March 31, 2021

Now or Later

On Palm Sunday, the followers of Christ cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” The word, hosanna, is a command that means “cause us to be saved now.” Those who cast the palm branches along the road as Jesus traveled to Jerusalem desired Jesus to save them now. Specifically, they wanted the Son of David, the rightful heir to the throne of David, to save them immediately. The salvation that they demanded was a political salvation, not a spiritual one. They wanted Jesus, the King of the Jews, to redeem Israel from the hand of the Romans, not from the bondage of their sinful rebellion against God (Luke 24:21). They wanted a political savior, not a personal savior who would deliver them from their sins. And they wanted Jesus to save them NOW!!

But these followers of Christ were wrong about what was supposed to happen now and what was supposed to happen later. They wanted the glory of Christ’s reign at that moment. They wanted the glory now, but that glory was reserved for later. The Scriptures taught that “now” was the time for Christ’s suffering! “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26) Suffering now; glory later! After the events of Palm Sunday, Jesus taught that He would come again with great glory! (Luke 21:27) But now was the time for the Passover Lamb to be sacrificed. (Luke 22:7)

The first and second comings of Christ, the now and the later, outline a pattern that is wise for all of us to consider as followers of Christ. As followers of Christ, now is a time for suffering, later will be a time for glory. “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). “But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:13). “That you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer” (2 Thessalonians 1:5). That is the now! “When He comes in that Day to be glorified in His Saints” (2 Thessalonians 1:10). That is the later!

It is important for us to think correctly about what we should expect in both the now and the later. Today, when you live godly in Christ Jesus, you should expect persecution. But it is the glory that will be revealed that allows us to rejoice in partaking in the sufferings of Christ. When we live life in this fallen world we should expect pain and sickness and suffering. But in glory there will be no more pain, sickness or death. The disciples, when they had the wrong expectation concerning the now and later, were full of gloom and sadness (Luke 24:17), but when they understood the necessity of the death and resurrection of Christ for their salvation they were exceedingly glad (Luke24:52). Luke 24 concludes with the disciples walking back to Jerusalem. It is very likely that this road took them past the place of the crucifixion, but they were no longer sad that Jesus didn’t save them now, but they were full of great joy as they fixed their hope on the gospel of Christ and the glory which shall be revealed in them later.

March 2, 2021

A Missing Perspective in the Safety Debate

One year ago, most of us were just beginning to hear about the COVID-19 virus. And for the last twelve months staying safe from the virus has dominated the news. Varying strategies attempting to keep us safe have been debated and employed, from lockdowns, to masks, to herd immunity, to vaccinations. Today, we are aware of unintended consequences that have arisen from some of these strategies as the headlines contain articles dealing with children’s mental health issues from school lockdowns, and the rise in suicide and drug overdose within this last year. The focus continues to be on economic safety, mental health safety, and physical safety.

So what is the missing perspective in the safety debate? The news has been dominated by man’s ideas for safety, but there has been little or no mention of the Lord needing to be our safety. Imagine if Psalm 91:1-2 dominated the headlines of our minds: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God in Him I will trust.” Did you notice the words, “shadow,” “refuge,” and “fortress”? All these terms deal with protection and safety. What better place for safety, then the shadow of the Almighty and the Most High. The psalmist declares, “My God in Him I will trust.” One may say, yes, the psalmist is trusting in the Lord for spiritual protection, but not for safety from a disease. But as you continue reading you see that this trust is for the Lord to deliver him from the perilous pestilence (Psalm 91:3, 6). A pestilence is a deadly, contagious, physical disease. The One who is to be trusted for our daily bread is the same God who is to be trusted to deliver us from sickness and disease.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the major news outlets, social media feeds, and government officials proclaimed we need to ultimately depend on the Lord to deliver us from this disease? Yet this disease is showing the state of our society and our lack of trust in the Lord. Headlines are dominated by government “experts” and government edicts, all of which are training people to depend more on the government, rather than on God. Some have even borrowed a biblical term, “trust” as they have implored us to trust the science, without any mention of trusting the Savior. The term trust means “to confide in, to place one’s confidence in or to set one’s hope upon.” The Biblical perspective warns us to beware when we are told to trust in human wisdom or knowledge rather than trusting in the Lord (Psalm 20:7; Proverbs 3:5; 14:12).

When the King of all the earth, spoke to King Solomon at the dedication of the temple, He proclaimed, “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Proud people will not recognize God’s sovereign hand over sickness and death. Their perspective lacks the truth that God is the Most High. But the humble will experience the blessing of “dwelling in the secret place of the Most High and of abiding under the shadow of the Almighty!” (Psalm 91:1) Ultimately, the one who trusts the Savior will be the most secure in this life, as he will see God’s sovereign control and His eternal salvation. (Psalm 91:16)