by RobertCummins | Jan 22, 2016 | 03. Longing
Longing – Proverbs 13:12-25
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life …The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn aside from the snares of death. Good understanding produces favor … The righteous will be rewarded with prosperity … and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
I proposed on Wednesday that Solomon’s wisdom was inferior to Jesus Christ – the wisdom of God. This comment may rankle those banking on this wealth transfer Solomon has declared. Some of God’s children are keen on the idea that the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity. This preaches well. However, I have noticed many of the rankled have an aversion to the full gospel presented in the New Testament. I’m not speaking of the full-gospel that involves Jesus taking up his cross; I’m speaking of the full gospel that requires us to take up ours. This, actual gospel doesn’t preach as well.
If our hearts are set on material wealth, we will naturally avoid the New Testament. In those pages, the Holy Spirit did not offer a single account of a saint deriving wealth as a byproduct of their righteousness. The wisdom of God is superior and in conflict with any quid pro quo, righteousness-for-riches schemes.
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 1 Corinthians 1:18-20
Yet there are those still pining for that transfer of wealth from the wicked into their accounts. Many of them are stalwart and continue to confess the inevitability of this promise. On the other hand there are those who have grasped that Jesus himself is their windfall. They are made wealthy as their hearts become satisfied in Christ alone. Our hearts, made in God’s image, are designed such that only Jesus can satisfy their longing. With or without an investment portfolio, these saints accounts are overflowing with an other-worldly satisfaction which defies all earthly knowledge and wisdom.
Jesus is always inviting us to divest ourselves of our hope in this material world. He is saying material wealth is a grotesque and costly substitute to his Son, for whom our hearts were created. The New Testament points to Christ alone as our abundance. All other ground is sinking sand.
Father, show us where we have invested our hearts. Deliver us from the folly of materialism. Help us to hear your invitation to come away with you to that place where you can put our hearts right. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Jan 21, 2016 | 03. Longing
Longing – Psalm 119:17-24
My soul is crushed with longing for your ordinances at all times.
Longing was a quality of David’s heart that pleased the Lord. It seemed to accompany him throughout his life. He longed for God as a shepherd and as a king, as he dispatched giants and as he repented of his sins. Should longing be a part of the normal Christian life? Let’s pursue this together.
The scriptures testify of themselves they are God-breathed. They also declare Adam was transformed from clay to a living being by God’s breath. If we are in Christ, God has breathed in us as well and our new natures are kindred to God’s words, and he speaks very intentionally.
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11
As God’s words return to him, hunger is evidence they have not done so in vain. David’s story of hunger is now ours to read. When we read about David’s experience with God, we should not see him as a great and mighty anomaly. David is our example and he is God’s invitation to us into intimacy. God has told us David’s story that we might become God’s story. David is not an exception. He is our benchmark.
Having the right reference points is critical if longing is to become a quality in our hearts. If David is a special case, we can applaud, If he is our mentor, we must imitate. Once we see David as God’s invitation to us, we have taken a big step forward in our spiritual formation. Longing is instinctive to hearts created for another realm. Longing is only natural for beings who are just passing through.
Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. My soul is crushed with longing after Your ordinances at all times. You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from Your commandments. Take away reproach and contempt from me, for I observe Your testimonies. Even though princes sit and talk against me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes. Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors.
Father, thank you for Your Word and Your Spirit. May they work in concert to accomplish your will in our hearts on earth as it is heaven. May hunger accompany and escort us into your presence now and forever more. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Jan 20, 2016 | 03. Longing
Longing – Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: a right time for birth and another for death, a right time to plant and another to reap, a right time to kill and another to heal, a right time to destroy and another to construct, a right time to cry and another to laugh, a right time to lament and another to cheer, a right time to make love and another to abstain, a right time to embrace and another to part, a right time to search and another to count your losses, a right time to hold on and another to let go, a right time to rip out and another to mend, a right time to shut up and another to speak up, a right time to love and another to hate, a right time to wage war and another to make peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 MSG
Most Christians believe the bible is inspired. Does this mean Solomon is the final word on all matters? Listen to his conclusions …
In the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. (Ecclesiastes 3:9-11)
Solomon’s conclusions highlight the limitations of Old Testament wisdom. If we are to take him seriously, God has crowned us with blindness, and made busyness our glory. If Solomon is on point, my bible study application is; eat, drink and be merry, because what we do has zero relevance. All activity culminates in death. Period. Solomon has acknowledged God’s sovereignty, yet it has led him to hedonism and indifference (and polygamy). Solomon’s wisdom was limited. He did not yet know Jesus, the power and the wisdom of God. However, he was spot on with this nugget …
There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: a right time for birth…
In the fulness of time, at just the right moment, God came to earth and made some things clear which the old testament could only hint at. Birthed in obscurity to a virgin, God made his understated and miraculous entrance into our time and space, at just the right time.
There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: a right time for birth… and another for death.
Also in the fulness of time, at just the right moment, Jesus suffered death in our behalf. We were condemned for our sin. Christ willingly laid down his own life as an unblemished sacrifice, satisfying divine justice. Jesus, God’s power and wisdom have taken us far beyond the wisdom of Solomon. Jesus revealed the Father to us. This was the mystery of the ages – the divine surprise which had been withheld until just the right time.
Solomon had wisdom but he was mistaken regarding life’s futility. Futility is alien to the New Covenant. The Holy Spirit, residing in the heart of the saint, is saying more than, “Eat, drink and be merry since you are going to die soon.” Here are just a few verses, representing the hope-filled spirit of the New Testament. They stand in stark contrast to Solomon’s wisdom.
He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. (Ephesians 2:10) I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. (John 10:10) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30) You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. (Matt 5:14)
So what are we to do with the wisdom of Solomon? Discard it? That would be unwise. His wisdom must be seen in the light of his day and the light of Christ. Given what he must now know, perhaps he would publish The Revisions of Solomon. I can imagine the …
Introduction
I have had a second and better look at what God has given us to do and I have revised my council. In the end, it really does make a difference what we do. Indeed God has made everything beautiful in itself and He has by no means left us in the dark in this regard. God has come in Christ so that we would know Him as well as what He is up to.
In Christ, today is the right time for salvation. Today is the right time to wage war by way of our love. This is the opportune time to re-present the gospel. Speak up. Cheer up and laugh as this fuller gospel mends broken hearts and ushers healing and peace into the earth. True, the earth is fallen and a former angel is reigning in the darkness of deceit. But his rule is temporary. In the coming hours, the light of Jesus’ life will radiate from a Bride who has made herself ready for her Groom. Darkness will be displaced by the Light of Christ, in men – the hope of glory.
One more thing; while it is not good for man to be alone, 700 wives and 300 concubines is a bit much. I now advocate monogamy.
Father, none of us are exempt from being old wineskins since we are all in the process of being remade into your image. The seed has been planted in us. May our eyes look to the anticipated harvest. Equip our hearts with the wisdom embodied in our glorious calling in Christ. Amen.
An additional thought …
I imagine the word “right” is a joke to the atheist and an annoyance to the agnostic since rightness implies divine intent. After all, right and wrong only make sense in a moral universe and a moral universe implies a just creator. As Pilot asked, “What is truth?” the unbeliever and doubter must ask, “What is justice?”
by RobertCummins | Jan 19, 2016 | 03. Longing
Longing – Romans 8:18-27
That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens. Romans 8:18-19 MSG
Our passage describes an inner tension we creatures share with creation. By design, creation can barely contain its longings. It knows God’s purposes are embedded in this longing. What purpose is this?
All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. Romans 8:22-25 MSG
As a younger man, I took issue with Paul; “A sterile and barren body? Speak for yourself!” I was young and strong. I had visions and the energy to pursue them. Today, in my sixties, I am more sympathetic to Paul’s description of the body, “Yes Paul, I see what you are getting at!”
The glory of young men is their strength, and the honor of old men is their gray hair.
Aging has helped me sympathize with creation regarding longing. God subjected us both to this sense of futility, “in hope“. While I would like to return to the garden of my youth, I find the angel, with flaming sword, still guards the gate. This is ok because there is something growing inside me greater than my desire to have it all in this life. It is that hope of what lies ahead.
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:26-28 MSG
The sixties are turning out to be times of transition, complete with their own unique temptations. When I am tempted to look back with longing for the glory of my youthful strength, the Spirit understands and patiently redirects my longing to his current presence and our future glory. Waiting, in his Word and His Spirit, is not hurting me. It is putting things in context. The declining glory of this life is a temporary arrangement. The longings of my temporal body are being exchanged for the more enduring reality of Jesus Christ and the inevitability of his coming kingdom.
So all things are good – even the aging of my current tent. I am so grateful for it. It has served me so well and still has some life in it. I intend to give it reasonable care and liberal use, as it will allow. But, as the canvas strains and the grommets rust, the ocupant can rejoice because a new tent will be issued, one that will never age. And midst the crucible of aging there is the opportunity to prove Jesus’ claim, that …
My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Father, I pray that in this final trimester, in the presence of increasing weakness, our contractions will not be be despised. May a new light radiate from us as our longings are transformed into joyful anticipation. May our hearts be at peace as we decrease and you increase. Reconcile all things unto yourself. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Jan 18, 2016 | 03. Longing
Longing – 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
Perhaps medical bracelets with “2 Corinthians 5:1-5” embossed on them would be appropriate for us groaners. When people hear us moaning as we try to move, we can just point to our bracelet and relieve their concerns. Hopefully though, we can do this with a wink so they can see that in spite of our aching bodies, our spirits have that glow of renewal.
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16
I confess, it is a daily temptation for me to loose heart as my outer man decays and looses strength. When Solomon says, “The glory of young men is their strength” I totally understand. I have desperately clung to every shred of my strength as it has bid me adieu. Men reach the peak of their strength between 30 and 35. It is hard to believe I have been saying goodbye for three decades! It appears that, for our physical bodies anyway, fading glory is our destiny but let’s not write our obituaries quite yet. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 sheds hopeful light on our circumstance …
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Where does this light affliction come from that causes us to groan? I have decided it doesn’t matter. It only matters how we respond to it. Through the process of his life working itself out in us, we learn that temporal affliction, whatever its origin, can have a glorious outcome.
So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
If we can learn to respond in Christ, aging is merely light affliction which is producing for myself and my groaning brethren an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. Redemption is embedded by grace into all the circumstance that touch our lives, especially aging. When we learn to respond to our trials and tests we are presenting our hearts of wisdom to the Lord.
What is mortal is being swallowed up by Life. Now He who is preparing us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
Father, while I remain grateful for it, I look forward to life swallowing up the mortality of my body. Until then, teach me to see the unseen as I age. I pray that as the world looks on, they will see the glow of renewal in our eyes, even if our backs are bent. Amen.
