A Flourishing Life or One Forgotten

 PSALM 1

A blessed person

    does not follow wicked schemes,

    or support sinful ways,

    or keep company with the scornful.

Instead, the Lord's teaching

    delights him

and the teaching from the Lord

    he whispers day and night.

And so, he is like a tree

    planted by ever-flowing streams

    that yields fruit continually

    with leaves that don't fade.

Whatever he does flourishes.

No so the wicked.

    They are like chaff blown away.

So the wicked will not be able to stand in face of justice

    nor sinners in the midst of a righteous gathering.

For the journey of the righteous is well-known to the Lord,

    but the journey of the wicked will be forgotten.

The Master Teaching: the Kingdom of God

The sovereignty of God is the primary message of the Old Testament. As Psalm 139 explains, "The Lord sits enthroned in the heavens, his kingdom rules over all." The prophets speak of God over all nations, pronouncing his words not only to Israel, but also to each nation: "He shall judge between nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples." (Isaiah 2:4) God is not just the God of Israel, but the God and creator of the whole world and all peoples. As John Piper says, "When we say God is sovereign, we mean he is powerful and authoritative to the extent of being able to override all other powers and authorities. That’s my effort at a definition." (What is the Sovereignty of God?) The sovereignty of God is absorbed into another proclamation in the New Testament. Jesus's primary message is "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15) Let me untangle this a little. First, the kingdom of God is not a place or a time. It is God's ruling, his action, his influence in all of the heavens and the earth. The message of God's rule so present in the Old Testament is now being announced as the good news in the New Testament with the emphasis that the kingdom is "at hand." Jesus is proclaiming the good news that the kingdom is now accessible in ways it has never been accessible before. Roughly speaking, the sovereignty of God is the kingdom of God. Now let's explore what that means. It is well-known that the kingdom of God is "already, but not yet." God's kingdom has never not existed. He has always had power and authority over all he has made. Jesus was not announcing the kingdom coming from non-existence with his presence.The kingdom is now accessible through Jesus in ways that it was not accessible before. This is how the kingdom is "already." God's sovereignty is also "already" as seen in the Old Testament. But we also know that the kingdom of God is "not yet." God rules over all, but his kingdom is not fully manifested in this present age. We anticipate God's rule and influence to be much greater. We anticipate that it will be absolute in the sense that we will not be able to hide from it or avoid it any longer. I believe this is also the current status of God's sovereignty. God is able to override all other powers and authorities. God has won the war over all powers and authorities. But God's sovereignty is not complete in this age because there are other rulers and authorities that interfere with God and his kingdom. So we are taught to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We pray this because God's kingdom has not fully come and his will is not fully done on earth as it is in heaven. But even more exciting, we can understand much about God's sovereignty by studying and pondering Jesus's teaching on the kingdom in the parables. God's influence in the kingdom and his rule as our Lord cannot be separated. So, it would generally follow that God's sovereignty is like a treasure in a field and a pearl of great value. But his rule is also like a sower throwing seed on different kinds of soil or a man who has an enemy plant weeds in his field. (Matthew 13) Like the kingdom of God, the sovereignty of God is not in any trouble in this present age. It is always at hand and never at a loss even though there are other rulers and powers set against it, doing what God does not want them to do. I believe that Jesus's teaching on the kingdom of God stretches over all the great themes of the Bible and the deepest concerns of humankind. Not only does the kingdom of God draw in the sovereignty of God, it also draws in justice, grace, and the church. Each of these we see as "already, but not yet." They are fully present in the will and work of God, but thwarted by God's permission according to his good and loving judgment. We see perfect justice in Jesus and in the kingdom of God. We see complete grace as well. We also experience some of the called-out saints of the church. When some people talk about justice, they are really looking to the kingdom of God. The same with grace and the church. So the parables of the kingdom of God have much to teach us in all these areas. Jesus teaching on the kingdom of God also shows us how the aspirations of humankind can fall short of what God is doing now. The "already, not yet" aspect of each of these important areas teach us that God wants to be with us more than over us. God wants to be our friend more than to be fair. God wants us to grow in grace more than get his grace. God wants our life to be church more than for church to be our life. All of these are evident in the present reality of the kingdom of God and are expressed in these different areas as well. It is not surprising that the Master teacher would know this and give us what we need to navigate these ideas with grace and truth.

Savior of the Dark

I walk the dark road.

I have not been here before.

I am unfamiliar with the terrain.

What I am supposed to do?

Every day brings new fears.

The battle is thick here.

Yet I can still sleep.

I can still get up again.

I am called back to your side

even though all my time is shattered

into a meaningless pile of moments.

 

 

You are here in the dark.

I cry like a child left alone,

but I realize I am not alone

even in the dark.

Is there comfort here

that is not on the brighter paths,

moments of quiet when the tears have stopped

and your hand is upon me?

I am alone, locked in this basement

and yet I am more alive to you

when the tears and fears pass.

What my enemies meant for my ruin

and my humiliation

becomes moments of truth

when I find

"I am not afraid of the dark"

because I am not alone

even when everyone else

is afraid and wants

me to fear.

No, I am not afraid of the dark

because it will not hurt me,

it will shroud me

with silence

and I will seem dead

for a time,

but the fear stops coming

and I can hide here

under your wing.

I am being protected here

in the dark

with the real storm outside,

people wailing and moaning

with grim determination

unable to stay

quiet in the dark.

I hear them and I am afraid

of their fear

but you are here

and the dark is quiet

even as I am alone.

My shelter, my deliverer,

my shroud, my death to fear,

my answer to tears,

my Savior of the dark.