Dead Man: Ah! Lord God

It was all becoming unbearable for me, this viewpoint of the world seen from the outskirts of Heaven. There was so much sin and pain and evil so clearly visible from this vantage point that was otherwise easily overlooked on earth. But not seeing was impossible from here. I could only imagine how continually despicable we humans appear before our holy God, with all history splayed out before him like some gigantic butchered beast.

That He refrained from boiling the planet in rage was beyond me. That He continued to love our race was inexplicable. We are so hopelessly mired in willful ignorance and purposeless rebellion. How can He stand us for even a nanosecond more?

"Ah! Lord God," I said feeling older and more tired than I could ever remember feeling. And within that groan was wrapped crushing discouragement and shame.  Aside from the wave of innocent infant deaths, and a few occasional flashes of light from this or that believer dying and making the blessed transition to this place, all was darkness below. I felt the weariness of ages descending upon me and I wanted, above all else at the moment, to be spared this perspective and retreat into the protective and idyllic heart of this sacred realm.

"Not yet, my son," He said gently. "The time for you has not yet come. There is need for you below still, and when your life is done you will surely enter My rest. But fear not, nor be discouraged, nor grow weary in doing good. I AM your Lord and King. I AM all that you will ever require. I AM He who holds all time and space in My hands, and there is nothing that can stand against Me or My desire."

As He declared these things, I began to feel refreshed and renewed. My focus (and with it, my hope) began to shift away from the world and back onto Him. And that was His point, of course. It has always been His point.

There is nothing like your God smiling at you, His face shining down upon you. Nothing.

"What I have shown you is only the smallest portion of all the evil that takes place when I and My Father are denied. The perverse twisting and torture of life without Us is a tale, the fullness of which, you could not bear now, and I have protected you from most of it. But I would have you learn this: that when all you see is darkness your eyes are in the wrong place. I want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil. 

"And know this also: I AM coming for those I have purchased with My blood. And I AM coming to repay the evil done by all those who refuse to know My Father and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent. Be assured, My son, I AM coming soon, and then every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that I AM Lord, to the glory of God, My Father."

Though He said this calmly and quietly, I felt all existence tremble at His words.

I knelt before Him in worship and awe. One refrain echoing marvelously in my mind: I am His and He is my God!

When I looked up again, I was alone on the Balcony.

Immediately an overwhelming grief drowned my heart. To not be in His presence caused an ache that I could not have imagined possible.

"Ah! Lord God!" I cried out once more. "Do not leave me!"

I felt someone approaching from behind. It wasn't Him - I knew without looking.

I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, gripping me firmly, somehow transmitting complete understanding and compassion without a single word. I understood who it was, then.

"It's you," I said to my companion, the one who had first greeted me in this place so long ago, or so it seemed.

"He has not left you alone," he reminded me. "He will never leave you alone. He is with you always."

And I felt the comfort intended by those words, and while it alleviated my grief, it made the longing for His Presence that much sharper.

"I don't know what I will do without Him," I said very softly, almost to myself.

"But you do," he said to me. "You will live the remainder of your days below as He intends, eagerly awaiting His return. Or yours."

"I am to go back," I said. It was a statement, not a question.

"In a little while," he agreed with that smile of his. "But first, He has provided you a parting gift…"

The Magnificent Upholder

who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (Hebrews 01:03-04, NKJV).

Christ is clearly depicted as the agent of Creation in several places in the New Testament, and within the Book of Hebrews. But He did not just bring everything into existence and then sit back and watch events unfold. He is, instead, intimately involved in the continued workings of existence. Colossians affirms this truth. 

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (Colossians 1:16, 17, NKJV).

This is important and flies in the face of the Deistic proposition that God, while being the Uncaused First Cause, got that first domino moving and has ever since been letting them fall where they may.

The truth is considerably at odds with this specious idea.

Christ created and maintains the Universe. And He does so simply by the word of His power, which is indicative of His unimaginable omnipotence. He spoke and galaxies leapt into existence, and it is by that same fiat that all matter is kept from being torn apart. One day, He will simply let go, and all the elements will melt in a fervent heat as matter and antimatter collide in a universal cascade of annihilation.

This means that Christ, the Logos, or Word of God, has intimate knowledge of every subatomic particle's interaction with every other subatomic particle throughout all the vastness of space/time. Note this quote from the Gospel of John:

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. (John 21:25, NKJV).

This is literally true (and more) if every event in the universe under His upholding control were somehow recorded.

Consider also the chemical letters designed and encoded by the Logos within DNA. It is estimated that the amount of genetic words stored in just a teaspoon of these building blocks of life would fill thousands of volumes. The amount of information is staggering. And this is just one of countless examples of His creative and maintaining power.

I do not believe it is possible to overstate both the strength and involvement of God in absolutely everything. He is as far from an impersonal Force, or an aloof Deity as it is possible to be.

And each and every one of His upholding actions is purposeful and significant. There is no unthinking automaton, or program at the core of existence; no autopilot setting. It is all Him at every instant.

But His primary concern in all this incomprehensible management is not the physical universe, but us.

Think about that and marvel that you mean so much to Him.

The most brilliant, the most involved, the most powerful, the most caring human you have ever known is not even as a single atom in comparison to the One we worship as Lord and Savior. In fact, there can be no comparison to the immensity of our God's interest and involvement in all spheres of existence, physical and non-physical.

Again, all focused on us.

If you doubt this conclusion, look to the Cross.

And we have only begun to look at all the superlatives regarding Jesus in this most amazing book of Scripture.

The journey will become ever more enriching as we proceed.

Approachable Light

who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (Hebrews 01:03-04, NKJV).

In his first letter to his young protege, Timothy, the Apostle Paul extolled the Father as follows:

[He] alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:16, NKJV).

Now we find the writer of Hebrews here explains that, in order to express and communicate that unapproachable light, that fatal glory, all that God is was enwrapped in humanity in the Person of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. That is the primary significance of the opening phrase, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.

There was a time, at the foundation of the world after that 6th Day of Creation, that God and man could dwell in each other's presence. Mankind was not corrupted by sin, and was thus holy and undefiled, and God, who is too pure to behold sin, were perfectly compatible; Creator and Creature in unimaginable fellowship.

That changed at the Fall. God's glory became deadly to diminished humanity. In His mercy and grace, the Father withdrew from man's presence, and decreed a way for the relationship to continue, at least temporally and at a distance, through the shedding of innocent animal blood as a covering for sin. The only other alternative would have been immediate and complete annihilation of a tragically flawed universe.

That God showed such love and mercy is the greatest mystery of the ages, even to angels, but that He did, enabled each one of us who are now His today, to be born and come to saving faith.

How do you wrap Deity in creature hood? How do embody the Infinite and the Immortal into the limited and finite and mere mortal?

The answer is Jesus, born of a woman under the Law, yet within His Person, everything that God is.

The importance of this can't be overstated. It is in fact, the very basis of our salvation, God becoming Man to die in our place so that His righteousness could be imputed to us by faith; the just for the unjust.

As written earlier in Hebrews, God had spoken His truth to mankind for thousands of years prior to the Incarnation of Christ. He did so through Creation itself, through prophetic dreams, visions, and inspired writing, using holy men of God He had prepared from the womb for that very purpose. Yet that was all prelude to the ultimate communication: the Word of God Himself.

There is a story worth retelling, a parable really, that speaks to this issue. 

It is set in the Midwestern United States during the onset of a Christmas Eve blizzard. A man, a decent man, who was both a loving father and a good husband, could no longer play the hypocrite in regard to celebrating the birth of a Person in which he had never really believed. He could not, in all honesty, overcome the absurdity of the thought that God, if He existed at all, would become a Man. Previous to this, he had tried, for the sake of his wife and two children, to overcome his disbelief and join in the Christian rituals, but it was becoming an increasing strain. Finally, during this Christmas, he could support the facade no longer.

Gently, he explained to his family why he would not be joining them at the church service that evening. Though sad, they respected his integrity and promised to pray for him, that God would give him some substantive sign that would overcome his doubts. He thanked them and kissed them good-bye, and afterwards watched the family car disappear down the road toward the church several miles away. Sighing, he went back inside the warm house, rebuilt the fire in the family room hearth, and settled down for a melancholy evening watching the news.

The weather report warned of a sudden and severe snow storm approaching over the Great Lakes, gathering fierce intensity as it barreled in their direction. His first impulse was to pray for his family's safety, but he shook his head in self-deprecation at the reflexive action. Pray to Whom? A Being he did not believe existed, or cared? Instead he comforted himself with the reminder that his wife was a skilled driver, that the church was a sensible and caring group of people who would ensure the safety of its members, and he sat back down in his favorite chair by the hearth and began to read a beloved book.

His peace was disrupted minutes later by a sudden loud crack against the front picture window. Although the curtain was open, he could not see outside because of the reading lamp, so he got up from his seat, and switched off the light.

Outside it was beginning to snow, and he was surprised to see that the blizzard had already begun. A beautiful shimmering white blanket was quickly coating the world within view, and he would have been utterly content had his wife a children been safely inside. As it was, he was only mildly concerned, yet still fascinated with the sudden shift in the weather as he gazed like a little child at the cascade of white flakes reflected in the street lamp by the street.

Thwack!

He literally jumped away from the glass at the noise. It sounded like a rock had been thrown at some force at the window. He caught a flash of something striking the glass but then it dropped from sight.

He approached again cautiously, grateful no cracks had appeared.

Thwack!

He was better prepared this time and actually saw a bird fling itself full force at the window.

"What the…?" he said to himself out loud.

Then it happened again.

"Stupid bird! What are you thinking?"

Then a fourth sally at the glass, but this time the disoriented creature hit the brick windowsill on the way down and seemed to drop quickly, rather than fly out of sight.

Compassion filled the man and he quickly went to the hall closet for boots, coat and gloves, and ventured outdoors.

It was shockingly cold with a strong frigid wind that cut through his outer garments.

He fought against the wind to the place where the bird had fallen, and there it lay, almost completely covered in snow by now, apparently lifeless.

Pity filled the man, and he bent down in an attempt to rescue the hapless, uncomprehending creature. Perhaps, it was not dead and he could bring it inside to the warmth and light, and save it from certain death.

But as he came close, the bird revived and, in panic, attempted to fly into the night.

It flapped pathetically across the ground, unable to gain altitude, tumbling finally into the snow in a tangle of wings and feathers, its head trembling visibly in terror; its whole frame shaking in apoplectic fright.

The man cursed in frustration under his breath, concluding that if he tried to intervene so directly again, rather than saving it, he would scare the bird to death.

An idea came to him, so he went up to his front door, opened it to the wind and snow, and quickly circled back behind the bird, thinking to scare it into the light emanating through the door from the warm fire.

Misinterpreting this rescue attempt again as an attack, the bird flapped its wings frantically and took off away from the house into the swirling snow and killing cold.

It did not get far before it collapsed again under the streetlight.

Strangely, the man found himself near tears. All he wanted was to save the stupid creature from itself. It was smart enough to try to fly into the light of the window, but not smart enough to be shown the way through the door, the only safe entrance.

He stood helpless in the cold, cursing the cruel senselessness of life, frantically trying to come up with some kind of solution, all the while wondering why he even bothered or cared.

If only I could become a bird, he thought to himself finally, and show it the way into the light and warmth of the house, then it would live.

The man's mind and heart leapt at the thought.

Of course! Then it struck him like a winter thunderbolt. The only way the bird could know and trust his good intentions is if he somehow communicated to it at a level and in a way it could comprehend; as a bird, to a bird.

An hour later, his wife found him sitting in front of the fire with a towel bundled on his lap.

He turned to face her as she came through the door, stamping the snow from her boots. The two children were still outside, romping in the pure, gleaming, snow-blanketed front yard.

There were tears in his eyes.

"Honey!" she said in alarm. "What's wrong?"

Gently, he gathered the towel from his lap, unfolded a corner and lifted it up so she could see. Inside, was a bright-eyed, bedraggled young sparrow, looking alertly around and blinking at the sudden onslaught of light.

He covered it again quickly and set it equally gently on the floor.

She went to him then, and knelt carefully beside him on by the chair, marveling at the tears reflected in his eyes.

"Are you OK?" she asked brushing her thumb against his face.

"I am sorry," he managed to rasp from an emotion-laden throat. "Sorry I was so stupid all these years not to see what was right in front of my face."

"See what, sweetheart? What do you mean?"

She had never seen him in such a state before, and was beginning to become frightened.

"I know why Christ became a Man," he replied in a ragged whisper. "I was just too stupid and frightened to see… until tonight."

Dead Man With the King… Part 6

I was once more beside my King, overlooking the planet below from a vantage point outside time and space.

I watched His ageless face as He stared downward, and whereas before I had felt His eyes like fire burning through me, now they took on the appearance of fire. There was a smoldering divine anger that seemed to intensify with each passing second.

"Soon," He said aloud, I am sure for my benefit. 

I believe I knew what He was referring to; that Day of Judgment that was coming.

I then followed His gaze to try to see at least in part what He was seeing. And I noticed again the trails of intense light streak upward through the atmosphere, and I knew that these were souls departing from physical bodies and entering into the afterlife.

As I watched, their numbers increased exponentially, quickly becoming a broad, expansive wave of radiance lifting off from the beautiful but defiled planet below.

These were deaths, I knew, but why so many, so suddenly? And there were none of those wells of darkness intermingled indicating the departure of unbelievers into the place of torment. All these were heaven bound.

"Come My children," He again said aloud. "Come to the place I have prepared for you."

Then He turned to me with those eyes of fire and spoke in a voice unlike any I had heard Him utter before. I was no longer overcome with emotion, but I began to sense a dreadful storm approaching; an overwhelming conflagration of divine judgment.

"Who are those coming in such numbers to Heaven?" He asked me.

"Lord, you know," I replied, unable to answer any other way.

"They are the innocents being slaughtered each day within their mothers' wombs. The little ones who are sacrificed by the millions to the false gods of pleasure and convenience and commerce. These are the children being ripped apart without mercy before birth, or burned with salt and acid. Those who are guilty of such abominations are as the defilers of old who built the high places of Baal which were in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, who caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause their nation to sin."

As He said this, in a voice suffused with suppressed wrath, I also sensed something else; a grief that if fully expressed would shatter the Universe.

And I watched the wave of light ascend to Heaven, ashamed and undone that I was of this people.

This was my world and my nation that condoned such horror and evil and called it good; that reduced the magnificent miracle of divinely created life to something banal and worthless, disposable in the name of individual freedom and personal rights, like so much unwanted garbage.

This was my world and my nation that vilified those who would dare declare this as sin and unborn human life as precious.

This was my world and my nation that was increasing its condemnation with every passing moment; with every helpless murdered infant.

I was horrified, and knew with unshakable certainty that the just and devastating judgment that was soon to come would be undeniably righteous, and irrevocably final.

I was amazed once more that my Lord would have forgiven this nation and this people even now, after such slaughter of innocents, if they would just humble themselves, repent, and ask forgiveness.

But I knew that they would not, and thus the nation and the world was doomed.

And I praised my Lord for His mercy in dying for the sin of this planet, and making escape from His coming holy wrath possible through faith, knowing that I was inherently as evil as all those below. 

And while I understood the wrath to come was terrible, I longed for the evil below to be judged, and stopped.

Forever.

The Exalted Executor of Existence

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; (Hebrews 01:01-02, NKJV).

In at least four separate places in the New Testament, Christ is identified as Creator. Here, and:

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:3, NKJV).

and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; (Ephesians 3:9, NKJV).

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16, NKJV).

As the Word of God, our Savior, in perfect submission and compliance with the Father, spoke existence into being.

If you ever wrestled with the idea of Christ as God, or were taught the heresy that He was a created being (Jehovah's Witness), or the spirit-brother of Lucifer (Latter Day Saints/Mormon), these verses (and many others)  make such erroneous conceptions insupportable. He is the transcendent (outside space and time), eternal (without beginning or end), omnipotent (possessing all power) Executor of Existence. As the beloved Apostle John declares, without Him nothing was made that was made.

This is vitally important in our understanding of the superiority of Christ above everyone and everything except the Father Himself. It also makes His voluntary sacrifice on the Cross for us and in our place that much more magnificent and boundlessly gracious.

Think about it. The spikes that were driven into His hands and feet, the wood from which the crucifix was made, the human beings who performed these heinous acts, and all of us who made it necessary, were materials or creatures made by the One who allowed Himself to be subjected to such vile mistreatment.

Think further. He who had the power to fashion existence to begin with, and sustain it moment by moment since, also had (and has) the power to unmake it with a mere word. In fact, the Bible teaches that the Universe consists, or is held together, by His power, and at the appointed time, its complete annihilation will be brought about by Him simply letting go. Then the elements will melt in a fervent heat, and all things will burn in preparation for the restoration of all things.

It is this same magnificent Sovereign who deigned to become a Man, born of a woman, under the Law, to live in a squalid, violent and sin-corrupted world in order to save us.

That is why we worship Him. That is why we fall on our faces in awe and unspeakable gratitude. That is why we serve Him, and desire to be transformed into His image. That is why we love Him.

True Christianity has nothing to do with ritual or ceremony or religion. It is, instead, the profoundly simple and miraculously transformative intimate relationship with God through faith in His Son.

And it is this very simplicity that often stumbles scoffers and skeptics of the world. It is this gift of relationship that often becomes the greatest obstacle to saving faith because we humans arrogantly want it to be something we earn in some fashion.

But it cannot be that. How could it? What could we possible do that would benefit or profit Christ, the Exalted One, the Author of Creation and Salvation?

He has need of nothing we could even conceive of giving - not even our love or worship or adoration. The Godhead, the Trinity of Deity, is utterly, transcendently self-sufficient and self-contained. It is perfect partnership, perfect relationship, perfect satisfaction - everlasting perfection Itself in every imaginable way. There is nothing we could add or take away.

And the majestic Second Person of that Perfect Trinity is He Who Came to Save - not out of necessity, but out of grace and obedience. He who made all things is also our Blessed Redeemer.

You can not meditate on the astounding truths of Hebrews and not come away with a more fervent love and appreciation for Jesus.

It is not possible.

Dead Man With the King… Part 5

As quickly as I resurfaced on the Balcony, as if to draw a deep breath, I was plunged again back into the underworld of earthly life.

I recognized the moment instantly. It was early in the morning of the day I was "shot dead". I held my youngest daughter on my lap as she wept broken-hearted, and not for the first time, over the loss of someone she had loved dearly for nearly half her short life, and who was taken away from her seemingly without reason or warning or cause.

"Why, Daddy?" she asked me plaintively. "Why did that happen?"

What could I say to her? How could I explain when the whole thing made no sense to me as an adult? What possible reason could I give her that would satisfy her young broken heart?

"What did I do wrong?" she whispered desperately, barely able to voice her question through the flood of tears that cascaded freely down her sweet innocent face.

"Oh, honey!" I said, as I pulled her closer. "You did nothing wrong! This is as far from your fault as it is possible to get!"

She shook with sobs then that fractured my soul as I comforted her as best I knew how.

"Why did Jesus let this happen, Daddy? Doesn't He love me?"

And at that instant, a deep vitriolic fury nearly engulfed me. The deadly and horrible desire to exact mindless vengeance against anything and everything that could so hurt this child's heart ignited like a holocaust within me. It was all I could do to remain quiet and let her grief work itself out as I continued to hold her and stroke her hair. 

But I knew I was powerless to remedy anything, and that my anger would avail nothing, and would only exacerbate her heart's pain, no matter what my intentions.

God help me! I heard my mind cry out, as I watched the scene replay from the recent past. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs at the unfairness of it all, even from Heaven.

I could look below no longer. The inflamed nerves of emotion were too exposed, too raw.

I looked up at Him who died to save me.

"Do you know why I have commanded that you love your enemies?" He asked me gently. "Do you know why I have decreed that you bless those who persecute you, and do good to those who hate you?"

I could not sufficiently marshal my thoughts to answer. The image of my heart-broken daughter obscured all rational thought, and instead of responding as asked, I wanted to cry out to Him like she did, Why did you let this happen, Lord? Don't You love me?

He smiled sadly, this benevolent God Who Weeps, and I knew beyond all doubt that He did indeed love me and my daughter, and all His children, more than I could even begin to comprehend.

"Because," He continued, answering, "hatred is a burden too costly to bear. It eats at you from inside out and destroys the most precious part of you and scars your soul as no other sin can. It binds you in chains that strangles your life, and enslaves you to bitterness. It is a crushing weight that prohibits your from soaring in the joy that I long to give you. It forces you to exchange My liberty for a prison entirely of your own making, and blinds you to the truth that will make you free. It is as murder, and defiles all it touches." 

"If you allow hatred and anger to darken your heart, it will harden you to My goodness and grace, and you will know neither peace, nor joy. I would not have my children suffer so. Forgiveness and love are the most powerful weapons at your disposal; freely given you through Me. Do you think, Dead Man, that I care for you less than you care for your own child?" He asked.

His voice was gentle and filled with compassion, but His question took the breath from my lungs and made me tremble.

"Forgive me, Lord," I pleaded yet again, unable to say more as I repented in dust and ashes.

"The trials that come your way in life - yours, your daughter's and all who name me as Lord - are in My hands. They come from Me. They are meant to refine you, in the crucible of suffering if necessary, because I am more concerned for your character than your comfort. Your holiness is of far more value to Me than your mere happiness. I intend for you far more good than you can ask or think. Do you believe this?" He asked. 

His eyes now pierced me through me like fire, burning away all pretense and delusional pride, instantly vaporizing whatever paltry, self-serving conception I had of fairness or justice or what I or my daughter deserved.

I could do nothing but fall on my face in abject realization of who I was and in Whose Presence I had thought to remain upright. How could I dare to stand before such a One as He? Holy. Righteous. A Consuming Fire.

Then, after yet another timeless interval where I had neither the strength nor the courage to move, I felt Him lift me to my feet once again.

"Do not fear little one," He said, His countenance less terrible and awesome, His voice filled with love. "It is your Father's pleasure to give you a Kingdom that will never fail, and for you to live in His Presence in fullness of joy forevermore."

And I knew, with more certainty than ever before, that He works all things together for good to those who love Him.

Dead Man With the King… Part 4

"Forgive me, Lord!" I pleaded, barely able to speak. So many of my failings, weaknesses, and sins boiled over into my awareness in His loving Presence that I felt literally scalded by my own stubborn and banal iniquity.

It is amazing how filthy something looks when held up close to something, or in this instance, Someone, so pure. The contrast between His sublime and beautiful righteousness and my feeble and self-justifying sinfulness was almost unbearable to me.

But He looked upon me with unreserved acceptance and unconditional love. He was not condemning me; that was clear. Nor did I feel the compulsion to dwell morbidly on my colossal and voluminous failures. Yet at the same time, it was impossible, in the holy radiance of His glory, to deny the simple fact of my sins, and to mourn over how they obscured His image in me. It truly grieved my spirit to know how far short of His glory I fell.

But none of that was why, at that moment, I wanted His forgiveness. No, it was my fearfulness. Not of Him, of course, but of life and loss on the planet below. Because I knew beyond any shadow of doubt that my fear was due to my imperfect love of Him. If I loved Him perfectly, I would have no fear. I felt the truth of that statement down to the very core of my being.

"Yes, My son!" He pronounced emphatically with a smile. "I have. And I do. And I will."

"I do not want to be afraid, my King, but I am, always. There seem to be so many threats and dangers below. So much potential for grief and pain that… I live my life in fear."

I bowed my head in shame at my admission. I had never felt less worthy or of so little value.

Amazingly, I felt His hand on my shoulder as He came alongside me, bearing me up, giving me strength.

Then suddenly, I was in another vision back on the world. I was in a large bookstore with my second daughter, born to my wife and I as Christians, another gift beyond price. We were together, my little one and I, in this crowded venue, and then, in the next moment, she was no longer in view. Gone. Out of sight.

The wash of abject terror that swept over me made my knees weak. I was barely able to stand. The blood was pounding through my arteries. Adrenalin coursed through my system as if I were about to be hit by an oncoming train. Without realizing it, I began to run through the aisles, retracing our steps at breakneck speed - God help any poor soul who did not leap out of my way. Countless, unbearable images flooded my brain. My little one! How could I be so irresponsible! How much more could I fail her as father, provider and protector. I was desperately, quietly frantic. Hours seemed to pass in slow motion. In reality, it was mere seconds.

I called her name in a cracked voice. It must have been loud because people turned my way. I did not care. They were not her. They were obstacles, obscuring my sight, crowding my vision, increasing my desperation.

In my mind I cried out to my Lord Jesus not to allow me to lose her. To save her from this horrid and miserable world that could shred a child's heart and mind and soul in an instant.

Then I saw her! Crouched down on her knees calmly perusing one of the many books around her, blissfully unaware of her father's faithless panic, and of the people around her.

I almost wept in heart-stopping relief. I wanted to scoop her off the floor and hold her fiercely in my arms forever, never letting her go, or risking her loss again.

I stifled the sob that threatened to escape my pitiful soul and embarrass my daughter and bring unwanted attention to myself.

As calmly as I could, I knelt down beside her through tear-filled eyes, unmindful of anyone else or the world around us.

She was safe. For now. This time.

She looked up at me and smiled like the loving child she was. Then her expression changed as she sensed the upheaval in my heart.

"Are you OK, Daddy?" she asked, so sweetly, so innocently, so trustingly.

"Of course," I said with false bravado, hugging her to me tightly.

"I just couldn't find you for a second," I said, "and I got a little worried." It was the understatement of the century. I was still shaking inside.

"Daddy," she said, "I saw you the whole time. I couldn't figure out why you were running like that. I'm sorry I scared you."

"It was my fault, sweetheart. Not yours."

"I wasn't lost. I knew I was safe. I knew you wouldn't leave me alone for more than a second. It's OK. You didn't lose me. I wasn't worried a bit. Well, except for the people you almost knocked down. I was a little worried for them," she said with that smile of hers; that smile that could melt a glacier.

I just continued to wordlessly hug her to me in the middle of the aisle, grateful to My God for being merciful to such a one as me.

"It was my delight!" He said from right next to me now. "I was with you. I was with your beloved daughter. And I rejoiced at your thankfulness."

"And yes, My son. I forgive you all of it. Always."

An Inconceivable Inheritance

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; (Hebrews 01:01-02, NKJV).

That God has graciously spoken to His rebellious creatures is mercy beyond description. Not only has He lovingly revealed His nature and goodness, but He has provided millennia of warnings regarding the inevitable result of refusing to hear and believe His word. I can't think of any other indomitable potentate in all of human history so forbearing or long-suffering. 

That His subjects mistake His patience for indifference is not a fault of the message or the Messenger, but of the recipients' hardened hearts.

Nor did God draw the line at sending His prophets to speak His truth, but went infinitely beyond that effort and sent His Son, Who "being brightness of His glory and the express image of His Person", not only delivered the glorious gospel of redemption, but became the payment of the very sin that eternally separates us from God.

As stated previously, the overriding theme of the Book of Hebrews is the superiority of the Son of God above everything and everyone, save the Father Himself. Part of that sublime greatness can be seen even in these opening verses, where we are unflinchingly told that Christ has been "appointed heir of all things."

Do not miss that word, appointed. 

Typically, inheritance is by virtue of genetics and birth position. In ancient cultures, like Israel, Rome and Greece, it was customary for the firstborn son to receive a double portion of the family wealth. This facilitated his continued authority over the other heirs as the next family patriarch, and enabled him to to retain greater control of the disposition of the entire fortune. 

On occasion, the Patriarch of the family could override that tradition and custom by giving all of the inheritance to the descendant of his choice. This appointment, or proclamation, superseded all other claimants to the family wealth, and was usually seen as a reward for the excellent character of the chosen heir.

Often, I think it is easy to overlook what it meant for God the Son to become human. He set aside the privilege and power of utter Deity, and in loving filial obedience, took upon Himself the nature of a created being for the sole purpose of living in perfect compliance with the perfect Law of God, of learning obedience through the things which he suffered (much more on that in a later exposition), and of dying voluntarily in our place. 

He forsook everything to become our perfect sacrifice. As it is said elsewhere, He became poor so that we could become rich. He died so that we could live. He became sin so that we could become His righteousness in Him. These are not just lofty words or glorious sentiments. These are the bloody facts of redemptive history. 

His excruciation and His abandonment by God was made necessary because of our ruthless depravity.

In response to His exemplary and perfect obedience, obedience even unto the death of the Cross, the Father appointed Him heir of all things, and exalted Him above every name in Heaven, on Earth, or under the Earth. Certainly, we can understand that this was a fitting and just reward for what Christ accomplished, reconciling Fallen Creation with an unspeakably Holy Creator.

But it does not stop there, this inconceivable inheritance. In fact, it goes as far beyond being merely fitting, as is the farthest edge of the Universe from the speck of rock that is our planet.

By His being appointed heir of all things, Christ has also enabled our adoption into the very family of God, and made us joint heirs with Himself.

Think on that for a moment and be overwhelmed at the generosity that it entails. 

We did nothing. We were not even natural born relatives, but rebellious enemies, and yet - and yet - we have become benefactors of all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. We are become sons and daughters of God through faith in the Son simply because that is the Father's gracious and benevolent eternal desire.

Now repeatedly in these brief comments, I have emphasized the phrase, all things. This was purposeful. By definition there is nothing left outside of all things. These two simple words contain the entirety of whatever we could ask or think.

And it is bequeathed to us in Christ.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2, NKJV).

The God Who Speaks

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; (Hebrews 01:01-02, NKJV).

Hebrews is another book of the New Testament that I have memorized and recited countless times over the past 12 years. It is preeminently a book detailing the superiority of Jesus Christ. 

He is better than the angels, better than Moses, the Lawgiver, better than the Law itself, better than Joshua who led the Children of Israel into the Promised Land, better than Melchizedek the ancient Priest of the Most High God, better than Aaron, the first Mosaic High Priest. He is the perfect Representative, the Perfect Sacrifice, the Perfect Mediator, the Perfect Heir, the Perfect Son. He is the Better Way, the Better Promise, and the Better Temple. He is God the Son, and the only way to draw near to God.

Hebrews was written to a group who would be known today as Messianic Jews. These were members of the infant church, brought out of Judaism into the liberty of Christ, who were tempted severely to return to the old, familiar, but inferior, and ineffective Jewish belief system. They were hated by their countrymen, persecuted by the world, and sorely tried in their faith. And it was the purpose of the writer of Hebrews to provide reason, comfort, encouragement and exhortation to continue steadfastly in the faith until they reached the end of their earthly pilgrimage and received "the promise".

Technically, the author of Hebrews remains anonymous. Many believe it was the Apostle Paul, others Apollos, or Timothy, or Epaphroditus. Since he remains purposely unidentified in the text itself, it serves little purpose to speculate. The one thing that is certain, based on its content and acceptance throughout church history as part of the Canon of Scripture, is that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Beyond that, its human authorship is insignificant.

These first two verses are worthy of much study. They reveal profound truths about our God and His relationship to Fallen Man. They begin to establish Christ's majestic position as both appointed heir and executor of Creation. In succinct and eloquent fashion, they lift our hearts and minds from the mundane aspects of mere religion, into the vast and wondrous universe of personal relationship with the Sovereign Eternal Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and they do so with an earthy matter-of-factness that upon deep reflection leaves us breathless with wonder.

Mankind has conceived of many gods none of whom are real, and many of whom are actually demons playing upon our innate need to worship something greater than ourselves. But their is only one Living God, transcendent, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and personal. It is this God who was from the beginning and who spoke time and space into existence, and Who, wondrously, amazingly, lovingly, mercifully and graciously, speaks to us. And He has done so from the moment he breathed life into the First Man, Adam.

Don't pass over that fact too quickly.

Without Him being the God Who speaks we would remain forever ignorant, vainly striving to make sense of the world and of life with our own finite minds.

Without Him condescending to reveal Himself to us, we could never know that we are born condemned. Nor would we know the way of escape.

We would not know why we were here nor how much He loves us.

We would be born without reason, live without purpose, and die without hope. All that occurred in this life would be filtered through the faulty capabilities and vain imaginations of our own futile thinking, and all of history would be lived as life without God; utterly dark and deceitful.

But because He has spoken, and given us His light, the chaos of ignorance is replaced with the beauty and order of knowing Him, His plan of redemption and His ultimate purpose for our creation: eternal glorious fellowship with Him.

And while in the past He spoke to prophets via dreams and visions and sometimes direct verbal revelation, now He is speaking to the world through His marvelous Son.

One day soon, He will speak again from Heaven itself, ripping open the fabric of the Universe and declaring His judgment. At that point, those who have refused to listen to Him will hear, whether they want to or not. But rather than a message of forgiveness through faith in the Son, they will hear the sentence being pronounced upon their own willful unbelief and rebellion.

And it will be too late.

Dead Man With the King… Part 3

"Lord? May I ask you something?"

"Because," He said, before I spoke further, "some will not be saved."

That was, of course, my question, after reliving the moments of my life that had led me to Him. I was still amazed that He condescended to speak with me, but not surprised at all that He knew my thoughts.

"My son, I love everyone I have created; all whom I have knit together in their mother's wombs, but unless their love in return is voluntary it is meaningless. You know that."

"But how can they not love You once You reveal Yourself to them? How can they resist Your kindness and goodness. I do not understand."

"How many years did you resist, Dead Man? How many kindnesses were you shown before you came to recognize Me and to know that I love you?"

Then like a high-speed three-dimensional HD video, all my life before salvation unwound before my eyes, but this time from the immense perspective of Heaven itself. I was instantly overwhelmed with the seemingly infinite details involved in each redemptively significant incident; the intricate, complex interwoven threads of literally thousands of lives and billions of people-moments orchestrated by the hand of God Himself in order to bring about a particular outcome. No happenstance wasted or purposeless. Nothing unforeseen or unexpected from the Master Conductor's perspective, but each complex instant of time masterfully crafted with perfect adeptness and impact, moving one of the most intractable, and stubbornly powerful forces in the Universe, the human heart, one step closer to restoration and renewal.

It bespoke phenomenal, extravagant and persistent effort on the part of my Savior. He was lovingly unrelenting in His pursuit of me, yet never for even a blink of an eye did He violate one iota of the free will He had gifted me with as His creation. I understood then too, just a glimpse, and just for a brief moment, of what it meant to know the end from the beginning, while at the same time having the freedom and divine power to bring that foreseen ending about, yet simultaneously and miraculously preserving that aspect of me most akin to His image: the ability to choose.

As quickly as it had begun, it stopped. And it left my poor finite mind spinning in a whirl of intricate possibilities played out over a divine cosmic symphony larger than existence. And that was only the minute symphonic movement concerned with my own particular life, without regard to the numberless other lives under His omniscient care. He was Intelligence and Power and Grace and Mercy and Love beyond all comprehension standing before me as a Man, being with me as if I were the only creature in all of time and space.

I had done nothing to deserve such attention. I was nothing in comparison to Him, and yet here He was with me, Savior, Lord, Brother, Friend, Creator, Redeemer, Author of Life Itself!

I was not sufficient for these things. I never would be. No finite being could be.

"Some will not see. Some will not believe," He said sadly, but without any diminution of the boundless joy that radiated from Him; the joy that I knew, that I was certain, came simply because He was with me!

I did not understand. I did not need to understand. All I needed was to remain in His Presence forever. All I wanted was for Him to never leave me nor forsake me. This fellowship, this intimacy, this was why I existed. This was why everything was created.

And I was just on the Balcony of real existence, a mere visitor, receiving as a gift beyond price this taste of eternity with My Lord.

What other purpose could have any meaning?

What other reason for anything would there be?

I wanted to scream this to the world from the Balcony of Heaven with all my heart.

O earth earth earth, hear the word of the Lord!

But I knew with a measureless grief, that most would not listen, most would not hear, and I think perhaps for yet another of the briefest instants possible, I felt the infinite heartbreak of my God.

It was unbearable.

Sincerely - The Ancient Way

Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Philippians 4:20-23, NKJV).

Having explored in some detail the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians in these last 42 studies, it is astounding to think that the epistle was actually written nearly 2000 years ago, and yet, is as applicable now (and in some instances, more so) as it was then.

Relevance is hard to come by today. Life moves so fast and changes so rapidly that virtually instant obsolescence, rather than lasting relevance, is the norm. Relevance that spans 20 centuries is supernatural. 

Although the style and means of personal communication have gone through countless modifications since the 1st Century, mechanically improving as time passes, there are many aspects of this type of letter-writing that have sadly been lost through progress. One of them, is the typical salutation that Paul employed to graciously bring his epistles to a close - the ancient equivalent of our modern day Sincerely or Regards.

Much can be gained from studying the apostle's characteristic written farewells. For instance, he almost never fails to provide a final benediction to Christ and the Father, reminding his audience one last time about Whom they believe in and Whom he serves. Usually, he also offers a simple prayer requesting that his readers be granted the grace and peace made abundantly available through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, in perfect accord with the purposes of the Father. Thus, even in his final sentences he encourages, exhorts and reminds the readers about what is eternally important - their life in Christ lived out in a world filled with darkness that will one day be replaced by His righteous Kingdom.

The phrase, Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen., is a perfect example of the succinct doctrinal and spiritual encouragements embodied in his closings. To the Jewish members of the early church, he highlights the miraculous change in the relationship between Sovereign Almighty God and lowly creature. Through faith in Christ, the Eternal is now both God and Father, an intimacy unthinkable under the ancient Jewish religious and cultural practices. To the polytheistic Gentile, his message transforms the Creator from an erratic mythical god or goddess in an ever-expanding hierarchy of imagined deities patterned after sinful man, to a single divine and transcendent Ruler who has power over all Creation, and Who is everlasting and unchanging - certainly a relief from the insanity of the likes of the Greek or Roman Pantheons. And to ancient mystics who imagined God to be an impersonal conception of All That Is, Paul emphasizes His essential Personhood and Identity. All this in just a few simple, yet profound words.

With Greet every saint in Christ Jesus., Paul reaffirms the importance and meaning of believing in the Savior. To be a saint, a "called out one", a person needs to be in Christ Jesus, evoking a relationship so intimate as to be described as one of being in Him. This requirement is first and foremost. Without it, no amount of good works, natural or supernatural, qualifies for sainthood. With that preeminent requirement met, all other saintliness flows as naturally as water down a mountainside; as does the unbreakable fellowship that endues the otherwise merely human act of greeting with unending significance.

The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household., takes this indescribably profound family relationship with other Christians in close proximity and expands it exponentially across all time and space. We who are in Christ today are bound inextricably and joyfully with all those who have ever been in Christ, or who will ever be in Christ throughout all epochs, past and future, and in all locations. A human heart indwelt by Christ knows no boundaries or limitations. Membership, belonging, and citizenship are all part of the glorious package. No one is too insignificant or important. No place is too large, small, near or far. We are all one in Him.

No gift of God is more amazing than His limitless grace, poured out abundantly through His Son. So the apostle's endearing supplication for The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all., is both loving and in itself, gracious. And it has rightly been said that God's grace is His unmerited favor, on the other end of the divine spectrum from His mercy. For mercy is not receiving what we are justly due as violators of His perfect will and law. Grace is the metaphysical opposite. It is being the undeserving recipient of that which we most emphatically are not due, like His everlasting kindness toward us and eternal life in Christ.

And finally, Amen. This is an ancient Hebraicism transliterated into the ancient Greek of the New Testament. From man's perspective it means let it be so, or as You command, referring to God. From His perspective, it is a declaration of unchangeable assurance - it will be so! It amounts to a divine oath, an omnipotent guarantee.

We must see then, that all the inspired writing of the New Testament has eternal and profound relevance. How could it be otherwise?

The God of the Universe, who is absolute truth, has provided us lovingly with His words of love and grace and mercy and redemption…. and judgment.

What could possibly be more relevant?

Sufficiency

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19, NKJV).

In the post-modern, post-Christian, relativistic West today, insufficiency, inadequacy, insecurity and indecision abound.

Anchor-less, nations, governments and societies are adrift in a sea of uncertainty precisely because cultural leaders, educators, information media, and opinion makers operate under the mistaken conclusion that there are no absolutes.

Aside from the logical inconsistency of this philosophical position (it is clearly self-defeating, as the proponents of this view are ABSOLUTELY certain that all values and moral judgments are relative), it is a viewpoint and mode of operation that is inherently vacillating.  If everything is relative, then what is enough? Or good enough? What is need versus want? What is anything, really?

The Apostle Paul never fell prey to the pitfalls of moral or cultural relativism. No true, well-schooled Christian ever should, since we have the single, authoritative guide to all morality and truth, the Word of God. Because of this, it was possible for him to write the verse above without the slightest equivocation or qualification.

It is worth a moment to consider how his statement in verse 19 fits perfectly with one of the overarching themes of the book Philippians; the sufficiency of Christ in a believer's life.

Php 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

There is no hint of equivocation or condition. If the good work in you has begun (being conformed into the image of God's Son), it will be completed.

Php 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Again, no maybe's or qualifications. There is no down-side to being in Christ, no matter what the outcome from the limited human perspective.

Php 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Salvation is a work of infallible, almighty God, not fallible and pathetic man.

Php 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

This is a command, not a suggestion. Anxiety is prolonged uncertainty based on lack of assurance and knowledge. We know Whom we serve and Who saved us. He does not make mistakes, and He works all things together for good. If you live out this belief, anxiety makes no sense.

Php 4:7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Christian absolutes lead to unsurpassed peace. Being in Christ is the only true place of rest. There is no rest for the unbeliever. There can't be. How much security or wealth or health or success or prestige or power or time is enough? How long will it last? What can be done about the universe of uncontrollable what-ifs? All the human-devised safeguards in the world will not suffice to ensure anything completely, or for long. And certainly, not for eternity, which is the unspoken cry of all human hearts - to have something last FOREVER; for good things to NEVER END. Nothing but Christ can satisfy.

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

A declaration of unfailing empowerment. Notice, he doesn't write some or most things, but all things that Christ calls upon you to do, He will strengthen you to do or endure. Where God guides, God provides. And all this leading up to the climactic promise:

Php 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Of course the problem we run into here is distinguishing between what we want from what we really need. The truth is that only He knows.

Our job is merely to trust in the One who loves us and sent His Son to die so that we could live. FOREVER.