Not All Is Vanity

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is Vanity.
Ecclesiastes 1.2

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
1Corinthians 15.58

As I write this athletes from around the globe are competing in Vancouver, British Columbia for Olympic glory, and the chance to win some very highly prized medals. For a chance to stand on the podium, receive the acclaim of their countrymen, and much of the world, and maybe even be interviewed by Bob Costas, fit and strong young men and women have labored for many years and countless hours. And their achievements are certainly impressive. But it won’t be long, certainly not much more than a lifetime or two at best, that it will all be forgotten. For even a shiny Olympic medal cannot guarantee any kind of success or meaning outside the arena. And the arena will be empty in less than a fortnight. Not to diminish the accomplishments of Olympians, but it’s all vanity. Just ask the writer of Ecclesiastes.

But Paul would have some words of encouragement for the athletes, even as he had words of encouragement for the church in Corinth, and for us. I am sure Paul meant no disrespect to the author of Ecclesiastes when he told the Corinthians that there was at least one thing that is not vain—their labor in the Lord. In truth, though Christ’s Incarnation came many centuries after Ecclesiastes was written, its author realized in the end that, although he had embraced many vain pursuits in his day, the one thing that did matter, that wasn’t vain, was fearing God and keeping his commandments. (Ecclesiastes 12.13)

No one, of course, had ever been able to keep God’s commandments when the book of Ecclesiastes was written, and no one ever since its writing has succeeded in keeping all the commandments of God, no one that is, except the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus so perfectly kept all the commandments of his Father that it can truly be said that in Christ the law (God’s commandments) has been fulfilled. This is not to suggest that anyone should imagine that, “If Jesus could do it, I can too.” If anyone else could have, Jesus would not have needed to. All our efforts to keep the commandments of God are in fact vain when we labor to keep them on our own. Yet the writer of Ecclesiastes is to be credited, though he did not have a prescription for keeping God’s commandments that works, for at least understanding that in the end it was all that mattered.

Like today’s Olympic champions, the author of Ecclesiastes had attempted and accomplished much. There wasn’t much of anything he had not tried and succeeded at in the world. Yet he looked at all he had done and all he had experienced, and recognized all of it was no more lasting and substantial than a mist that hangs over a valley in the morning and is gone without a trace in a matter of minutes. It was all vain.

By the time Paul wrote to the church in Corinth there was an alternative to vain living, there was life, and abundant life at that, now accessible in Jesus Christ. (John 10.10) And so it was that Paul could encourage the Corinthians to hang in and persevere, for in the Lord, and in the Lord alone they could labor fruitfully, and not in vain. Oh it was, and still is true, that the world may esteem, and in some cases even long remember, our labors. We may even earn a gold medal. But the author of Ecclesiastes was quite correct; in the end all our labor apart from Christ, if piled on a scale, would weigh less than a breath. But the works of Christ, well they tipped the balance forever on the cross. Now through the Holy Spirit it is possible, the world’s opinions and praise of man’s labors notwithstanding, for our life and our work to matter, to make a real and eternal difference. In the Lord our labor bears enduring fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5.22-23) There is not a trace of vanity in that fruit, and I can guarantee, along with Paul, that long after the glitter is gone from the world’s medals, the labor in Christ that produces such fruit will shine in the kingdom of God.

When God Sings

“The LORD your God is in your midst
…he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Zephaniah 3.17

Have you ever thought about when God sings? It might not have ever even occurred to you that God sings in the first place, much less to consider what would inspire the Almighty to sing. I don’t think it should surprise anyone that God sings. After all, he made us in his image, and we sing, so it stands to reason that, singers that we are, our Creator would be a singer too.

Now, people sing on all types of occasions and for all kinds of reasons. There are songs of joy and songs of sorrow; songs of peace and songs of war; serious songs and silly songs; songs that tell stories and songs that are nonsense. And, of course, there are love songs. We sing when we are happy. We sing when we are sad. Some of us sing when we are bored. Others of us sing when we are scared. And many of us of course sing when we worship. But what about God, when does he sing?

Well Zephaniah gives us some insight into when God sings, though there may be more to God’s singing than we glimpse here. What we do know from this verse is that God is moved to rejoice and sing over the redemption and salvation of his children. I am sure you have heard that the angels in heaven rejoice when a sinner is saved, but did you know that God himself bursts into song at that moment? At least that is what I infer from reading of God’s exultation over the deliverance of Israel, which this passage in Zephaniah is about. It begins in verse 14 with the people being instructed to sing and shout, to rejoice and exult on the coming day when God delivers them. And, just in case the people might be a little hesitant, the prophet assures them that God himself will be moved to joyful song on that day. We, having been delivered from sin and death through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have already had good reason to sing because we have experienced that day of our salvation.

But do you know what? I don’t believe God holds back for just one day to sing. Most people like to sing or hum or whistle most any old day, music seems to have been hard wired into many of us. Again, I think it is because God has made us in his image, and he himself greatly enjoys music and singing. In fact, I don’t believe a day has ever gone by or will ever go by from eternity past to eternity future when God does not sing. And his song is joyful and victorious, and it celebrates us, it celebrates our salvation. There is no denying that God is exultant over us and for us.

There are many things we share with God because of the way he has made us in his image; I can’t think of many that privilege us to rejoice and share so intimately with the Father more than music and singing. So, if you are making any music today, singing along with your car radio, humming while you work out, whistling while you work, or actually picking up an instrument and playing for an audience, think of the One who is always in your audience who himself loves to make music, and play and sing for him.

He Sent Jesus

There is a greeting card company, which no doubt derives no small part of its annual income today, Valentine’s Day, that has long sought to convince us that their cards are simply the only choice. At least for those who care enough to send the “very best.” I don’t care to speculate on how much money gets pumped into the economy on this day because of greeting cards, candy, flowers, jewelry, and all other manner of things that somehow are thought to say “I love you,” but I could certainly retire if I had the St. Valentine’s Day franchise.

The point of all this is, as I thought this morning about the greeting card company’s slogan, I convinced myself that their inspiration must have been God, who cared so much that he sent his very best to die for the sake of his love for the world. (John 3.16) But a greeting card could never express all the love God has for us, so he gave us an entire book, actually sixty-six books, that tell the compelling story of his agape—his love—is very best.

As for flowers, well, Michael W. Smith’s song “Above All” says God’s best was “like a rose trampled on the ground,” willing to be crushed because he thought of all of us “above all.” And God didn’t send us a gift of jewelry, but instead sent us the Rock, his Son, who is “more precious than silver,” “more costly than gold,” and “more beautiful than diamonds.” Neither did we receive a box of chocolates from God as a token of his love. Instead he gave us bread and wine. All these gifts were costly to God beyond reckoning, but he did not hesitate to spend lavishly on us because from the beginning he cared enough to send his very best.

This year, as Valentine’s Day happens to fall on the Lord’s Day, I think it would be wonderful for the world to say “Thank you” to God for all the gifts he has given us that express his great love for us, most especially the gift of his Son, who died to purchase our salvation, the greatest gift of love. And, contrary to a line from a rather sappy movie from the 60s, love does not mean never having to say you’re sorry, but rather being willing to tell the one you love that you are sorry for all the times when you’ve failed to be, to do, to give, or to send your very best.

God knows, our very best isn’t any way near enough to erase all the times we fall short, not to mention the many occasions when we do our worst rather than our best. So, offering God our apology, or confession, if you prefer, is also appropriate on this Lord’s Day-Valentine’s Day. And you know, our confession gives him another opportunity to express his love for us through the gift of his grace by which we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s very best for us. Casting our worst, our sin, as far away as east from west is distant, God makes new life and love begin again in us through his Son, his very best.

Resisting Arrest

A Personal Exposition from Romans 7

O wretched and miserable sinner that I am, who will release me from the shackles I bind myself with, and deliver me from this body of sin and death?
Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 7.24-25 (Paraphrase)

Were it not for my capital crimes against God (Read sin), there would be no need for me to be crucified with Christ, even more, there never would have been any need for Christ to have been crucified for me. If the preceding sentence does not apply to you, I’d like you to drop me a line sometime and let me know how you like Egypt, because you are in denial! But I don’t mean to presume to write about anyone else’s situation, there is unfortunately plenty to say about my own.

For, even knowing my guilt, and what Christ has done for me, I try to evade capture, and when the hounds of heaven corner me, I continue to resist arrest. I know I need to die to sin, and I even know that in Christ I have died to sin. But I also no that, even having been put to death on the cross, my sin nature stubbornly refuses to just die and leave me alone.

I think it has to be with being human. You see, ever since our first ancestors, you know, Adam and Eve, ever since they sinned, all their descendants have been born with all the necessary equipment to be just the worst kind of sinners you can imagine. Again, I won’t speak for you, but I put that equipment to use early, often, and persistently. There are lots of things people lose interest in and move on, and I have had my share of things I’ve pursued avidly for a time, only to outgrow them, or become bored with them (Like for instance, I used to eat nothing but baloney and mayonnaise sandwiches for lunch every day, I mean every day, but I’ve develop more sophisticated tastes, and eat things like peanut butter sandwiches, or even chicken salad for lunch.). But sin, why, for some reason I have a very hard time not doing it. In fact, every day I have to apologize to God for my debts, sins, and transgressions of commission and omission.

It’s so bad, I find myself doing what I don’t want to do, what I know I shouldn’t do. And, like a wimp, I punk out and don’t do many of the things I know darn well I should be doing. Don’t know what to call it but resisting arrest. It is all nearly enough for me to just concede that I’m on the lamb, as they say, but I’m no sheep.

But there’s the Cross you see, and don’t you know that it is much more, well, intimidating isn’t exactly the word, but it will do, more intimidating than any badge worn by anyone in law enforcement. Maybe it is because the Cross wasn’t at all about law enforcement, but law fulfillment. And, I suppose intimidating isn’t the word, so let’s use arresting. Oh, I don’t mean to say that anyone gets shackled to the Cross; Jesus’ pursuit of us isn’t like we are being chased by a Royal Canadian Mountie, or anything like that, though he always gets his man, or woman. No, Christ’s pursuit of us is really that of an ardent suitor, he woos us with winsome grace, though I think he is not above setting roadblocks for us when we try to evade him. And me, well when Jesus catches up with me, and I surrender, I find out I am a sheep after all. It wasn’t ever a lawman who was after me to punish me, but a Shepherd who refused to let this sheep be lost and destroyed, so he kept on after me to save me, from myself.

I wish I could say my running days of resisting arrest are over, but the truth is, every day I find my feet, so to speak, taking me in the wrong direction, like the little hooves of a wayward sheep. Thank God the Shepherd is always keeping me under strict surveillance.

Some Trust In--Toyotas?

Some trust in chariots and some in
horses,
but we trust in name of the LORD
our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
Psalm 20.7-8

Most of us come to depend on a lot of “things,” and there are usually some people we rely on and trust. But, sooner or later, all such misplaced confidence, and it is all misplaced, leads to a collapse and fall, just as the Psalmist declared.

Think about it, how many mornings do we rush out, jump in the car, turn the key, and simply count on the engine starting and the vehicle reliably delivering us to work or school or whatever our destination safely? Up until a week or so ago people who drove Toyotas had fairly good reason to trust in their Camrys, and up until yesterday they could rely on their Priuses. But no more.

I don’t mean to wag a finger at Toyota drivers. My family used to have a Ford minivan we called “Old Reliable” because of all the many miles it carried us without any mechanical or safety problems. At least until it developed brake trouble that countless trips to a mechanic failed to resolve.

It does not matter if it is our Toyota or our Ford, our PC or our Mac, our bonds or our stocks, our company or our government, our friends or even our family, placing too much trust in anything or anyone other than God is a mistake. And mistakes are always costly. Sometimes the cost may be small, and sometimes, as Toyota is finding out, they can involve millions, even billions of dollars. Worse, sometimes misplaced trust can be fatal.

But when we place our trust in the Lord, we have a secured ourselves to the Rock that will never be moved, we take refuge in the Fortress that will never be torn down, we come under the care of the Shepherd willing to lay down his own life for the sake of his sheep, we are bound by love to the One who will never leave or forsake, or disappoint us.

I empathize with all the angry, disappointed, and frustrated Toyota drivers caught up in the recalls. And my heart goes out to everyone who may have voted for a candidate in whom they had great hopes, only to learn that, as with all politicians, it is foolish in the extreme to place too great a hope in any man or woman and their campaign promises. If Peyton Manning’s arm was your confidence heading into Sunday’s Super Bowl, sorry. But all of us can know the security of salvation and the unshakable hope of eternal glory in Jesus Christ, all it takes is our confession of our great need of him, faith no greater than a mustard seed, and trusting him, and only him, completely.

Praise Is Worth Repeating

“…for his steadfast love endures forever…"
Psalm 136.1,2,3...-26

I remember some years back when one of our congregation’s self-appointed arbiters of what was acceptable worship complained to me about so-called Contemporary Christian Music (I say “so-called” because whenever they have been written, all worship songs have been contemporary to their own time.). The complaint this particular time was that modern praise choruses were “so simplistic, so repetitious.” I waited for a few moments before asking if this particular music critic would strike Psalm 136 from the canon, for surely she must find it offensive, what with the refrain, “for his steadfast love endures forever” repeated 26 times in 52 lines of poetry. Realizing that she obviously was talking with someone who knew nothing about what constituted true worship, she replied, “You cannot seriously compare modern music to the psalms!” It wasn’t long before she moved on to another church in order to bless them with her expertise in the area of sacred musicology.

Israel believed, Israel knew, that it could never praise God too much, nor would God ever deserve anything less than unending praise. And when you are trying to make a point, in this case, that God’s love can be counted on at all times and forever, a little repetition doesn’t hurt, especially when you are dealing with a people who had proven themselves, shall we say, stiff-necked. Repeating was, and is necessary if we are going to remember.

So, for 26 verses, which extol God for being good, for being God of gods and Lord or Lords, for doing wonders, for the works of Creation, for the deliverance of his people from bondage, for leading them safely through the wilderness and defeating many kings to give them the land as a heritage, for feeding not only Israel but all flesh, and, in the end., for simply being the one true God of heaven, for all these things and more which are powerful expressions of his steadfast love which endures forever, Israel gave thanks to the LORD.

You see, when it’s heartfelt praise, and the truth to boot, it’s worth repeating, isn’t it? The psalmist seemed to think so. And nothing in the Bible suggests that God finds repeated praise boring or unworthy of him. After all, the angels in heaven repeat “Holy, holy, holy” quite a lot. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to the day when, with a brand new voice fit for singing God’s eternal praises, I’ll be able to join in with the angels.

I suppose I should have exhibited a more tolerant attitude towards someone who was upholding a time honored Israelite tradition by complaining and murmuring about something that did not meet her standards for the fitting worship of God, and maybe my standards should be higher. But repeating God’s praises, it works for me. And I believe it works for the angels, and I am pretty sure it works for the saints who are already members of the heavenly choir. And I am confident it works for God too. God’s steadfast love endures forever, and so should our words of praise for him, no matter how many times we repeat them.

The Dance of the Heavens

“The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
Psalm 19.1

Imagine taking a handful of sand and throwing it up into the air, and all the grains of sand immediately fall into complex orbits around each other, and form systems that coalesce into spirals and bands and bars of clusters of grains of sand, and the whole thing just continues to expand before you. And it all happened quite on its own, without any plan or design; you just threw that handful of sand into the air. It would be a pretty good trick wouldn’t it?

I was driving home late one afternoon last week, and I saw a bright speck of “sand” shining just above the horizon in front of me. Of course it wasn’t a grain of sand at all, it was Mars! I recalled reading that Mars would be coming closer to earth than it had for fifty years or more, as its orbit and earth’s brought the planets near one another, at least as near is measured in celestial terms.

It happened that just a few days after staring in wonder at Mars, shining more brightly than the brightest star, that one of the biggest full moons we could ever see filled the sky. I don’t know about you, but it never occurs to me that the Moon and Mars are just grains of sand that just happen to float in space in a happenstance relationship to Earth.

No, Mars, the Moon, and Earth follow the very courses in space that God has appointed for them. And the seeming eccentricities of their orbits are in fact just a very small part of an incredibly choreographed dance of the heavens designed by God. The author of Psalm 19 saw and understood this, and was compelled to testify how the heavens declare the glory of God, and how the sky above all but shouts out that they are the careful craftsmanship of the Creator.

How impoverished an existence, for one to imagine that the grandeur of the waltz of the stars is but the accidental residue of a cataclysmic explosion in some far recess of time back beyond knowing. How rich beyond measure am I, to witness the exquisite beauty of the heavens, to note the dance of the heavenly bodies, and to realize, speck of sand that I am, that the God who created all this is mindful of me.