The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 127:1-2,
Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
This passage speaks to me of the futility of pursuing that which is
inconsistent with God's agenda for us on this earth. The life God
gives each of us is wasted on that which is meaningless if we pursue
those things the Lord does not purpose for us. Conversely, we are
blessed if we pursue that which is consistent with his agenda on
earth, "He grants sleep to those he loves."
My thought isn't that God has a predetermined template for each of our
lives, such as what occupation we should pursue, what person we should
marry, where we should live, what schools we should attend, and so
forth. I know many folks think God orders our lives in this way, but
the Scriptures never present that as how God interacts with us. Only a
very few have had their lives ordered by God this way, such as the
apostle Paul, John the Baptist, Elijah, Isaiah and a limited number of
others.
Other than these certain ones God has predestined for his own specific
purposes by making choices for their lives, he has provided the rest
of us with general guidelines to point us in the direction of his
agenda on earth and observes how we use the life he has given us.
Passages such as Paul's counsel on whether to marry illustrates my
point, "If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he
is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he
ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They
should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own
mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will,
and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also
does the right thing." 1 Corinthians 7:36-37. This Paul provides in a
passage that is full of directions on marriage. Clearly, God has given
us the capacity for choice-making, provides us with wisdom through his
word, and observes what we do. Paul goes on with more, "A woman is
bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she
is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord." 1
Corinthians 7:39. Guidelines from God and freedom to choose.
It is within that freedom to choose that Solomon, who wrote this
psalm, contemplates the wasted effort of pursuing that which is
inconsistent with the Lord's agenda. What we build, what we watch
over, what we expend our efforts on, if not consistent with God's
purpose for our lives becomes life wasted.
What is God's purpose for our lives, here, "under the sun", then? What
is his agenda? When taken as a whole, the sixty-six books that
comprise our Bibles make abundantly clear: God is building his
kingdom. From his command to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful and increase
in number; fill the earth and subdue it." Genesis 1:28, to Jesus'
command to the church just before his ascension into heaven, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20, we see that this life
is all about God building his kingdom.
This life can be likened to a maternity ward in a hospital from the
perspective of God's agenda. He is building his kingdom. He wants us
to make babies: give them physical birth and then participate in,
hopefully, their second, spiritual birth, John 3:3 through the gospel.
The Son of God clearly told us why he had come to planet earth, "The
Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10. This
is God's agenda we are presented with in the Scriptures. God pursues
his agenda and he pursues it in the context of his own character and
nature, "Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and
knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and
righteousness on earth, for in these I delight." Jeremiah 9:24. Love
and justice.
Activity we pursue that is inconsistent with God's agenda and God's
character is life wasted. Activity we pursue in furthering God's
agenda, consistent with his character is life blessed by God.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment