I’ve been thinking a lot about what it looks like in our current culture to love well, have unity among our many differences as Believers, and, yet, still stand on God’s Word as authoritative.
As I try to reconcile the above, this quote based on Jesus’ Parable of The Lost Son, keeps popping in my brain:
“In [the gospel’s] view, everyone is wrong, everyone is loved, and everyone is called to recognize this and change. By contrast, elder brothers divide the world in two: ‘The good people (like us) are in and the bad people, who are the real problem with the world, are out.’ Younger brothers, even if they don’t believe in God at all, do the same thing, saying: ‘No, the open-minded and tolerant people are in and the bigoted, narrow-minded people, who are the real problem with the world, are out.’
But Jesus says:
‘The humble are in and the proud are out.’
The people who profess they aren’t particularly good or open-minded are moving toward God, because the prerequisite for receiving the grace of God is to know you need it.'” Tim Keller, The Prodigal God
Let’s keep Truth married to Compassion.
Let’s have Grace that never turns away from Righteousness.
Let’s have the Gospel, Believers.
Ezra 1:1-4 NIV:
“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:
‘This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you – may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. And the people of any place where survivors may now be living are to provide him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”
I love that 200 years before this decree, El Elyon, God Most High, saw it and told Isaiah about it:
“[He] who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please;
He will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’
And of the temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’
This is what the LORD says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of…
For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
Apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 44:28-45:1a, 4-6)
At first, God through Isaiah seems a bit harsh. Cyrus is acknowledging God, right?
Well, it turns out the God of Israel was not the only god King Cyrus sought to appease when taking office (Study Bible, pg 635). He was trying to cover all his basis, in some sort of karma game.
Hmmm. Maybe he hadn’t heard yet the God of Israel doesn’t take well to His Holy Presence being treated flippantly.
Nonetheless, the reason Scripture provides for Cyrus allowing the exiles to return and rebuild the temple is “the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus…”
What does that do in your heart?
How often do you chalk things up only to human choice? Is it easy for you to see the hand of an all-knowing, all-powerful God in control of seconds and planets and heart beats?
If we ever start thinking our choices don’t matter, let’s run and get some wise counsel. Of course making good choices is important.
But if we come to the conclusion that only broken human beings are in charge of the grand, sweeping events in all of history and the future, well, we should probably run for the hills. Because that’s no good.
Thankfully, no matter how uncertain our times may seem, we have a King Who rules all kings. And He is on His throne.
For He is the LORD, and there is no other.