There are no guarantees in life! The more I reflect on the past the one thing that keeps ringing true is that nothing is guaranteed and that God owes me nothing. Entitlement will ruin you. When we approach God and attempt to project on Him what we define as fair, just, and righteous, the results are devastating. We cannot assume what is true of man is also true of God. The minute we attempt to do so, the created order is turned on its head and creature/Creator distinction becomes muddied and blurred. This is also known as idolatry. We attempt to bring God down to a level that is at the very least equal to creation and proceed to manipulate Him to meet our needs and wants. Prayer then becomes a means whereby we attempt to leverage our deeds and works as spiritual equity with God. It’s not hard to see how entitlement will utterly ruin us.
The only guarantee in life is Christ. We must find our identity and security in Him alone. When faced with circumstances in which we will offend either God or man, we must ere on the side of offending man. We have a very high calling on our life as ambassadors of King Jesus. Our citizenship is in heaven and we represent a King and Kingdom that is not of this world.
The only two things that do not change is God and man. The Dr. (by now I assume you know that I am referring to my dead mentor, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones) used to always say that for proof of this, ask someone to invent a new sin. There is no sin that is committed today that is not recorded in the OT and there is no sin in the OT that is not still being committed today. The external circumstances may have changed, but the heart of man has not changed.
When I read the Bible, the world makes sense. It explains why there is evil and pain and suffering. Nothing should surprise the believer. We should expect opposition, pain, suffering, and yes, even persecution. Mind you persecution is not always physical, but can also come in the form of verbal or slander as well. Christ said that the when the world hates you, “and it will” know that it hated me first.
I feel as if I have no choice but to proclaim the Gospel. Like Jeremiah, “I am full of the wrath of Yahweh; I am weary of holding it in.” Like Paul, I seek to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. At the same time, the results will not always be deemed a success by the world’s standards. To those who are called it is the power of God to salvation! The only thing possible for positive change in the world is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything else merely slows the decaying process!
So, what do I make of everything. Here’s all that I know. I’ve been placed on this earth and entrusted with the responsibility to live a life as an ambassador for King Jesus! My citizenship is in heaven and I am already seated in the heavenlies. I expect some to receive the message and be transformed from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Life. I expect others to reject it and hurl insults and persecution and opposition to me for proclaiming the Gospel. But I rest in the fact that I am not responsible for the results, only proclaiming it. The Puritans used to say that the same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay. My prayer is that I can say along with Paul, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!”. God forbid if I waste my life. I desire so deeply to hear Jesus say, “Well done my good and faithful servant!”
