Dear Fellow Children of God,
Do you ever become weary of the evil and the sin that
constantly assaults us in this life? I’m
not talking now about personal temptation, though such temptations are a real part
of life’s struggle. I am talking about
the shooting at Umpqua Community College on Thursday in Oregon. We may be tempted to call it “another shooting spree” among so many
others in the last 2 decades. But, the
nine people killed were individual sons and daughters, fathers and mothers. This is not just another shooting, but a real
assault on the efforts of people to build their lives and to work for the good
of themselves and their families. I’m
shocked . . . again! And, I am weary of
the constant attack on the attempts of people to build our world with justice,
with faith, and with love.
This reminds me of another “weary” man in Scripture,
named Elijah. In my devotions this week
I have been reading about Elijah in the book of 1 Kings. Elijah was called as a prophet in the
northern kingdom of Israel to share that The Lord is the only true God. The King of Israel at that time, Ahab, and
his wife, Jezebel, led the people of Israel in forsaking the Lord, the Lord who
had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, and who had saved the nation so
many times. So, Elijah had a showdown,
of sorts, on Mt Carmel with the prophets of Jezebel’s god, Baal. (1 Kings 18) When the Lord had powerfully shown himself to
truly be the only God, Jezebel sought to kill Elijah. So Elijah ran away to the south. When he got to the land of Judah Elijah prayed,
“I have had enough, LORD, take my
life . . .” (1 Kings 19:4) Elijah was weary.
However, God strengthened Elijah, so Elijah continued his
journey south to Mount Horeb (Sinai?). There
God appeared to Elijah and spoke to him in one of the most intriguing and revealing
sections of Scripture, “11 The
LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD,
for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the
mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not
in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in
the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in
the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” (1 Kings
19:11-12) The NIV Bible translates, “a
gentle whisper.” Many, myself included,
remember the King James and RSV translation, “a still small voice.” In other words, God spoke, but not at this
point with a 2 x 4 over Elijah’s head. God
spoke in a way that required Elijah to listen. God spoke in a way that shows that His every
word is important. God told Elijah he
was not alone, and to go back to work.
What does all this have to do with the
shootings in Oregon? God still speaks,
often in a still small voice. While 1
Kings has been the Old Testament book of my devotions this week, 1 Corinthians
was the Epistle reading in those devotions.
People in Paul’s time were clamoring for God to speak in an unmistakable
way. Paul says God still speaks in a way
that some consider a whisper. “22 Jews demand miraculous signs and
Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of
God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's
wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-25) People in
Paul’s times clamored for God to reveal himself in power. God revealed Himself in a humble sacrifice of
saving love in the life and death of His Son, Jesus.
Our world is in a battle with the forces of evil
which are stronger than we are (John 16:11).
So, it is no surprise that we are weary.
But, acting in humble love rather than violent power, God has defeated
our enemy. God tells us we are not alone
and to go about His work. We can do this
because the true God of this world who gave His Son is with us to save us from
our own sin and struggle, and He has conquered death and the forces of
evil. Nothing in this world can take
away God’s victory in Jesus.
I am still weary of the senseless evil acts of
violence which seem to occur so regularly.
But, God who strengthened Elijah strengthens us in His Son. Jesus
received all the violence this world can give when He died. But, Jesus victoriously rose from the
dead. Jesus offers that victory of
forgiveness and eternal life to all as they trust in Him as God’s promised
Savior. So, trusting the cross of Jesus,
trusting the love of God, I go on sharing Jesus and His victory with others. God calls all His children to do the same.
A Child of
God, Strengthened in Weariness by the Foolishness of the Cross,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. One of my
friends, Dr. Dale Meyer, President of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, writes a
daily devotion, The Meyer
Minute. At the end of today’s e-mail I
am including Dale’s message on the Oregon shootings.
****
ABOUT
‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am sending these e-mail messages,
hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I
have. (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you
are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.) However, if you don’t
want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your
name off my list for this message.
****
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