Reading for October 15
Jeremiah 26:1-27:22
God, I hate this book. I know exactly why too - it's not what I expected. The only thing I knew about this book going into it was verse 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you...Based on that, you would think that Jeremiah would be full of hopeful passages about God's impending grace that would come through Jesus. Instead it has so far been almost entirely God's prophecies of destruction and doom on Jerusalem and all nations of the world.
And while I can see the importance of a book like this to show how God's anger reached a severe level shortly before Christ, it is incredibly difficult and emotionally draining to read. Chapter after chapter, God spells out the pain and gloom he will bring on his people, and it just sucks.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-18
There is a warning against idleness in this chapter. It's interesting to see read Paul comment on such a human, earthly thing. Usually you see him urging us to pray or to look for gifts of the spirit, but here he tells us just to work. Earn your money and your food through honest work:
11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.I also like he ties in the idea of doing right as well as being diligent in your work. Never tire of doing what is right. Good advice.
That's the end of 2 Thessalonians by the way. First time I've ever cracked a page in this book.
Psalm 85:1-13
Ahhh...a sigh of relief. A sigh of hope:
1 You showed favor to your land, O LORD;It's particularly pleasing to read these verses after trudging through Jeremiah. It reminds the reader that even though there are times when God is angry and vengeful, there are times where he shows tremendous mercy and forgiveness. The problem is figuring out when he'll do what as his mood seems to sway with the wind.
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people
and covered all their sins.
Selah
3 You set aside all your wrath
and turned from your fierce anger.
Proverbs 25:16
16 If you find honey, eat just enough—
too much of it, and you will vomit.
Sound, practical advice, sir.
Hey man, I don't like reading through Jeremiah either, but I still think it is pretty important to show us a part of God's character. The question I ask myself is, why is God so mad? I think it has to do with Israel's breaking of the covenant and the embracing of Injustice. God hates injustice, and this is what brings about God's wrath upon Israel.
ReplyDeleteJust a comment on your last couple of blog posts on heaven, hell, and what we are here on earth for if God just wants us in heaven.
ReplyDeleteFrom my (puny) understanding of the Bible and based on a lot of help from a few theologians (especially N.T. Wright on this one): I don't believe in the Rapture, I don't believe all life is is just waiting around until you get to heaven, and this life now is a test to see if you get there or not.
Rather, God LOVES His creation. It is GOOD. But creation fell. And (part of) the point of Jesus was that He was sent to restore creation -- by restoring the relationship between creation and God. In his resurrected body, Jesus was the first new creation, anticipating ALL OF OUR new creation that we currently are partially experiencing in Christ in our lives now and carry as an ultimate hope for the future.
So what does that mean for "end times"? When you die, you are in "heaven" with Jesus (I think). But even bigger than that, at the "end times" Jesus finally returns to His good creation and God restores it once and for all. Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and God's children and God's creation will live eternally in communion with God. It is not that we are "zapped up" into heaven, but heaven COMES DOWN onto earth to restore it finally.
So the point of our lives here and now is NOT to fulfill some test just so you get into heaven. Eternal life was opened up to all of creation when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and it has nothing to do with our works, nothing nothing nothing (I know I just opened a whole can of worms there in terms of "is everyone saved then" type thing, but let's put that aside for now).
With the knowledge that our good but corrupted world will one day be restored in its entirety, we live on earth showing the world this beautiful future by living it NOW. God's love and the glorious truth that in Jesus Christ everyone who was meant for condemnation is instead chosen to be redeemed and newly created is such good news that we Christians are being gathered INTO COMMUNITY -- into Christ's body (remember that 1 Cor passage about the body with many members?) -- and then SENT OUT to tell that Good News to everyone.
ReplyDeleteWe "tell the good news" in our words and deeds because God loves this world; not for the purposes of converting as many people as possible so they don't go to hell. Jesus has already done everything necessary for all to be redeemed, and we don't actually convert ANYONE. God does all the work, the Holy Spirit gives us what we need to do His mission.
In other words, our whole lives are meant on being gathered by Jesus, built up in holiness, and then sent out to show God's love to the world. (totally stole this from another theologian type guy, Karl Barth).
I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but I believe this is so important to grasp, because the Christian life is sooooo much bigger and better than just wait around until you die and grab a few converts along the way. Let me know what you think about this very crude, unedited, typefest....
P.S. Like I said, I don't believe end times has anything to do with Raptures or being left behind. I believe the idea about Rapturing came about either in the 18th or 19th century. So that 2 Theo verse you quote, I personally believe is probably more about false teachers and prophets both in Paul's time and today.
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ReplyDeleteClarification, when I say we don't convert anyone, I don't mean we don't tell other people about Jesus and God. We absolutely do and are called to do that. The end of Matthew makes that explicit (he even tells his followers to baptize people).
ReplyDeleteWhat I meant is that we should not ever take credit for anyone starting to know Christ. It is God's work and God's grace that anyone knows anything about God.