
forward. Grace and I decided to spend a few days right on the north end of Lake
Christina, to discuss what we had been through the last few weeks before
deciding where we should continue. I was busy making the camp comfortable and
Grace said she would like to go for a walk, "Hurry
back dear, I've almost got the satellite dish set up. After dinner we can watch
'Monday Night Football'. They've got this new guy doing color this year!"
Grace just smiled as she always does when she hasn't got a clue on what I'm
talking about and vanished into the woods.
It has seemed like eternity when the Lord God calls to me. "Son of man, where are you? (Picking up in Genesis 3:9)
"God, I heard your voice in the
wilderness, and I was afraid because I was alone, so I hid myself in the tent
and pretended to be watching "Monday Night Football" and its, I
think, sometime Tuesday. I've lost all track of time.
"Why are you alone? Where is the woman I
made for you?"
"I don't know God! She disappeared in
the woods it seems like weeks ago and winter is coming on. Perhaps she thinks
the devil made her do something and she is ashamed to come home. But I know her
well enough to know that at the time she thought she was just being nice, but
sometimes things always don't turn out the way she hopes. Another thing I have
learned from you is that when things go wrong I am always just as much to
blame, perhaps more, but sometimes I'm not able to say what I think. God you
know where she is, take good care of her. The woman whom You gave to be with
me, is out there somewhere but I'm afraid to leave camp, I want to be here when
she returns, I'm not God I can't be everywhere, so I will stay here and you go
and bring her back. I'll try to wait."
"Son of man, why should I go and get her
for you?"
"Because I need her to go on from here.
This weakness I have can only be strengthened by the real Grace, After all I'm
no apostle Paul able to go it alone, I am not gifted like he was. My gift is
only as good has her help. You know God, like a chapter ago in your Word. Your
grace is sufficient, for now and forever, but it is in the intervening years is
what I am worrying about."
"Son of man, what would you do if I told
you that she thought, her continued presence would weaken your ministry?"
"I would tell her that those thoughts
are the true lies of the devil. In your grace, my Grace is sufficient for me. I
don't need any perfect woman, I just need the one you made for me, any others
just wouldn't do. We really are one flesh and I think we always have known it.
But God, I have no idea how to tell her that. I've put signs all around camp
saying 'Grace, please come home, I love you,' But now God I am beyond my
ability to do anything. She could be in California, or New York by now, or even
back in Seattle."
"So Jerry, you are saying that
perhaps Grace thinks more highly of you than you really are?"
"Precisely, Tell her that there is
nothing in her perceived sin that cannot be used by You for your Glory. Grace
and I rest in your grace alone. But God how can she know that we are really
having this conversation. After all it seems at least a little strange, kind of
like my whole life. Truthfully it is a story that should bring both tears and
then laughter."
" My son tell Grace, that her departed
mother's prayers interceding for Grace during her earthly life, the mother you
will never meet on this side of the temporal passing, those prayers, I am now
answering in my way and for my Glory, so that Grace may become the truly
eternally beautiful woman you and her mother have always known her to be."
Understanding the grace of God offered only through what is perceived by
most as an exclusive divisive religion, is truly only comprehended or
apprehended (perhaps a better word) through parables and stories. For if we do
not learn to laugh at our own religious foolishness we can never truly
understand the true measure of the real Grace offered by the true Triune God of
historical Christianity. It is the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead that makes the hope of a new reality real, a real world of real
matter, a world without end Amen..
The will of God is that all of mankind be truly given that opportunity in
the context as it is presented in the Bible. As summarized in the passage by
Job. It is a passage of hope and a passage of judgement. Our choices we assume
to make as free moral agents are only truly free after the bondage of sin,
death and hell have been removed by the free gift of justification offered by
the grace of God alone.
Over the last week I have cataloged at least four areas in which I need to
comprehend the specific direction from the Lord. Please continue to intercede
for those unspecified points and any other provisions the Lord may lay upon
your heart.