Wayne and I have reached the age where we have to acknowledge that our parents are aging. We have a lot of mixed emotions we have to work through. For years we've been independent adults with respectful, but equal, relationships with our parents. Now we're finding that they need more support from us and the balance of give and take is shifting.

It makes me ponder how aging changes us in our relationship to God. I'm blessed that my father has shown the way in that, as he has in so many other steps along the Christian walk. A few years ago I wrote this poem about him, but I suspect it could apply to many godly men and women in their older years.

Daddy

You falter on the terrace, who once grew fruitful gardens.

You shuffle in the hallway, who once trod jungle paths.

You waver in the doorway, who once befriended all.

You who encouraged many, fear you’ve been forgotten.

You who comforted grief, mourn the one who’s gone.

You who inspired hope, despair your failing health.

You who managed people, doubt your usefulness.

You who loved deeply, covet a friendly touch.

You prayed God’s blessing on us all, and still you pray.

You obeyed the Great Commission, and still you tell.

You preached the Word of God, and still you teach.

You remain our comforter, encourager, inspiration.

You remain a preacher, teacher, lover of the Word.

You remain a disciple, servant, child of God.

You remain our father, grandpa, elder.

You remain a builder, leader, friend.

You have fought the fight; run the race.

You await the crown of righteousness.

Well done.

Christmas, A Season of Light

Luke1:78-79

This Christmas season was unusual for many of us. We were shocked by the unfathomable evil that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut when a man killed 20 children and their teachers. We wept with the bereaved families and wondered how we could celebrate the joyous occasion of Christ’s birth. One thought that brought me to tears was of the parents putting away presents their little ones would never open.

But by Christmas day, I was able to push away my thoughts about those grieving parents and enjoy watching my grandchildren open their gifts. Was I selfish and uncaring? Probably. But this year, as I grieved with those parents, I’ve come to understand the need for Christmas in a way I never had before. We have to celebrate Christmas because it’s the event that brought the light into the world. It’s the moment when the evil has been overcome.

In Matthew 1:20-21, we are promised that Jesus will save His people from their sins. This salvation isn’t just individual. God knows I need salvation from my many sins. But He sent Jesus to save all His people together. We all need salvation from our sins and the evil that we do because of them.  We not only live in a wicked world, we’re part of it. We need salvation from dictators who kill their own people, from crazy men who shoot children in schools, from people who tell girls it’s okay to kill their babies, from . . . the evils that happen all across the world, every day.

These are our sins.

The good news the angels brought to the world is that the Morning Light from heaven – Jesus – was born to give light to those who sit in darkness, the shadow of death. He came to guide us into the path of peace. So we have to celebrate Christmas. It’s the moment of great hope we all need.

Christmas is truly a festival of the light. It’s the advent of the unquenchable light that destroys the darkness, the evil.

Today is the first day of the Christmas season. So, for each of the next 12 days, I plan to post a devotional about the darkness and the Light that overcomes it. We don’t have to celebrate the coming of the Light only on Christmas, but it’s a good time to start – especially if we have recently become more aware of the awful darkness, as we were this year.

The Unforgiveable Sin

1 Samuel 2:12-35, 3:11-13

A common debate among Christians is what the unforgivable sin is. Sometimes it a serious discussion; we really want to know what it is so we can avoid it. Sometimes it’s more of an intellectual exercise; debating for the sake of debate. But, at least among the Christians I know, there’s never any doubt that there is an unforgiveable sin. Jesus said anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (Mark 3:29).

 

There’s probably a deep theological explanation of what He meant and I won’t ever understand it. But here’s the story of a sin that God refused to forgive. 

Eli’s sons defiled the temple sacrifices. God gave the Israelites a lot of detailed instructions about the sacrifices. There were different kinds – sin offerings, guilt offerings, thanksgiving offerings . . . and they all had specific instructions. But one thing is clear. They were all intended for His worship. The sacrifices belonged to God.

So Eli’s sons took something that belonged to God and defiled it. One of the instructions in Leviticus is that the priest who offers the sin sacrifice should eat the meat in a sacred place. But Eli’s sons sent a tough guy to take the meat from whoever was making the sacrifice and bring it to them to enjoy in what was presumably not a sacred place. They interrupted the ritual to make sure they got what they wanted.

Back in the days of Israel, the nations all around them were also making sacrifices to their gods. They had worship rituals that made sense to them, but they were idolatrous. God’s purpose in the rules about sacrifices was to keep His people’s worship pure. He wanted them to worship Him alone. So the sacrifices had to be made in the temple, not in the fields, to ensure that a priest who had been purified brought the people’s worship before God, not idols.

Worship belongs to God alone.

It matters so much to Him that He made a bunch of rules to protect it.

It matters so much to Him that He won’t forgive men who defile it. 

It matters so much to Him that He will destroy entire generations of families who take what is His.

Because Eli’s sons sinned against God there was no one to mediate for them. God told Eli, “I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.” His sons blasphemed God by defiling the sacrifices, so their sins couldn’t be forgiven by sacrifices and offerings. Their sin was unforgiveable.

God is holy and He requires pure worship. But God is also merciful. And by His mercy and grace, I do have someone to mediate for me. I have dishonored God; I have thought lightly of Him. But my mediator, Jesus, became the sacrifice for my sins. I have been forgiven. 

I never want to commit the sin that can’t be forgiven. But when I understand why it can’t be forgiven, I realize there’s something more important than the state of my soul. I don’t want to blaspheme the holy God who saved me. I pray that He will keep me from dishonoring His sacrifice and the worship that belongs to Him alone.

Stand in the Gap

Ezekiel 22:30

One of my favorite children’s books is Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge. I learned a lot about Holland from that book, including the amazing way the Dutch reclaimed land from the sea by building dikes. In the book, Dodge retells a well known story about the little boy who saw a hole in the dike and stuck his finger in it to keep the sea from leaking through and flooding the land. He plugged the hole all night, until adults found him and repaired the dike.

This verse reminded me of that story, except there was no little boy, or little girl or man or woman, to stand in the gap in the wall. Like Holland’s dikes, the wall of righteousness protects the land and the people who live in it. It protects God’s people from evil but it’s broken down because we live in a fallen world. Since it has been breached, evil pours in through the gap and the land will be destroyed. God’s looking for someone to stand in the gap and fight the evil. 

Someone's not doing her job. I can look around for the people who should be doing it. I can look for the preachers and youth leaders and Bible study teachers and evangelists and Christian politicians and Christian businessmen. They need to be doing more, doing it better. But in this moment God’s not looking at them.

He’s looking at me. He wants me to stand in the gap.

How can I stop evil from pouring into the land? I'm not great spiritual warrior with powerful weapons to fight evil. I don’t have any influence. I don’t have great wisdom or knowledge. But all God is asking is for me to stand in the gap. I can be like the little boy who used what he had until more skilled people arrived to take over. The little boy’s finger became part of the dike when he used it to close the hole. In the same way, I can become part of the wall. I can do that by doing right, by obeying His commands and walking in His ways. I can do it by being kind and loving. I can do it by living a righteous life. 

Yeah, I can do that. I mean, it’s what I try to do every day. It’s what I ask the Holy Spirit to do in me daily. If living my life to please God is what it takes to stand in the gap, I’ll do it.

More than that, I need to do it. In the days of Ezekiel, God looked for someone to stand in the gap and didn’t find anyone. So He had to destroy the land.

Scary

Please let Him find me doing my job. Let me be there standing in the gap when He looks for someone. Let me add my insignificant life to the wall of righteousness until more capable servants can get here to repair the wall. Don't let the land be destroyed because I wasn't willing.