That what it seems like at least sometimes. I have often viewed the journey of my family as in an action/adventure thriller. You know; just as you get across the river the rope bridge falls 300 feet into the gorge; just as you get around the side of the mountain, the trail you were on only seconds before is crumbling and crashing down the slope.
Look at our Savior. I just watched “The Nativity Story.” Was pretty good. Salvation came through a little baby? A baby whose mother could have by the law been stoned for adultery while the child was still in the womb. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; dodging Herod’s soldiers; born in a stable with the animals.
That’s just the beginning. A mere strand is how God accomplished our forever hope in Jesus Christ.
All kinds of things could have gone wrong. I know, I know, please don’t make me puke and get all spiritual about the sovereign nature of God, and his omnipotence, omniscience, providence, etc.
This was real drama and if we don’t get that then we miss what God is doing and how he does it. Yes, in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ we are secure in God. And also yes that I didn’t need that mountain trail anymore but it is still a little unnerving to see it crumble away into oblivion. So what if the rope bridge fell 300 feet into the drink after we got across. We made it, didn’t we? Yeah! But maybe we peed our pants too.
This is how God does things; on one hand totally rest in who he is, what he has done and what he will do. On the other hand, much of life is anguish and gut-wrenching heartache. My wife and I have seen too much over the last decade; more than we would choose but not more than God would bring or allow.
So I trust in the strand he holds out. Just some words, believing in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, trusting him with my life, waiting and hoping for forever with him. And not looking back or down.
Psalms 94:12-13 ESV Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, (13) to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
World-wide turmoil, our paths of security and our bridges of peace fall into the pit. But we don’t.
“This is why we are not afraid.” That’s what I wrote in my journal on 090604. Everything may go sliding down the mountainside but we have our strand of salvation in the Lord.
This entry about the drama of the strand of history and salvation really grabbed ahold of me. It is so easy to forget the drama. It reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas songs – “Labor of Love” by Andrew Peterson. The opening lines are:
It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyway that night
In the streets of David’s town
And one version of the chorus goes:
It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
For the girl on the ground in the dark
Every beat of her beautiful heart
Was a labor of love
If we miss the struggle of humanity in the Word of God and in the story of our redemption, then we’re either not reading too closely, or we’re reading with our heads only and not letting our hearts into the pages. Salvation is a heart issue, after all.
And ditto on the “don’t make me puke.” Yes, God is omni-allofthat, but why is that the quick “pat answer”? We should all take some time and let our hearts really take in the stories of the Word of God and of the world around us.
Thanks for the writings, Dave.