Boxed In

“A fool hath no delight in understanding but that his heart may discover itself.” (Prov.18:2)

People who are all wrapped up in themselves make very small packages, indeed; so it goes without saying, it doesn’t take long to reach boredom in their company. This is because such a person (the verse calls him a fool) is always trying to “find himself,” while never seeking to understand anyone else and what their needs or ideas may be. With this man or woman, you can always be sure that no matter what the topic of conversation may be, he or she will find a way to bring the subject back to himself or herself. Nor, it would seem, does it matter if they are praised or criticized, so long as they are recognized.

Those who are thus inclined (and we all are from time to time) are in danger of always judging things within the prism of their own experience. It’s hard to “think outside the box,” when we are the all-important box. One of the most important tools for discernment is the art of disassociation. Being able to divorce oneself from the situation, so as to allow others the same importance and uniqueness we wish for ourselves. It’s one thing to empathize; it’s quite another to epitomize. “I, myself am a perfect example of what you’re saying…” I realize this ability to disassociate oneself is never completely possible for any of us, but for the self-absorbed, it’s a virtual impossibility.

Another sad consequence of this fault (besides being an irritation to others) is that while they are always trying to better themselves, “boxed-in” people never seem to be able to rise above themselves. Whoever we are most occupied with—whoever dominates our perception and reasoning—is the one we are going to resemble the most (Prov. 23:7a). Are you picking up the vicious circle here? The end is a narcissistic introspection that only perpetuates itself. No wonder the writer of Hebrews encourages us in chapter twelve to look away from ourselves and “unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” It’s possible to spend your whole life zeroing in on the wrong person.

I know Plato said, “Know thyself,” but I refuse to be boxed in; I’ve set my sights a whole lot higher:

KNOW THY GOD!

Stepping Into the Unknown

“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” Psl. 16:9

         We greet each new year with both anticipation and trepidation, because that’s exactly what it is: unknown. Oh, some things will continue as they were, but there is always the possibility of that unexpected, out-of-the-blue crisis that will set us back on our heels and force us to muster all our Spiritual reserves. This is why the Lord has ordained our Christian life to be taken a step at a time, instructing us to forget about tomorrow; our plate is full enough today (Matt. 6:25). So, what should we know about this-one-step-at-a-time walk with God? Here are a few things to remember about those steps, lest we get the false idea that they are truly unknown.

1. Our steps are ordered: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:”(Psl. 37:23a). God, our Father, is orderly and in charge. When we’re following His order, there will be few missteps. Notice, they’re ordered by Him, not someone else. Others may bark out orders, and often they may be right, but mature believers will always make sure they came straight from the top. And the Psalmist has told us exactly how to prove them: “Order my steps in thy word” (119:133). Anything that contradicts biblical precepts should always be regarded as a stumbling block, rather than a steppingstone. God’s steps for us are planned, ordered, and safe.

2.  Our steps are guarded: “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped” (Psl. 73:2) The key words here are “well nigh.”  “I thought I was a goner,” says the Psalmist, “But He caught me just in time.” It’s those “everlasting arms” that are always underneath us, don’t you know (Deut. 22:27)? We may think, at times, we’re on a slippery slope; but it’s the wicked of this world who have (if you please) one foot on a banana peel, according to verse eighteen. As for you and me, we need not tiptoe fearfully through life; for with the Word of God as our ballast, it can be said of us too, “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide” (v. 31).

3. Our steps are numbered: “For now thou numberest my steps” (Job 31:4). God, so interested in us personally that He has numbered the hairs of our head, also knows how many steps stand between this earth and our first glimpse of the Savior’s face. David understood this: “…there is but a step between me and death” (1 Sam. 20:3). The thing to remember is this: God knows the number because He set it. All our efforts to lengthen – or shorten– our days will not change that number. We may disregard His will, but we can never thwart it. Nor should we ever consider death to be a “leap in the dark.” Metaphorically speaking, we’re not going to suddenly step off a cliff; we’re going to deliberately step on shore. (Kind of makes you want to double-step, doesn’t it? J)

         As children of the King, our steps are ordered, guarded, and numbered. Look to the future, clear-eyed, with the Word of God as your guide. Step purposefully and confidently.  And, for goodness sake, step lively!

The King of Hearts

“And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation…saying that he himself is Christ a King.” - Luke 23:2

When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, the question was one of authority. He was accused of claiming to be a king. And when Pilate, in the next verse, asked Him outright, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” Jesus responded, “Thou sayest it.” (“You said it!) Even a casual reading of the Bible would tell you that its most undeniable truth is that Jesus Christ was and is King of Heaven and earth. He is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). He was a king before He was born; and He was born The King. He is “the King of saints” (Rev. 15:3).

You see, before you and I were born, we did not exist, except in the mind of God, but God, the Son, existed throughout all eternity past. Mary may not have understood all of this, but she did know that God meant for her Son to one day sit on the throne of David (Luke 1:32). As a song I love to sing at Christmas puts it: “From the cradle to the Cross to David’s throne/From the cradle to the Cross to David’s throne/Little King Jesus, born in a manger/Coming back someday to claim us for his own.”

It is only fitting that a king should receive gifts and homage from his subjects. The three wise men understood this, even though the King was just a Baby. But what can you and I give to such a King? For as David said, all things come from God, therefore we can only give what came from Him in the first place (1 Chron. 29:14). In the case of our King, we already know the gift that will please Him most. “My son [and daughter], give me thine heart” (Prov.23:26). He wants what is inside of us that makes us who we are. 

He rules today in power, but one day He will rule in Person. And when He does, the question will be, “Is He the King of my heart?” In my first morning prayer, I acknowledge Him as my Father, my Savior, and my King. I tell Him to rule and reign in my heart this day. 

Who is the King of your heart? Who reigns as Absolute Monarch with unquestioned authority? Will you bow the knees of your heart now and say with the song writer… “King of my life, I crown Thee now…

The Other Incarnation

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39

         Did you know that the word “incarnate” has another meaning besides the one we are most familiar with: a person who embodies in flesh a deity as in the Incarnation of God the Son in human flesh as Jesus Christ.” But there is at least one other meaning: “to put (an idea or another abstract concept) into concrete form.”

         I know this because I recently was reminded of a great old hymn of the Church, entitled, “O Word of God Incarnate,” written by William W. How. It had been so long since I heard that I had forgotten that is wasn’t about Jesus Christ, who we know from John one is the Incarnation of the Word of God. When I read the song again, I saw that it was not about Him, though, which made me curious about the other meaning:  

         O Word of God incarnate, O wisdom from on high,

         O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky:

         We praise You for the radiance the from the hallowed page,

         A Lantern to our footsteps, shines on from age to age.

         The Church from You, our Savior, received the Gift divine,

         And still that Light is lifted over all the earth to shine.

         It is the sacred Vessel where gems of truth are stored;

         It is the heaven drawn Picture of Christ, the Living Word.

         The Word of God is “settled in heaven” and it “liveth and abideth forever.” But it was an “abstract concept,” as far as we were concerned, until God gave it to us in “concrete form.” Jesus called it “the scriptures,” something written down. And lest we think this incarnation is of less importance than His, Jesus told us words of this incarnation hold the message of eternal life, and they speak of Him.

History would have told us that Jesus died, but Paul told us He died for our sins; that’s New Testament doctrine, “according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3). Without the Scriptures, we would never know that the birth of Jesus Christ was the Incarnation of God. Indeed, those who refuse to accept the Bible, as it is in truth, the Word of God, would argue that it wasn’t. In his book, Taking God At His Word, Kevin DeYoung speaking of the importance of the written Word, says: “All this matters because it means the authority of God’s word resides in the written text–the words, the sentences, the paragraphs–of Scripture, not merely in our existential experience of the truth in our hearts. Some people don’t like written text and propositions because they imply a stable, fixed meaning, and people don’t want truth to be fixed.”

         This year, as we celebrate the Incarnation of the living Word of God in human form, Jesus Christ, let’s not forget to celebrate the other incarnation, the one that gave us the living Words of God, the Holy Scriptures. Believe it, handle it, open it daily, cherish it, consume it, and follow its percepts, knowing it is God’s final word and our only Authority.

What a Pity!

 “…Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” – James 5:11

         Does it not seem strange that as an example of God’s pity, James offers Job’s story? I can think of other instances in Scripture where God or Jesus had compassion on someone in need, and more to the point, someone whose need was not a direct result God intervening in his or her seemingly tranquil life. I’ve heard preachers say, “Job got in trouble because God bragged on him!” (Job 1:6-8). And it does seem that way. But, of course, you and I have the advantage of hindsight. We know the end of the story. We have “seen the end of the Lord.”  We know that “the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12); and it wasn’t just materially and physically. As Job himself witnessed “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee” (Job 42:5). But, as I say, while he was in the throes of his great trial of faith, God must have seemed anything but “pitiful” to him.

         By the way, don’t get hung-up on the word “pitiful,” any more than “careful” in Philippians four six. It means just what it says: full of pity, as the great old hymn of the Church says, “Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love, and grace.” As with so many of our English words, we have added meanings, but Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines it best: “Full of pity; tender; compassionate; having a heart to feel sorrow and sympathy for the distressed. [This is the proper sense of the word.]”

And truly, that is our God! Isaiah says of Him and His relationship to His children, Israel: “In all their affliction he was afflicted…in his pity he redeemed them…” (Isa. 63:9). King David tells us, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him” (Psl. 103:13). You and I, as Blood-bought children of God, have a Heavenly Father whose pity is akin to that of an earthly father, but without it’s human limitations. It is unwavering, inexhaustible, and unfathomable. We have no redeeming qualities, yet He redeemed us. When He allows pain, grief, and sorrow, He wipes away our tears with His very presence. And if He still had the tears of His earthly Body, He would weep along with us, as He did at Lazarus’ grave.

I am so thankful that my God is “very pitiful.” I need that kind of pity. I may be undeserving, but because of Calvary, I’m eligible. There is no pity like His. What a comfort…what a God…and what a pity!