God is Light

God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

I John 1:5

How amazingly appropriate it is for God to present Himself to this dark world as a pure and perfect light. For our world was nothing but a confusing mess, shrouded in darkness, until God said, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:2). Yes, God created light, but men loved the darkness anyway. So, thousands of years later, God sent His Son into the world to shine a light on those walking in darkness (Isaiah 9:2 & John 1:4-5). He promised that those who believed on Him would be delivered from the dominion of darkness (Colossians 1:13) and would become children of light (John 12:36) shining in the darkness (Matthew 5:14). (Elements of this paragraph were inspired by Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible & The Names of God by George W. Knight)

So God is light, but what does that mean?

It means that God is good and holy. He is without sin, stain or blemish. He is perfect. God is honest, and true. There is no deception in Him. He is the source of all life, of everything that is good, and of all that is beautiful. It also tells us that God is not a god of confusion, but one of revelation. He doesn't trip us up; He lights the way. God is a god of knowledge. Everything is revealed to Him. He doesn't grope around in darkness but rather He lives in unapproachable light (I Timothy 6:16). All of this makes God trustworthy and right. 

So praise the Lord that we have a true light we can turn to when the darkness is overwhelming. When we are confused, we have someone to light our way. When we are scared we know someone we can trust. When we receive anything good, we know who to thank for it. 

It is unfathomable how terribly dark this world would be if God were anything but pure light. So be thankful! Praise the Lord and look to Him for hope, joy and guidance as you navigate through the darkness.

God Doesn't Hurry (W.o.W. Rewind)

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5

I loved philosophy in undergrad. I'll never forget talking about Aristotle's ideal man. My professor explained that this ideal man would be tall, have a deep voice and he would never be in a hurry. He invoked John Wayne's slow, swaggering gait as an example. To hurry meant to be late, which meant you had made an error. The ideal man always had time to slow down and swagger. I knew right then and there that I was ruled out on all accounts. I was a short tenor who often had to run across campus to get to classes in time. 

I don't really know what the ideal man is like, but I am convinced that any God worthy of worship is never in a hurry. I mean what kind of a god would be in a hurry? One who didn't know the future? One who procrastinated or who had lost control? That's not a god I want to serve. 

Thankfully, the God of the Bible passes this test. He is never in a hurry. Over and over again in Scripture we see that God, knowing all future events, simply waits until the right time to act. God waited until Abraham was 99 years old before He gave him a son. It had been 24 years since He first promised him a child. Then once Israel went down into Egypt God let their numbers increase for 430 years before He rescued them from slavery. And when they fearfully refused to enter the Promised Land, God didn't hesitate to banish the entire generation to live out their remaining years in the wilderness. He would simply take the next generation into the Promised Land. Why not? He has all the time in the world.

We find the same God at work in the New Testament. During the time between the old and new testaments God was silent for roughly 400 years, biding His time. By the time Jesus finally was born it had been more than a thousand years since God first promised a Deliverer. What happens then? Basically nothing until Jesus is thirty years old. After Jesus' birth and circumcision we only have one story about His entire adolescence recorded in Scripture. He was roughly thirty years old before anyone really took notice of Him. The Messiah was living right under people's noses and they didn't notice... and God took His time revealing it to them.

What does this mean for us? Well, it means that God isn't in a hurry in your life either. Now don't mistake God's patience for indifference. You can be sure that God has a plan for you (Ephesians 2:10) and that He cares that He will not tolerate disobedience. But you can also be sure that He is not going to rush you. He will prepare you for what lies ahead and He will make sure it happens in His time. So relax. Trust the process. Trust God. Focus less on where you are right now or on how quickly you are moving forward. Focus more on being in right relationship with Him today and taking the steps of obedience you need to take right now.

Jesus: The Dividing Line

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Matthew 25:31-33

There will come a day when people are no longer separated along geopolitical lines, racial barriers, or income tiers; but rather by their response to Jesus. On that day every nation will be gathered before Him as He sits on His heavenly throne, and He will divide the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. The sheep being representative of those who placed their faith in Christ, the goats of those who rejected Him.

This is why your commitment to Christ must be primary. It must be your ultimate allegiance in life. It must be greater than your patriotism because Jesus won't judge you based on your national allegiance, but on your personal relationship to Him. It must be greater than your love for your family and even your own self-interest because Jesus said “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).

Jesus must be your all in all, because He is what unites you to some and divides you from others. The Spirit of Christ unites all believers across every barrier and dividing line our evil world can create. Yet, Jesus told us that He would also bring division. He said, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34). So, you must understand that your allegiance to Christ will draw some nearer to you and some it will send running in the opposite direction. Christ will tell you to go to this person and to leave that one alone.

Therefore, it is imperative that we all make sure we are on the right side of this dividing line. How do we do that? In this passage, Jesus bases it on how we respond to the needs of other believers. When Jesus' brothers (i.e. believers) are hungry, thirsty, lacking shelter, in need of clothing, sick, or imprisoned; how do we respond? Do we meet their needs?

Now Jesus isn't espousing a works righteousness here but is showing that love for other believers is a proof of salvation. We see this in the earliest church in Acts 2. All those who repented and placed their faith in Christ, began selling off their possessions and giving to other believers as they had need (Acts 2:44-45). The Spirit of Christ so unites believers that love for one another is a sure sign of the family of faith.

So, are you on the right side of the dividing line? Have you placed your faith in Christ? Jesus was fond of saying that you will know a tree by its fruit (Luke 6:43-45), so what are you doing to meet the needs of other believers? If aren't doing anything, then what does that say about you?

Life goes on.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 24:37-39

Do you know what the vast majority of people did on the day after 9/11? They got out of bed and went to work. Do you know what most did the day after Hurricane Katrina or the 2007 Tsunami or even Pearl Harbor? You're right. Unless it personally affected them, they got up and went about their business. 

Life goes on. Oftentimes, relentlessly so. 

People sometimes use this fact to try to give us hope in the face of tragedy. Hope that one day we'll get over our loss. But when your life has been touched personally by loss, the fact that everyone else goes on as if nothing happened can seem rather cruel. Your life feels like it's over, but everyone else barely seems to notice. 

Yet this unforgivable, unrelenting forward march of time and life is just what Scripture says will happen. right up until the very end. People will continue on with life as usual just as they do after every tragedy and loss. Even as God sends signs and warnings that the time is near, people will pay no attention. The vast majority will overlook the signs of Jesus' coming and keep on eating, drinking, and getting married like the world will keep on as it is forever.  

Yes, life will go on...until it doesn't. 

We know of course, that there will come a day when life as we know it stops. Jesus will return. The dead will be raised. We all will be judged. 

So what would Jesus have us do? How do we avoid missing the signs? In verse 42 Jesus tells us to "keep watch." Watch for Christ's return. Anticipate it. Look forward to it. In verse 44 Jesus counsels us to "be ready." Prepare yourself to meet your Maker. Get right with God today before it's too late! Lastly in verse 46 Jesus urges us to live in obedience to God's commands. Once you are right with God, live every day before Him like it might be your last. Be careful to fulfill all your duties to the Lord so you might hope to be rewarded in the afterlife not punished.