Never Enough

 “The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

A common objection people make, when it comes to faith in the Lord, is that he must prove himself. They want evidence for the claims that are made for him. And they want proof that he is who he says he is.

The simple fact of the matter is that there is ample evidence supporting the existence of God and the claims that he makes. Christianity is not a faith which expects us to take everything by blind faith without any evidence whatsoever. The truth it teaches is verifiable.

The problem is that, more often than not, nothing is enough. No matter what evidence we are supplied with, it isn’t enough. And regardless of what God has revealed about himself, it’s never enough.

We see an example of this attitude in Mark 8. Jesus had just performed a great miracle. He’d just fed a crowd of more than four thousand people with only seven loaves of bread and a few fish. This is a miracle that was both seen and experienced by so many, there’s no denying it.

Yet, immediately afterward, the Pharisees argued with Jesus asking for yet another sign from heaven. What he had just done was apparently not enough to convince them. And, in all reality, nothing would.

We can make excuses for their unwillingness to believe. Perhaps they weren’t there when Jesus did this great work. Perhaps they hadn’t eaten of the loaves. But the fact remains that many had. There was so much testimony regarding what Jesus had done, they could not simply dismiss it.

Not even the resurrection of Jesus was enough to convince them. The religious leaders of the Jews went as far as trying to cover this up. They would not believe and they would do whatever they could to prevent others from doing so.

This is an attitude that we regularly see in society today. And we cannot take upon ourselves the burden of proving the truth of the gospel to those who will not believe. We can only share the Word and allow the Spirit of God to do his work.

Hopefully, however, we are not one who refuses to be convinced. If we are, I pray that we’ll recognize it, and that we’ll ask the Lord to open our eyes to the truth. And I pray that we’ll take an honest look at all of the evidence that is before us.

The Value of Life

 “Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.”

‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭23‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Life is greatly undervalued in the age in which we live. It’s something for which we have little regard. And this is seen in many different ways.

It’s seen, for example, in our support for unfettered abortion. It’s seen in our laws permitting euthanasia or physician assisted suicide. It’s seen in the actions of terrorists, who use civilians as human shields or who serve as suicide bombers in order to stoke fear in the masses.

That being said, it’s seen also in less obvious ways. It’s seen in the declining birthrate and in our increasing demand for birth control. It’s seen in our unwillingness to confront abuse. And it’s seen in the devaluing of members of another race or culture.

It’s additionally seen in the foolish chances we take with our own life. It’s seen in some of us as we drink and drive, or as we use substances which destroy our body and put us at risk of overdose. It’s seen as we push ourselves to the limit, failing to take adequate time for rest or to nourish ourselves. And it’s seen as we fail to make use of protections provided to us that we might not suffer harm.

As we see in the passage above, David had the opposite mentality. He greatly valued human life. And he could not tolerate it when it was taken lightly.

The above passage was speaking of David’s mighty men, his greatest and most loyal warriors. Speaking to them, he’d expressed his desire to drink from the well of his hometown, Bethlehem. This town, however, was held by their enemies, the Philistines.

We all wish for friends so loyal but, when they heard of this desire, three of his mighty men went into action. They went to Bethlehem, fought through the Philistines who were there, and drew some water from the well of which David spoke. And they, then, brought it to him.

When they did so, he refused to drink it. And it wasn’t due to a lack of gratitude on his part. He refused to drink it because of the high value he placed on human life.

He acknowledged that the men who brought this water to him did so at the risk of their lives. And their lives were not something to be taken lightly. They were worth far more than the satisfaction of his reminiscent desire.

He would have never asked his men to do such a thing for him. He would never have asked them to put their lives on the line for something as trivial as a drink of water from the well of his hometown. Although their love for David was commendable, they should never have risked themselves in this way.

We, in the same way, should value human life. This life, after all, is a gift of God. It’s he who created each one of us. And it’s he who sent his Son to die for us, that we might have life everlasting.

Spiritual Amnesia

 “And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We can easily become frustrated with the church. We can become frustrated with our fellow believers. And the reason we become frustrated is because they never seem to learn.

Even though they have read of God’s might and love in Scripture, they continue to doubt. Despite knowing how he’s worked throughout the course of history, they fail to believe. And even when they hear testimony from us, or other believers, of what God has done, they seem blind and deaf.

We fail to realize, however, that this is not unusual in the least. This was true also of the disciples in Mark 8. They had already seen Jesus miraculously feed the 5000 with only a small amount of food. But when Jesus expresses his desire to feed another crowd, this is their response.

They once again question how this can be done. They question it due to the lack of resources available to them. They do so even though Jesus is standing right there in their midst.

This leads us to ask if  they had forgotten what Jesus had done. It makes us wonder if they had suffered a head injury. Or perhaps they were suffering from amnesia.

It often seems this way. It seems this way as we read about them in the gospels. And it seems this way as we search our own heart.

We, you see, do the same. Even knowing how God has worked to save us, we doubt. Even seeing how he’s worked in our day to day lives, we fail to believe.

We never seem to learn. And, for this reason, we have to be reminded again and again. It has to be pounded into our head over and over.

I wonder if this is why Jesus performed the same miracle a second time. Despite what they’d seen, they still didn’t get it. And they needed to see it again.

This, you see, is the blessing of Scripture. It’s the blessing of reading it. And it’s the blessing of hearing it taught and preached time and again. 

We are continually reminded of who Christ is, what he has done, and the promises he’s given us. When doubt creeps in, we hear it again. And when it seems we’ve forgotten, we are reminded.

Loving Our Enemies

 “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives?””

‭‭Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We know that, according to Jesus, we’re to love our enemy and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Yet this is something we struggle to do. It’s not even something to which we give much thought.

Although we say that we love our enemies, we feel no compassion for them. Although we say that we desire their blessing, we are unwilling to provide for them. And although we say that we want them to share in the mercy of Christ, we will not go out of our way to minister to them.

Even if we aren’t actively hating them, we’re not actively loving them. Even if we’re not actively seeking their harm, we aren’t actively seeking their good. And even if we aren’t actively pursuing their judgment, we’re not actively pursuing their blessing.

As we look at Judges 21, we see the example of the people of Israel. The tribe of Benjamin had been in the wrong. They had made their brothers, of the remaining tribes of Israel, their enemies. And they had been on the receiving end of a great wrath.

Their tribe had been utterly decimated in battle. All that remained of Benjamin was six hundred men. And the rest of Israel had vowed that none of them would give their daughters in marriage to them.

In essence, the tribe of Benjamin would soon be no more. And the remaining tribes of Israel could have simply accepted that. They could have, in fact rejoiced in that.

Yet, despite the wrong committed by Benjamin, the rest of Israel felt compassion for them. And, despite their vow, they sought a way to provide for their need. They sought to love their enemies rather than hate them. And they sought to bless their enemy rather than harm them.

The way they did so may seem strange to us. It may sound questionable. It may even seem downright wrong. But the point remains.

They went out of their way to provide wives for the remaining men of Benjamin. They sought to do so in a way which would not mean violating the vow they'd taken. But they did all they could to ensure this tribe would not go the way of extinction.

The tribes of Israel felt compassion for their enemies. They loved their enemies. And they desired that their enemies would share in God's blessing.

This points us to Christ, who loved his enemies. It points us to Christ, who desired God’s blessing for those who hated him. And it points us to Christ, who sacrificed his life that those who caused his suffering might be saved.

We, you see, were his enemies. We are those who hated him. And we are those who caused his suffering.

As his people, then, we’re to share his heart. As his children, we’re to reflect his nature. And as recipients of his compassion, we’re to show it to others.

Pressing On

 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it...”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The world in which we live is antagonistic toward the Christian faith. It’s hostile to the Christian faith. And this is more true now than it's ever been. 

Persecution directed against believers in Jesus is worse than it’s ever been in the course of human history. We see it in atheistic regimes, as well as in Muslim nations. But we see it even in nations that have been historically Christian, including here in the United States.

In addition, those among whom we live seem enamored by evil. They are determined to satisfy their every passion. And they’ll do so no matter who they hurt in the process.

In the face of this, it can be hard to remain faithful. Our sense of self-preservation pulls us to turn away from the faith. And our natural desire to be liked and accepted leads us to surrender to the culture in which we live.

 But in the face of an ever hostile world, we are called to do just that. We're called to remain faithful. In the face of a world pursuing evil, we are called to continue on. 

We’re to continue on in the faith we have firmly believed. We’re to continue in the faith which was taught to us. And we’re to do so knowing from whom we learned it.

In the case of Timothy, he’d learned the faith from his mother and grandmother. The same is true of many of us. It’s our family who introduced us to the faith. And we know that they are trustworthy.

Timothy had also been discipled by the apostle Paul. And it was not merely a relationship between student and teacher. It’s clear that a closeness developed between them. In the same way, we tend to become very close to those who’ve taught us the faith. They are not merely teachers. They are our spiritual fathers and mothers. And, like our natural parents, we know that they love us and have our best interests at heart.

This, of course, is not true of those seeking to lead us astray. They are not trustworthy. They seek not our best interest. And they do not truly love us. There are other motives at work.

Realizing this, in spite of the world around us, we hold firmly to our faith. We continue in what we’ve learned. And we continue in what we’ve firmly believed.

God Is In Control

 “God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭47‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As we look at the world in which we live, we worry. As we listen to the news, we fret. We do so because it seems to us that all hope is lost.

It seems to us that the Lord has been forgotten. It seems that man has turned away. And it seems that the Lord has been largely rejected.

It seems to us that the Church is on the verge of extinction. It seems to us that the faith is in decline. And it seems to us that it will soon pass into the dustbin of history.

It seems to us that evil has won the day. It seems that righteousness is dead. And it seems to us that morality is a thing of the past.

It seems to us that the rulers of this world stand against the Lord. And in many cases they do. They promote ideas and enact policies that contradict the truth of Scripture.

This, then, causes us to question. It causes us to doubt. And it leads us to lose hope.

Yet, in spite of all of this, we are reminded by Psalm 47 that God reigns. We are reminded that God sits on his holy throne. We are reminded that he is over all.

He has not been toppled, nor can he be. No matter how things may seem, God remains King. He remains King of kings and Lord of lords. He remains ruler of the universe.

No matter how things may seem, he is still in control. Evil has not won the day, nor has his will been thwarted. Even when we can’t see or understand how, his will is truly being accomplished.

Even if we cannot see it with our eyes, perceive it with our ears, or understand it with our heart, this truth remains. The Lord reigns over all the earth. And he rules over all peoples.

Extreme Honesty

 “But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders.”

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭9‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Everyone values honesty. We encourage truth telling. And we consider it to be a virtue.

We believe that a person should keep his word. We believe that he should be true to his promise. Anything less is frowned upon.

We'd feel very different, however, if we'd been deceived. We'd feel very different if we'd been lied to. In that case, we wouldn't feel bound to our promise.  

If we agreed to buy a car, only to find that it had far more miles on it than we’d been told, we wouldn’t feel obligated to hold to our original agreement. If someone hired to make repairs on our home failed to follow through, we wouldn’t feel obligated to pay him. And if a motel at which we’re staying is found to have bed bugs, we’d demand a refund.

This way of thinking seems to make sense. It seems fair and just. But, in Joshua 9, the people of Israel felt bound to their promise even when they’d been deceived.

God had commanded that Israel destroy the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. And they were doing just that. However, they made an alliance with men who claimed to have come from a long distance.

They soon found that it was a ruse. The men had not truly come from a distance. They were from nearby cities that merely feared annihilation.

Yet the Israelites kept their promise, and considered it valid, even when they’d been deceived. They made the people of these towns their servants. And they even went to the defense of these cities when they found themselves under attack.

This may seem rather extreme to us. But it illustrates the importance of honesty. It highlights the importance of holding true to our word. And it makes clear the importance of faithfulness to our promise.

God, after all, is faithful in his promise to us. He’s faithful to it even when we are found to fall short. When we are faithless, Scripture tells us (2 Timothy 2:13), he remains faithful.

Our honesty, when it comes to those around us, reflects the faithfulness of Christ. As we stay true to our word, it reflects the Lord, who remains true to his Word. And when we keep our promise, it reveals the Lord, who keeps the promise he’s made us.