The Blessing of Age
It has been long since my last post, but I wanted to make the design of this blog somewhat my own, so I have been working to learn HTML, XHTML, and CSS (I'm told I need to learn javascript also...whew!). This has served to remind me that there is no point in life where I can simply rest on my "laurels". This, in fact, is why the servant who held the laurel wreath above the head of a victorious Roman centurion returning from the wars, always said "Sic transit gloria mundi"–"Thus passes the glory of the world." All things are fleeting, and when we try to grasp them they slip through our fingers like the insubtantial air. Learning is continuous. But ultimately all our understanding is like a drop in a vast ocean. If all we have is knowledge, and all we depend on is our intellect, all we will be left with as we age is the vague malaise that all that we have labored to learn is futile...it has not been enough. It has never been "enough".
Even wisdom–that integration of knowledge and behavior that results in the skill of living a righteous life–can only teach us that at best, our view of life is like looking at the back side of a tapestry. We see a backing covered with knots and threads, with only a dim view of overall pattern. Certainly this was the view of Solomon, the great King of Israel, who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind,"[Ecclesiastes 1:14]. Many find this book incredibly depressing, for one by one, Solomon finds vain and futile all things that our culture worships: wisdom or the carefree life, youth, industry, advancement–all people, just like the animals, have death and decay as a common destination. But in fact, Solomon simply concludes what we all must conclude. Life "under the sun", unconnected to God, is empty. It is futile. It is a vanity. Solomon's final words are instructive: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil," [Ecclesiastes 12:13-14].
How then should we live? Even Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of the pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commmandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly no enter the kingdom of heaven," [Matthew 5:17-20]. But Paul, the Apostle, teaches us: "But now a righteousness from God apart from the Law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no differenced, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus," [Romans 3:21-24].
What is this "justification"? It is a legal declaration from God as King and Judge–a "paid-in-full" which releases us from the judicial penalty of our actions. But beyond this, the righteousness of Jesus is credited to our account before God. Jesus not only took our place before the bar of God's justice, giving his life in payment for our sins, but he rose again to give us a new life and standing before God. He sits now at the right hand of God, as our HIgh Priest, and has given us the Holy Spirit as our legal advocate, comforter and guide. As Paul concludes: "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against whose whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is it that condemns? Christ Jesus , who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us," [Romans 8:31-34]. Paul continues, but I believe you get the gist.
What does that mean for you and me? Is "faith in Christ" an excuse to believe in "salvation" as the ultimate fire insurance? Can we now "rest on our laurels" (or the "laurels" of Jesus Christ, if you prefer), so that our behavior is no longer an issue? May we now adopt a careless life, satisfied that no matter what we do, we have a heavenly "Get out of jail free" card? As Paul would say, "May it never happen!" Paul told the Christians in Philippi to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His purpose," [Philippians 2:12b-13]. Paul reminded them: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father," [Philippians 2:5-11]. We are bought with an inestimable price. We are free to love and obey God, to experience the true peace that comes with living in our proper relationship to the One who created us in His image. The Christian life is one of progressive deification. We submit to Jesus Christ as our Lord, the one who saved us from our life of despair, in order that we may become more like him.
Is the life of the Christian easier? It depends. Free-fall from an airplane is incredibly easy. Everything works in accord with natural laws. The wind resistance may even make you feel as though you are flying. But the effect of gravity is inevitable, and unless your chute deploys, you will come to an abrupt–and painful–end. The life without Christ is, in some ways, careless and free, for you are flowing with the current, little heeding the roar of the waterfall in the distance. And such company you will have! The life of a Christian is challenging. You are swimming upstream, and the progress you make is not by your own strength, but in reliance upon the strength of the Holy Spirit. You are not promised worldly health, wealth, or success. In this world, you are not promised an end to temptation and sin. In fact, the opposite is often the case. As Jesus Christ Himself was persecuted, suffered, and died at the hands of sinful humanity, the Christian is told to expect persecution in this world. I am not speaking of suffering for being obnoxious or petty...or suffering for our own failure to live consistently with our belief. The more we are willing to become like Jesus Christ, the more we will be at odds with a fallen world. Even Satan, who took no notice of us before, while we were living in obedience to him, will now stalk us about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. But everything is in the relationship. In our relationship to God we find purpose and meaning, love and joy, and a blessed hope that is denied to others. The only question that remains is, will we both hear and heed God's call? Will we turn aside from the emptiness of a life in this world without Him, to face the rigors of the life of faith for what that life promises–true life, abundant life, and everlasting life with God? And this life becomes more real with age–and more blessed.
Even wisdom–that integration of knowledge and behavior that results in the skill of living a righteous life–can only teach us that at best, our view of life is like looking at the back side of a tapestry. We see a backing covered with knots and threads, with only a dim view of overall pattern. Certainly this was the view of Solomon, the great King of Israel, who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind,"[Ecclesiastes 1:14]. Many find this book incredibly depressing, for one by one, Solomon finds vain and futile all things that our culture worships: wisdom or the carefree life, youth, industry, advancement–all people, just like the animals, have death and decay as a common destination. But in fact, Solomon simply concludes what we all must conclude. Life "under the sun", unconnected to God, is empty. It is futile. It is a vanity. Solomon's final words are instructive: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil," [Ecclesiastes 12:13-14].
How then should we live? Even Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of the pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commmandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly no enter the kingdom of heaven," [Matthew 5:17-20]. But Paul, the Apostle, teaches us: "But now a righteousness from God apart from the Law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no differenced, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus," [Romans 3:21-24].
What is this "justification"? It is a legal declaration from God as King and Judge–a "paid-in-full" which releases us from the judicial penalty of our actions. But beyond this, the righteousness of Jesus is credited to our account before God. Jesus not only took our place before the bar of God's justice, giving his life in payment for our sins, but he rose again to give us a new life and standing before God. He sits now at the right hand of God, as our HIgh Priest, and has given us the Holy Spirit as our legal advocate, comforter and guide. As Paul concludes: "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against whose whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is it that condemns? Christ Jesus , who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us," [Romans 8:31-34]. Paul continues, but I believe you get the gist.
What does that mean for you and me? Is "faith in Christ" an excuse to believe in "salvation" as the ultimate fire insurance? Can we now "rest on our laurels" (or the "laurels" of Jesus Christ, if you prefer), so that our behavior is no longer an issue? May we now adopt a careless life, satisfied that no matter what we do, we have a heavenly "Get out of jail free" card? As Paul would say, "May it never happen!" Paul told the Christians in Philippi to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His purpose," [Philippians 2:12b-13]. Paul reminded them: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father," [Philippians 2:5-11]. We are bought with an inestimable price. We are free to love and obey God, to experience the true peace that comes with living in our proper relationship to the One who created us in His image. The Christian life is one of progressive deification. We submit to Jesus Christ as our Lord, the one who saved us from our life of despair, in order that we may become more like him.
Is the life of the Christian easier? It depends. Free-fall from an airplane is incredibly easy. Everything works in accord with natural laws. The wind resistance may even make you feel as though you are flying. But the effect of gravity is inevitable, and unless your chute deploys, you will come to an abrupt–and painful–end. The life without Christ is, in some ways, careless and free, for you are flowing with the current, little heeding the roar of the waterfall in the distance. And such company you will have! The life of a Christian is challenging. You are swimming upstream, and the progress you make is not by your own strength, but in reliance upon the strength of the Holy Spirit. You are not promised worldly health, wealth, or success. In this world, you are not promised an end to temptation and sin. In fact, the opposite is often the case. As Jesus Christ Himself was persecuted, suffered, and died at the hands of sinful humanity, the Christian is told to expect persecution in this world. I am not speaking of suffering for being obnoxious or petty...or suffering for our own failure to live consistently with our belief. The more we are willing to become like Jesus Christ, the more we will be at odds with a fallen world. Even Satan, who took no notice of us before, while we were living in obedience to him, will now stalk us about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. But everything is in the relationship. In our relationship to God we find purpose and meaning, love and joy, and a blessed hope that is denied to others. The only question that remains is, will we both hear and heed God's call? Will we turn aside from the emptiness of a life in this world without Him, to face the rigors of the life of faith for what that life promises–true life, abundant life, and everlasting life with God? And this life becomes more real with age–and more blessed.
posted by Soulfyre | 10:45 PM
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