Category: Forgiveness

What’s the Difference with the Damned?

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At the end of this world and the beginning of the next, we will all stand before our Creator. He will judge each one of us. Of that fact, there is no doubt. The question is, what’s the difference with the damned? Why will some be forever cast into what God has termed “the lake of fire”? For that matter, why will some be spared such condemnation? There exists near the end of the book of Revelation a short passage that brings the essence of the difference into sharp focus. Let’s read it first:

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15, ESV)

Here we have a summary of the judgment of people who will be forever damned. We notice first that not even the earth or sky itself can stand in the presence of God’s holiness as He begins the final judgment. There is, therefore, no refuge for anyone to escape or to have eased the devastation of what is about to take place. Notice, secondly, that all of the dead – both the great and the small – must stand before the throne. Your soul’s destiny depends not on how influential or wealthy you were in this life, and your status of seeming insignificance or poverty does not excuse you from judgment; all must stand before the throne.

The key component on which we want to focus here is the books that are opened. First, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John tells us in this passage that “books were opened.” Then he adds that “another book was opened, which is the book of life” (verse 12). We clearly understand, then, that this one book of life stands out from the other books. There is a group of books which are unnamed, and there is the book of life.

We are informed that the dead – the “spiritually dead” that is – are judged by what is written in the unspecified books. The contents of these books must be the sinful acts of the damned, because we are told simultaneously that these people were judged “according to what they had done” (verse 12). And no one escapes; the sea (the troubled and sinful world, as I understand it) and all of Death and Hades had to give up the dead in their possession. In other words, no matter when these people had died, no matter if their spirits and bodies had long been separated from God or only shortly, no matter if their bodies had been in the ground for thousands of years or just a few moments, no matter where they had died, and no matter from where they came, death had to yield to God its power over people so that God could make His final, sovereign, and irrevocable judgment.

Death obeys … and gives them up. The solemn words of verse thirteen demonstrate the complete power of almighty God, as Death and Hades give up the dead and “they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done” (verse 13). We observe here the repeating of the same phrase we saw in verse twelve. We read twice that the damned are judged by the things that they did. Their wrong, ungodly, and rebellious actions and words – their sins – are here resulting in an eternal destiny. On the basis of their own sins, they are forever damned to the lake of fire.

Verse fifteen adds one specific emphasis; those who end up in the lake of fire also did not have their names placed in the book of life. Not only do the condemned find themselves paying finally for their sinfulness, but their doom is doubly sealed, for their names are not recorded in the one book that stands alone – the book of life. Clearly, the one difference between the damned and the saved – between those who are put in the lake of fire and those who are not – is one factor. Is his or her name written in this book of life? If a name is not written in that one book, then all of his sins are heaped upon him at the end of time.

I want to make this point unequivocally plain: you will either be judged by your sins or judged by your inclusion in the book of life. You will either one day have the culmination of all the guilt and punishment for rebelling against God heaped on you as your sins are read from many books, or you will stand before the throne and hear only one thing called out to you – your name from the one book of life. All the sins that I have ever committed brought to me for damnation, or hearing God read my name from a book that ensures my safety and everlasting delight – those are the choices.

So how do we get our name in the book of life? We need to know the Owner of the book! We need to have a relationship with the Person to whom that book belongs! He is Jesus. Revelation 21:27 calls that one book “the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 13:8 labels it “the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” There is only one Lamb with a capital “L.” There is only one slain Lamb that ultimately matters when it comes to my sin and my destiny. John the Baptist said it best, as recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter one, verse 29, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” The Apostle Peter corroborates John the Baptist’s statement in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “…knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

Jesus was the Lamb who was put to death for our sins. He spilled His own blood on the Cross of Calvary to pay for your sinfulness. When He gave up His life that day outside the gates of Jerusalem, He took your sin upon His own shoulders – IF you believe in Him. If you truly believe in the Jesus of the Cross, the Jesus of the Bible, the Jesus who invaded earthly history to die and rise again, the Jesus who is coming back one day, the Jesus who is the ONLY ONE who can pay for your sin and put your name in the wonderful book of life – if you believe in Him, you are safe from eternal condemnation and the lake of fire. This belief in Him must be real and applied. You have to believe in Jesus to the point that it changes your reality. To truly believe in Him means to accept all of His Word as revealed in the Bible. It means to completely change your mind about your sin and know in the deepest place of your heart that you need His blood and His forgiveness. It means to live with Him and for Him each day. It is a relationship.

If your name is in the Lamb’s book of life, then never will your sins be brought up to condemn you at the end of time. While the sins of the damned are reiterated as the evidence of their rightful judgment, the only thing you will hear is your name – called lovingly from the Lamb’s book. Why will you not hear your sins proclaimed? Because your sins were judged on the Cross with Jesus when He suffered and died. Your sins have been paid for – never to condemn you before God!

Oh, Jesus, how we love You! Dear Jesus, how we thank You! As the Apostle Paul put it in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And we can joyfully add to this glorious statement the truth of the book of Revelation and know that there is no damnation and lake of fire for those whose names are written in Jesus’ book of life!

– Shelli S. Prindle

Isn’t Everyone a Child of God Since He Loves Everyone?

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What do you think of when you think of love? Do you think of wishy-washy feelings? Do you think of something conditional – based on right behavior? Do you think of something hopeful, but not really grounded on hard facts? Do you think of an emotion instead of an action? When it comes to actual love, here’s a phrase from the Bible for you: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Rev. 1:5).

The Apostle John is writing here about the love of Jesus Christ. By the inspiration of the Spirit of God, he tells us that Christ’s love for us is inextricably tied to Christ’s action for us; and that, my friends, is the crux of the matter. The love of God is given by the action of God – and not just any action. This is the most critical and paradoxical measure of which we can conceive. God moves to make spiritually dead people alive by shedding the blood of His altogether perfect Son. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

The love of God is not some feeble emotion that makes everyone feel that they are safe when, in fact, they are not. The love of God is not without activity – life or death activity. The love of God is not without immeasurable sacrifice. Most importantly, the love of God cannot be properly applied to a person’s life without also administering the blood of Jesus Christ. In all honesty, if you have not agreed to God’s covering of your sinful heart with the sacrifice of the blood of His Son, then you have not been made alive with the love of God. God loves you, but His love cannot save you or quicken you to real life until you apply the only thing that can free you from sin and death – the blood of Jesus.
All people are creations of God, but not all people are children of God. To be a child implies a relationship. A relationship with God can only happen when our sinfulness is covered and paid for by the blood of Jesus and God’s wrath against us satisfied by Christ’s suffering and death. We must believe in that sacrifice and apply it to our own life. Once our spiritually “dead” condition has been resolved, we are free to “live” as children of God. (Gal. 3:26, 4:4-5)

God’s love is massive and unconditional (no matter what you have done or where you have been), but it must be genuinely received in its reality and entirety in order to be effective for your salvation. Here is the reality: His love frees us from our sins by his blood. The greatest freedom that exists is the freedom from our sins and their guilt and penalty. Sin disrupts our relationship with God. It simply must be dealt with or we remain spiritually lost and outside of a relationship with our Creator.

Have you honestly received God’s love? It is expressed in the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus Christ. When you go to God by the way of Jesus, you can be saved by the love of God. You can be set free to be a child of God – in full relationship with Him!

– By Shelli S. Prindle

What About Suicide

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suicide

Suicide is both a delicate and a critical subject. It involves the taking of life, which is the most precious thing God has entrusted to humans. (Gen. 2:7) In fact, it was the life of God’s Son that had to be given to pay the price for our redemption and escape from eternal death. Life is invaluable, therefore murder is a sin (Ex. 20:13). Moreover, God has given us a way to a living hope – a substantive hope that never dies, despite the worst trials and temptations. (1 Pet. 1:3, 6-7). He does this through the resurrection of His Son over sin and death, the ultimate proof that life is the way of God.

When it comes to the ultimate outcome of someone committing suicide, the two options are the same as for any other person: eternal life or eternal damnation (John 3:36). Those are the only two existing categories for a person who leaves this temporary world and enters the next. When we try to contemplate how the sin of suicide plays into God’s judgment, we need to remember that all sin is covered by the blood of Jesus Christ for the one who truly believes in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Although the Bible does not explicitly spell out the eternal destiny of those who commit suicide, we know, indeed, that some among us who have committed murder are in Heaven. We need only to think of Moses and David (Ex. 2:12, 2 Sam. 11:15). Both these men of God murdered at one point, but neither of them made the pattern of murderous sin the way of their lives. The difference between a Christian who sins and an unsaved person who sins is that the true believer repents of his sin and hates it, while the unbeliever thinks not much of his sin and would do it again without any strain against her conscience toward Her Creator. Revelation 21:8 clearly explains of murderers that “their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” However, it is also there said of liars and idolaters, for example, that they will be in the same eternal fire. Every one of us has lied and put other people or things ahead of God (idolatry). We, nonetheless, do not conclude that our place will be in the lake of fire if we are trusting in Jesus Christ and hate what hurts Him and His kingdom rather than embracing such iniquity (1 Pet. 2:24). It is our salvation by Jesus that ensures our eternal destiny. (John 5:24)

The ultimate question here, then, is whether or not a follower of Jesus Christ can commit suicide. For, only followers of Jesus are safe in His presence subsequent to earthly death. This is an inquiry that cannot be unequivocally answered by mortals – even with full appeal to the Word of God. I think immediately of Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” How eloquently here does the Spirit express that there are things that only God can know, especially when it comes to issues of His judgment and mercy – as in the context of this verse. What we should point out, though, is that while some things are secret, the things that are revealed are to be known and obeyed. We have enough of God’s Word to understand that He gives to His people what is necessary to overcome in all predispositions, circumstances, and temptations. 1 Cor. 10:13 proclaims, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Also, 2 Pet. 2:9 declares that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials.” With these two verses alone, I am compelled to believe that I can have victory over sin and the most terrible of trials.

However, the Bible undeniably reveals a grace, a help, and a forgiveness that meets the Christian at his point of failure. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). These words bring boundless comforts, because we know that Jesus is our Defense. He took the hit in His body and His death for all our sin. “Propitiation” means appeasement. Jesus appeases the wrath of God on behalf of all who sincerely are trusting in Christ as their Savior. Nowhere does the Bible say that the sin of suicide is excluded from the practical reaches of this Scripture. However, nowhere does the Bible say that suicide is excluded from the incontrovertible promise of God’s sustaining grace in trials and provision for victory over sin in the aforementioned verses. Therefore, it seems that the question of whether or not a heaven-bound Christian can commit suicide is ultimately one of the secrets of God, but general parameters for the topic have been made known. As Matthew Henry (1662-1714), the great Bible commentator said, “We are forbidden curiously to inquire into the secret counsels of God, and to determine concerning them. But we are directed and encouraged, diligently to seek into that which God has made known. He has kept back nothing that is profitable for us, but only that of which it is good for us to be ignorant. The end of all Divine revelation is, not to furnish curious subjects of speculation and discourse, but that we may do all the words of this law, and be blessed in our deed. This, the Bible plainly reveals; further than this, man cannot profitably go. By this light he may live and die comfortably, and be happy forever.”

When asked my humble opinion on the matter, I lean toward believing that I will meet a few people in Heaven who are now truly repentant after having committed the sin of self-murder. In the Lord’s presence, they now see clearly the purpose their pain could have served, and the sustaining grace the Lord could have shown them. But is not that true of all of us, for all our mistrust and sin? I would caution, however, that judgment for Christians is real. Though we make Heaven despite our sins because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can lose eternal reward. If one cuts short his life by committing suicide, one forfeits untold reward for the days not lived on earth that had a purpose in Jesus. So much pain will have been caused, so much confusion will have been disseminated, and so many of the good plans of God will have gone unfulfilled. We simply cannot deny 2 Cor. 5:10 or 1 Cor. 3:13-15, “Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

Finally, we must treat this subject as we should carefully treat many others – with thoughtfulness and a heart full of mercy toward others and humility toward the Lord. This is a mysterious area on which we tread. Only God Himself sees through to the core of who we are. “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13). I think of the way the winsome C.S. Lewis put it, “We see only the results which a man’s choices make out of his raw material. But God does not judge him on the raw material at all, but on what he has done with it. Most of the man’s psychological makeup is probably due to his body: when his body dies all that will fall off him, and the real central man, the thing that chose, that made the best or worst out of this material, will stand naked. All sorts of nice things which we thought our own, but which were really due to a good digestion, will fall off some of us: all sorts of nasty things which were due to complexes or bad health will fall off others. We shall then, for the first time, see every one as he really was. There will be surprises.”

Here is the bottom line, “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). Until then, let us live according to what God has given us with every ounce of strength we have. And let us hold out all hope that the blood of Jesus Christ is fully sufficient for the sin we so awfully commit.

Divine Restraint

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After Jesus had been performing miracles and feeding thousands of hungry people, a crowd was about to push an issue in the wrong way, for the wrong reasons, and at the wrong time. “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself” (John 6:15, ESV).

The restraint displayed here by Jesus amazes me, because at that moment, HE KNOWS HE IS KING! He had every right to come the first time to earth and take over the universe He had created and set up His perfect kingdom. But He didn’t. He waited. He restrained His glory and His rights. He chose a crown of thorns rather than a crown of jewels. He determined to be mocked rather than to take over. Why?

Jesus chose the road of suffering back then for YOU. If He had come the first time to set up His righteous kingdom, we could have never been a part of it. But since He came the first time to suffer for sin in our place, we can join Him when He comes to reign and be truly known as the King of the universe.

Have you trusted in His suffering for your sin? Have you reacted to the love He displayed for you in His divine self-denial? Have you believed in the King who wore a crown of thorns so that you could one day be beside Him when “on His head are many diadems”? (Revelation 19:12, ESV)

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15, ESV)

How Can I Believe In A God that Tortures People In Hell?

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An unbeliever asks, “How can you believe that God tortures people forever in Hell?” Now, wait a second; let’s think this through. First of all, the most startling thing is that God punished His very own Son (and Self) on the Cross two thousand years ago. In fact, the word excruciating comes from the Latin word for cross. Keep in mind also that the pain God inflicted on His Son was not only physical, but spiritual in nature. Jesus endured the guilt of our sin. He was tormented in body and spirit for our wickedness, though He is God and completely perfect. (II Corinthians 5:21)

Secondly, God “tortured” Himself, if you will, in order that we might be freed from the penalty and punishment we justly deserve. He deserved none of it, for Jesus is the perfect Son of God (I Peter 3:18). In effect, God does not send any person to eternal and tormented separation from Him without first offering the torment of His own Son (and Self) as the primary sacrifice … and the way out of anguish for all believing humans.

Thirdly, we are finite creatures sinning against an infinitely holy God. It is one thing for me to sin against another human being (and God holds us accountable for that), but in every sin we are ultimately offending God (Psalm 51:4). Sinning against an infinitely holy God obviously demands an infinite punishment. And, my friend, only an infinite God could absorb the world’s sin in a moment of time. That’s exactly what Jesus did! His infinitude allowed Him to absorb the totality of sin in one event of history. We finite creatures, however, would have to carry our own guilt on ourselves forever in order to pay it off. (John 3:36) Hence, Hell is an everlasting punishment.

So, before we get disturbed by the concept of Hell, we need to get amazed by the concept of Calvary. There, God inflicted immeasurable spiritual, emotional, and physical pain on His own Self as Jesus suffered and died. Jesus is our Way of escape from the misery of Hell, which is brought on by our own rebellion and refusal to believe in the measureless love and perfectly just plan of God.

First and foremost, we must understand that God placed our well-deserved penalty on Jesus, the Perfect One, who deserved no chastisement. Our punishment rightly follows if we sinners refuse to accept this great plan of unimaginable love. (Isaiah 53:10)

Confident Conscience

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A tormentor and murderer of believers. A man so fixated on his own, false religious zeal that he despised God’s own people and threw them into prison. This was the apostle Paul in his early days. So, if anyone had reason to bear a guilty conscience and be left in the misery of regret, it was Paul.

I think about the real man, Paul, as he sat chained in an underground Roman prison. The tables are turned, and the redeemed Paul is now the one being persecuted for his faith. He knows his execution is near, and he is left with his thoughts and his God in the dark, damp, disgusting dungeon.

If Paul was a human like you and me – and HE WAS – then his mind had to have drifted back a few years to Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. After Stephen witnessed to the crowds of God’s love in Jesus, the crowd rushed at Stephen and stoned him to death. And guess what leader was there approving of Stephen’s execution? Paul! In fact, as Acts 8:3 (ESV) details, “But Saul [Paul] was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” With all this in mind, we can only surmise that Paul had to be pondering the irony of his situation. The persecutor has become the persecuted. The murderer is about to be murdered.

Now we might conclude that Paul’s psychological position at this point would be one of weakness. Feeling sorry for himself, he might have thought, “Well, I deserve this.” If I were Paul, I would have been tempted to believe the worst – that because of all my sin, I was finally going to get what I had coming to me. God’s care of me might have been seriously clouded by my own guilt. Could I even call on Jesus now to help me … after all I’ve done? Why should God deliver me from circumstances exactly like those to which I had sinfully committed other people? Why should God help me, when I had been so evil?

Miraculously – and I mean by the actual miracle of God’s grace – Paul’s psychological bent at this point in his life was one of strength … and a confident conscience. Against all odds of human tendency, Paul penned the following words from his dungeon soon before he was beheaded, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (2 Timothy 4:18, ESV).

Can you believe it? Paul was not drowning in guilt or pity. He believed God would rescue him from every evil deed – despite the evil he had done. Paul was fully convinced that Jesus had already taken the hit for his sin when He died on the Cross. Paul – even in his last days – lived by the truth of the full forgiveness we find through Jesus Christ. The blood Jesus shed was truly a healing salve for Paul’s guilty conscience, broken heart, and haunted mind.

Jesus gave to Paul not only a clean conscience, but a confident conscience. Jesus enabled Paul to live above both the physical and psychological circumstances that would seem to hold him down. History upholds the execution of Paul under Emperor Nero. He did not recant. His head was placed on the chopping block, but his conscience was unbroken. At the moment of his death, I wonder if Paul was recalling the words he had written in Romans 5:1 (ESV), “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”?

Personal Reflection Questions:

1) For what sins should your conscience be broken and guilty?

2) Have you really trusted that the substitution of Jesus enduring the wrath of God on your behalf has cleared your guilt before God?

3) Will you, as Paul, trust God today for a clean conscience through Jesus AND a CONFIDENT conscience for all the future holds?

47th Greatest Invention . . .

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Though the printing press was deemed the number one innovation since the invention of the wheel by The Atlantic magazine’s group of scientists, historians, and technologists; it was number 47 on the list that caught my eye. Don’t get me wrong, we as Christians understand God’s hand in the development of the printing press, for God chose to reveal Himself through a book! However, check out the succinct description of the 47th greatest breakthrough since the wheel according to The Atlantic: “The nail, second millennium B.C. ‘Extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.’ -Leslie Berlin”

Wow. The nail enabled people to have shelter. Though Leslie Berlin was probably thinking of the physical shelter nails help to provide when they are pounded into wood and concrete, my mind went immediately to the spiritual shelter we find because of the three nails used by Roman soldiers two thousand years ago. And actually, those three nails were in the “hands” of God the Father, who willingly sacrificed His Son so you and I might find shelter from the justly deserved wrath of a Holy God. The ultimate effect of my own sin cannot rain down upon me, because I am under the shelter of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that old, rugged Cross.

The Atlantic says that nails “extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.” Again – no doubt – the extension refers to earthly years. Physical life could go on longer because our bodies were better protected from the elements, wild animals, and enemies. But we as children of God apprehend the measureless value of spiritual life. No matter the year or day of our physical demise, salvation ensures eternal life. As Peter so beautifully records, “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable” (I Peter 1:23, ESV). The nails that pierced the body of Jesus on Mount Calvary have brought to us an endlessly extended life!

Just as those nails of long ago punctured the physical body of Jesus, they will also help bring to our physical bodies the new and glorified existence we shall enjoy forever and ever. I Thessalonians 3:20b-21 (ESV) proclaims, “We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” The crucifixion of Jesus – aided by nails – ensures our safety in an incalculable and everlasting sense.

A thank you to The Atlantic for reminding us of the importance of nails. We take much for granted. And the biggest thank you to our God who gave humans the capacity to invent the nail, which He knew would be used to crucify His own Son. No doubt, God was thinking of sheltering us when He created trees and inspired the invention of nails.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'” (Psalm 91:1-2, ESV)

Reference: Fallows, James. “The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel.” The Atlantic. Nov 2013. 56-58.

Comparing Your Life to Someone Else’s Life: The Problem and the Answer

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“Lord, what about him? Why is his life easier than mine?” or “Lord, what about her? Why is she so healthy while I suffer?” or “Lord, what about him? Why does he live in a big house with lots of things and I don’t” or “Lord, what about her? Why is her family so functional and mine dysfunctional?” or “Lord, what about him? Why is he so successful in his pursuits while I seem to fail at so many?”

Comparisons. Questions about why things are different for other Christians. We all tend to measure our circumstances against those of other people. However, this aspect of fallen human nature can lead to all sorts of problems. We waste our time contemplating and comparing, and we cease following Jesus as He intends. We are too busy looking side to side rather than to our God in front of us.

Jesus counseled Peter in comparing and contrasting. Immediately following Peter’s restoration as beautifully outlined in John 21:15-17, we find our Lord preparing Peter for a great sacrifice. Jesus was reassuring his dear friend of forgiveness for the denial of a lifetime. Remember when Peter swore after the arrest of Jesus, “I do not know the man”? Recall that three times poor Peter denied His Savior. (Matthew 26:69-75) What a deep peace must have descended upon this disciple as Jesus now commissioned him three times to serve God. What a flood of hope must have swept over Peter as he walked again with His Savior. Yet, in the midst of the rejoicing, Truth called Peter to understand a difficult part of the future.

Jesus looks at His precious disciple and says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:18, ESV) The Bible makes clear in the next verse what Jesus meant by these words: “(This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this [Jesus] said to him, ‘Follow me.'” (John 21:19, ESV)

Our Lord here tells Peter that he will be crucified for Jesus’ sake. He allows Peter to see that he will be a martyr for the Kingdom of God. And yet, this tough information was followed by Jesus’ command to “Follow me.” Christ did not tell Peter of the unbelievable task he would face in order to discourage him. Jesus did not reveal this part of the future and then say, “Give up” or “Turn back, Peter, because it will be too much for you.” No! Christ says, “Follow me!” In other words, Jesus knows that Peter will make it. Although crucifixion seems too much, our Lord knows the Source of His child’s strength. Perhaps Jesus here had in mind the words of Hebrews 12:2 (NIV, 1984), “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” You see, Jesus set our salvation before His eyes as He accomplished the unfathomable task of deity dying for sin. He looked to us as His motivation. Now, we look to Him as our motivation and strength.

Next, we encounter the great comparison. After hearing this news of his own martyrdom, Peter “turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved [John] following them . . . When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about this man?'” (John 21:20-21, ESV) I chuckle as I read these words because I can hear myself. “Jesus, what about her? What about him? Why is my life more difficult or my way not as prosperous?” Can you hear yourself too? Oh, how blatantly human were the disciples of Christ! Peter has just had an intimate and healing encounter with Jesus and then heard of his high – but challenging – calling. No sooner did Peter turn around than he was comparing his lot to that of John! “Lord, what about him? Is he going to have to be crucified?”

Now, Jesus is the God of Truth – not psychological babble. He deals with the human tendency of comparison in a very direct way. He pointedly says to Peter, “If it is my will that he [John] remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22, ESV) Wow! “What is that to you?” This rhetorical question of our Savior rings in my ears and resonates in my heart. I have heard Jesus speak it to me a thousand times since studying this passage of Scripture. If someone else’s way seems easier, what is that to you? If some other Christian’s life seems to make more sense, what is that to you? If someone else seems more successful, what is that to you? If someone else is healthier or more materially prosperous, what is that to you? If someone else seems to be more blessed than you according to your understanding of things, what is that to you?

In other words, we should not compare. On this, Jesus is abundantly clear. In essence, Jesus says, “Peter, don’t look at John’s way. Look at ME!” In following Jesus and not the lives of others, we find our peace and our fulfillment. In living out Hebrews 12:2 (cited above), we find our true joy.

In fact, Peter died a martyr’s death, having been crucified under the reign of emperor Nero. John, however, was the one disciple to die of natural causes after having been exiled to the Isle of Patmos and writing the book of Revelation. Nonetheless, despite the difference in their lives’ ends, both Peter and John had God’s joy and God’s reward. We hear the words of Peter as he writes to the people of God being persecuted in Asia Minor, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, . . .” (I Peter 1:3, NIV, 1984).

No doubt, we will talk with Peter and John in Heaven, and both will say what a marvelous thing is salvation! Both will recount the faithfulness and love of God. Both will testify to the goodness of God, though their lives were very divergent.

Do not look to the circumstances and lives of others. Do not look to the left at one person or to the right at another. Look straight ahead – at Jesus. And hear Him say of any potential comparison, “What is that to you? You follow me!”

Splattered Spaghetti and the Heart of God

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“Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” – Psalm 51:7 (NIV – 1984)

The other day I made for myself a simple plate of spaghetti. Of course, spaghetti is not inherently simple when you consider the red tomato sauce in which it is covered. My dinner was fully prepared – spaghetti drenched in sauce with some added mushrooms and parmesan cheese. I loaded the carbs onto my plate after a day of activity and exercise. My husband was out of town, so I grabbed my dinner from the kitchen counter to take it to the living room. My spaghetti was in one hand; my iced tea was in the other. Before I got past the edge of the kitchen, my balancing act proved unsuccessful, as the spaghetti slid off one side of my plate and splattered everywhere as it landed. The four-foot drop produced quite a mess! The white linoleum in that corner edge of my kitchen was covered in wet noodles, red sauce with cheese, and various mushrooms, which – just seconds ago – looked very appetizing. But now, it looked like someone had gotten quite ill. The dinner hit the floor with such force that sauce splattered onto the surrounding walls and carpet. In fact, I found sauce on the front door of my house, a half-story down and seven feet from the accident!

Though I was hungry, tired, and much wanting to eat; my immediate concern was to clean up the mess before stains set in. I went to the carpet and painted walls first, scrubbing with a good cleaning solution. The more I cleaned, the more I recognized additional spots of the sauce in unbelievable places. Finally, after picking up large heaps of the mess and dumping it into the garbage can, I got down on my hands and knees and started wiping away at the linoleum.

As I cleaned and scrubbed while kneeling on the floor, I thought, “What an inconvenience. What a dumb thing I just did. What a waste of time. This is annoying.” My busy arm came to a standstill as God dropped this beautiful reminder in my heart, “Shelli, this is what I do all the time – clean up the messes of the people I love. My heart is a heart of restoration. Though I don’t have to – for I have no obligations – I choose to be in the business of cleaning up messes, both big and small. People sin and turmoil comes; I forgive and I restore.”

Suddenly, my whole perspective changed. I was no longer bothered by the work I was doing. This inconvenience was now a hint of God’s unfathomable grace. He does not have to, but He willingly works continually to clean up our hearts and make them like new. He will even apply His heart to the restoration of this entire universe one day; though the sum total of its current pain, disaster, confusion, and messes seems insurmountable. God’s love and power are infinite and far-reaching. Just as I went to the farthest places spaghetti sauce splattered, so God goes to the furthest and deepest places human sin wreaks havoc. Projecting into the future, the Bible boldly declares, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…He will wipe away every tear from their eyes…And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.'” (Revelation 21:1, 4, 5, ESV)

In the meantime, our God gets down “on the floor” where we are to clean things up. He sent His Son to live here, suffer here, and pay for sin here. God continually works in the business of cleaning and restoration. Out of pure and unbelievable love, He keeps cleaning and restoring.

Do you see nothing in front of you but a terrible mess? Do you see nothing in you but a disaster? Do you see nothing around you but wreckage? Hear the heart of God, the One who cleans so much more than splattered spaghetti:

“Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” – Psalm 51:7 (NIV – 1984)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” – II Corinthians 5:17 (NIV – 1984)

“You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” – Isaiah 58:12 (NIV – 1984)

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.” – Isaiah 61:1 (ESV)

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases.” – Psalm 103:2-3 (ESV)

“I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.” – Jeremiah 33:8 (NIV – 1984)

A Warning with an Astonishing Promise

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We simply do not have forever to seek and find God. The implication of His straightforward message is clear, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6, ESV). Obviously, then, there is a time that He may be found; but that time has an end point. Likewise, He remains near in His willingness to receive sorrowful people repenting of sin; but He stays close in this way for only a season. Two future time frames appear on every human horizon: 1) a person’s own death, and 2) God’s full revelation of His final wrath. Since we can escape neither event, we must be prepared for them. The only and glorious provision for safety is seeking God while He is ready to be found. If we need to cry out in repentance, now is the time to call. More important than clean dishes, a televised sports event, completed homework, a dusted dining room, dinner out with friends, a brisk walk, or any other impending task is the responsibility of calling out to our God who – for this moment at least – can still be encountered as One ready to receive us.

And do not be afraid to seek Him now. For this is His promise, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7, ESV). How beautifully the words ring out that a wicked person – one who is guilty of sin – and an unrighteous person – one who is troubled by his vain pursuit of sinful ways – can both return to the Lord to find compassion! We expect our treachery has no cure, and we fear the reaction we so commonly find in other humans. But, no! When we forsake sin and turn toward God, He covers us with mercy and tender affection. Moreover, He welcomes us back in such a manner that the Bible describes as “abundant pardon.” The Hebrew root of the word pardon is forgiveness backed by the idea of “lightness” or “lifting up.” The burden of guilt is removed, and we are once again raised up by God. We can walk freely with a spiritual and emotional spring in our step, for God has forgiven us.

He pardons us abundantly, not sparingly or with a grudge. The same word used here for “abundantly” is used in Genesis 1:22 to describe the multiplication of sea creatures in the ocean and birds in the sky following God’s initial creation. Can you imagine? Can you picture the innumerable fish in the depths of the sea? The untold amount of microscopic plankton filling the waters? The countless little birds and butterflies in the skies above us? Those realities are to remind us of the amount of forgiveness – enough to cover every sin – which God offers to those who cry out now.

Does the compassion of God to us sinful people seem incomprehensible? It surely may be to us, but this does not negate its reality. When you think it’s too good to be true, you need to read God’s reminder to us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV). Yes – it is true – I do not understand the depth of His forgiveness. My mind cannot wrap itself around such an offer of hope. Yet, there it is. The reason I don’t quite “get it” is that God’s thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than mine. He is altogether perfect, the Definer of what is. I will trust that what I cannot understand remains real, for the Maker of human reasoning capacity is greater than human reasoning.

Seek Him now; call upon Him while He is near, because the opportunity will not last forever. He will abundantly pardon. It seems too good to be true, but is is not. It is the way of God.