Read this article by Jon Bloom at Desiring God. Original article here.
This morning my assistant, Bryan DeWire, found out his father, who 24 hours ago seemed in fine health, didn’t make it through emergency heart surgery. This afternoon, my wife called me in tears to update me on a very difficult day trying to raise and teach 5 young children. Very different, yet real and painful experiences of God’s providential reign in lives of Christians I love.
Also this morning I read this sentence in a pamphlet titled, “Honey Out of the Rock,” by Puritan Thomas Wilcox,
“Judge not Christ’s love by providences, but by promises.”
Experiences are very powerful. They often feel more powerful than promises. So it’s tempting to interpret prosperity and ease as God’s blessing and tribulation as God’s displeasure. And sometimes they are. But often they are not.
Actually, what we see all the way through the Bible is the Lord training his disciples to trust his promises more than providences. Think of Abraham and Sarah waiting for Isaac, or Jacob losing Rachel, or Joseph in slavery and prison, or Job’s suffering, or David running from Saul. Think of Lazarus and the heartbreak of his death and the constant tribulations of Paul. And of course Jesus set the ultimate example by looking to the joy set before him as he endured the cross (Heb 12:2).
Strange, isn’t it? In the Bible pain is often the path to unspeakable joy and prosperity is often an obstacle to it. What’s going on?
Simply, God wants us to treasure what we can’t see more than what we can.
“For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:18).
And we find out that it’s pain more than prosperity that makes us look for what our eyes can’t see, and long for a satisfaction that doesn’t exist in this world.
So Thomas Wilcox’s advice is worth heeding. For those of us who are experiencing a bitter providence, Wilcox goes on to say,
Bless God for shaking off false foundations, for any way whereby He keeps the soul awakened and looking after Christ; better sickness and temptations, than security and superficiality.
Watched an episode of Real Superhumans on Discovery this week, and there’s this man who desires to live very, very old, if possible achieve immortality. He takes 120 different supplements every day, observes a punishing exercise regime and diet, and goes for a whole body check-up annually to analyse his body’s biological age. He may be 60 years old, but his biological age, said the analysis, is only 39. And he finances stem cells research and other research into genetics modification so that he can benefit from the studies that will add to his longevity.
I really don’t understand why anyone would want to live forever. But of course, when God created man in the Garden of Eden, he was supposed to live forever with God in perfect fellowship. And when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because they wanted to be like god, they and the subsequent generations of man fell and forever become captives of sin. And the penalty of sin is death. Not only did man experience spiritual death, i.e. separation from God, he also suffered physical death when he’s no longer allowed to eat the fruit from the tree of life.
But you know what? It is actually an act of mercy that God does not allow the fallen man to live forever. Imagine that you will be afflicted by the power of sin. Forever. That you will, from your very first breath, agonise over the loneliness, disappointments, emotional anguish, bitterness, imperfections, weaknesses, and the likes. For eternity.
I don’t want to live forever. In fact, I long to see Jesus, especially when I’m caught up in the tension of sin. I know that one day I will be perfected and delivered from the presence of sin, either after I die or when Jesus returns, whichever is earlier. But I also know that this destiny is for those who believes in Jesus. What about for those who don’t? Then they will continue to be separated from the presence of God. Forever. And all that is of God: love, joy, righteousness, and life - all these will be absent as well.
A week ago, I was with Yu Fang at Concourse, and the Christmas muzak played over the arena was absolutely horrendous. They practically butchered the Christmas carols with chipmunk vocals (ok, maybe it’s supposed to be kids singing, but it wasn’t lovely) and jingle-like arrangements that made me wanna pull my hair out. Well, if they are looking for Christmas carols with a twist, they should get Mercy Me’s the Christmas Session. Infused with contemporary elements, these familiar carols will remind you that the message of Christmas is Jesus, and I love listening to these songs this time of the year. There is one new song, Joseph’s lullaby, written in the perspective of Joseph, Jesus’ earthly ‘father’, as he watched over the new-born babe lying in the manger. I totally love this song. Here is a short sample and the lyrics.
Joseph’s lullaby
Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head
Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Or does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?
Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace
I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight
But Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child
Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You’ll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight
I’m no astute observer of life, but something tells me that we are getting more and more individualistic. Just take a look at the commuters in the MRT train. Have you noticed that no one ever says ‘Excuse me’ anymore? Not even when they are trying to get out of the train. Usually people would just gingerly squeeze their svelte bodies past those standing near the train doors. And of course, good luck if they are not so svelte. But no one says ‘Excuse me’. Somehow, people would just know when to step aside. Even if they don’t know, there are ways of getting them to do that. I’ve seen guys poking or pushing the shoulders of those who are in their way to make way for them. I just thought it’s so rude. What’s the problem with them? Do they have such bad breaths that they don’t dare to open their mouths?
Speaking of mouths, people hardly cover their mouths when they yawn. Please, I do not want to look at the cavities in your teeth. Hmmm… or maybe I should. Maybe I should attempt to count the number of cavities every time I see a yawning mouth and congratulate the person if there are none. Bah.
I remember a time when I was reading Luke 2:1-20 and Matt 2:1-12 with some siblings in Christ. When asked who we would like to be, to witness the unfolding of the nativity story, some said that they would like to be the shepherds, who saw Jesus the child and praised God for all they had seen and heard. Some wanted to be the star that led the Magi to Jesus, to be that light that points people to Christ. But I remembered one answer distinctly, one that eliciting wahs from listeners. That brother said that he desired his heart to be like the manger where Jesus was born. Because that’s the only place that had room for Jesus.
