Friday, July 15, 2011

It's a Big Job

Scripture Passage that Caught my attention today: Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled.

Observation: It’s a tall order—see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God.

Application: Now that I’m closing in on the half-century mark (though I won’t actually hit it till, Lord willing, next year) it’s interesting to see how some ideas strike me. Some ideas inspire me to greater action, as in “you can do this…you’re as young as you feel.” Other ideas strike me as misguided and/or overly self-focused and probably unwise.

The admonition to “see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God” falls somewhere in the middle. On the one hand there is great opportunity and, as a pastor, it’s natural to want people to experience the breadth and depth of God’s love for them. On the other hand, who am I to believe that I alone am responsible for the legions of people in this world? I’m but one of a long line of bumbling servants, each of whom have had their share of successes and failures in the process of spreading God’s Word. It is doubtful that I will be any better than them in the process; I can only hope to be no worse!

The author of Hebrews speaks of the great cloud of witnesses. Several of them are described in chapter 11. If you’ve read that chapter you know full well that they outdid themselves. They really did. They were more inspired than most of us, braver than most of us, able to deal with pain much better than most of us, and more willing to die for the faith than most of us—not out of some inflated sense of bravado, but simply because they believed that God’s sacrifice offered a deal far better than any other option including trying to save one’s earthly hide.

I guess that’s what I hope to convey over the last half of my life—God offers a far better deal than anything else we can muster on this earth.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for offering a far deeper sense of satisfaction and reality for all your people on earth. Help us to work together so that all might know it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(readings today included: Isaiah 22-24, Hebrews 12)

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