God and You: Unique--Exodus 33:15,16

UNIQUE: God and His People Are Unique

No one wants to be ignored, unnoticed, just another human being among the millions. We all want to be recognized and valued as the unique individual each of us is in the history of the world. Why do you think the teenager with the green, spiked hair, tattoos, a nose ring, and wild clothes and behavior has all that weird stuff? So he or she will be noticed, not passed over as just another faceless blob in the mass of bodies in the crowd.

That is one way to draw attention to one's self and to gain recognition as an individual apart from the crowd. But it is the world's way. God has a better way.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways" (Isaiah 55:9).

When God told Moses to go from the place where he was, to separate the people from the rest of the world, Moses wisely asked God how to do this. Moses did not want to follow the flashy, meaningless way the worldly take to emphasize their uniqueness; he wanted to do it God's way. So he asked God to show him that way. "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways" (Ex. 33:13).

God answered that prayer. "He made known his ways to Moses" (Ps. 103:7).

We would do well to ask the Lord the same thing. For we, like Moses, have also been commanded by God to be unique from the world, to go from one place or worldview or lifestyle or way of living to another, to leave where we are in this world and journey to a better place. If we would learn how to make this journey safely and wisely, we can learn much from looking at that passage from Exodus that describes Moses' conversation with God about leaving the place where God has put in this world those who are his people, and journeying to the destination he has set before them. Those ancient people of God called that destination the Promised Land. We call it heaven. But their physical journey has much to say about our spiritual journey and we do well to examine what Scripture says about the connection between the two.

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4).

We, like Moses and the people of God of old, have been called out of this world to live a life of holiness, in stark contrast to the world's depraved obsession with pleasure and self and all sorts of immorality and wickedness. We have been told, like Moses, to leave that place of godless living.

"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry" (1 Ptr. 4:3).

God has called us out of the place of living in such sin, into a life of holiness for him.

"(God) has saved us and called us to a holy life" (2 Tim. 1:9).

"And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ" (Rom. 1:6).

Other Scriptures confirm this calling of ours.
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"For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

". . . those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away" (1 Cor. 7:31).

"Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4).

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Heb. 11:8-10).

"They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them" (Heb. 11:13-16).
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That is our call and God's promise, just as it was for Moses and God's called ones long ago, after leaving a life of slavery in Egypt. When Moses, their human leader, received this call to leave where they were and go to the Promised land, he said to God:

"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex. 33:15,16).

So important was it to Moses to have God's presence in the midst of this journey that he told God:

"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (Ex. 33:15).

This is the heartfelt cry of a man who loves God so much that he does not want to go anywhere without him. What good is it to leave the world for heaven unless God is there? Heaven is no better than earth unless God is there. He is what makes heaven.

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you" (Ps. 73:25).

In other words, to the one who loves God, it makes no difference whether he stays or goes; what matters is that wherever he is, God is. Such a person just wants to be where God is.

"These are those who . . . kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes" (Rev. 14:4).

Jesus is the Lamb of God. He left one place of great glory, heaven, to come to another place, this earth, for our sakes, so that we could leave this place on earth and go to be with him forever in heaven. God sent him to this earth for this very reason. He had a mission to accomplish and he called out to the people of this world to follow him. He called himself the Way.

But he did not issue that call in a worldly way. In his life on this earth, the way that the Way exhibited his uniqueness as the Son of God, and his human uniqueness as Jesus, Son of David, was opposite to any of the worldly extremes of clothes and physical markings, or unseemly behavior. For instance, rather than the loud, often obnoxious shouts for attention that so many cry out to the world, whether as we see in commercials on television in our own day, or in any age in personal interaction with others, Scripture says of Jesus that "he will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets" (Isaiah 42:2).

He doesn't have to. Jesus is God and King, secure in himself and his knowledge of who he is. He does not have to stage great, dramatic effects to draw attention to himself. He is great in himself and that greatness draws people to himself naturally.

"I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (Jn. 12:32).

Jesus showed the greatness of his being and his love by leaving heaven to come to earth to die for us on the cross. When he was lifted up from the earth on that cross, people saw the greatness of Jesus and his love and were drawn to him.

"The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, 'Surely this was a righteous man'" (Lk. 23:47).

Righteousness and goodness have a way of attracting attention to the one who possesses them. Such people have no need for outlandish hair styles or weird body markings or jewelry to set them apart from the crowd and to shout out their unique individuality to the masses. They already are set apart by their quiet dignity and goodness that comes from God. The world sees this and takes note.

"They see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful" (1 Ptr. 3:2-5).

The people of God are set apart as a distinctive people, the people of God. Moses discerned correctly that it is this presence of God with his people that distinguishes them and sets them apart.

"How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex. 33:16).

We also should be aware as Moses was, know what he knew, that it is Emmanuel, God with us, that sets us apart from the world and makes us distinct.

"Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself" (Ps. 4:3).

Know this. That is God's command to us. We should also know that it is impossible to be set apart from the world if we still cling to the world after God has called us to come out of the world as his unique people. Sadly, many are the Christians, the church, the ecclesia, the called-out-ones, who listen more to the siren call of the world than to the pure call of God to come out of the world.

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (1 Jn. 2:15-17).

To live forever. Is there any thing more unique than that? Few, the Bible informs us, will be those who achieve this rare status. "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Mt. 22:14 RSV).

Those who are chosen are those who seek holiness in Jesus Christ. Only they will be chosen by God to leave this world for his dwelling place in heaven.

"The man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one" (Num. 16:7).

Those words were spoken by Moses in the wilderness. Moses is spoken of as a type of Christ, a prefiguring of who Jesus would be when he arrived in this world long after Moses. Just as Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt, Jesus would lead God's chosen ones out of slavery to sin. But in both cases, there was a wilderness experience at the beginning of the journey. Immediately after his baptism, Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 4:1).

What? He who was sent from heaven to this world by God specifically to save that world is now sent away from that world into the wilderness? How can he accomplish his mission by going away from the place of that mission? He can because that was God's will for him. It was a time of testing of his obedience to God's commands.

"Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered" (Heb. 5:8).

Too often, those who are called by God to do a certain work make that work more important than the One who called them to it. What do you suppose happens then, when things do not seem to work out at all, when they are led by God to a place that holds no promise of them fulfilling their calling? They rebel. They rebel because they have abandoned their first love for something of lesser value. That was the message of Jesus to the church at Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7).

Even if something is God's chosen work for us, we must be prepared to abandon it for whatever he tells us to do for the moment, because what really is at stake is our obedience, not our work. God can choose someone else to do the work; but no one else can be who we are and do the work in a way unique to who God has made us. God values who we are far more than what we can do for him. A human soul is far more precious for the love it can have than for the labor it can produce. Each of us glorifies God in a unique way. God has a reason why he chose each one of us for the work we have to do for him.

"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph. 2:10).

Jesus was true to his work, his God, and himself. God had sent him to do a certain work in the world, for which task he must needs be in the world among its people. But if God should now tell him to go into the wilderness, away from that place of people and labor, then he trusted that God had a reason for this detour--and he obeyed. His obedience showed his faith in his Father and his love for his Father. He knew that somehow or another, God would work it all out so that he could accomplish the mission for which God had sent him into the world.

The people of God of old failed this test of obedience. They had been told that they should go into the Promised Land. But they refused to enter it for fear of the giants there and then later, after God told them to go into the wilderness as punishment for their earlier refusal to trust him and obey him, they turned around again and once more did the opposite of what God told them to do. It was not their work or mission or task that mattered to God, but their obedience, whatever the work or mission or task. The primary work of God that we are called to do is to trust and believe in him, not actually to carry out some deed or activity; that is secondary. He apportions those deeds and missions according to one's faith in him and proven obedience to his commands, whatever they be.

To see the truth of this principle, consider King Saul of Old Testament times. He was given a mission to fulfill by God, that of being king of Israel, which, for the moment required him to carry out the command of God for him to slaughter completely all the animals of his enemies. In order to see better the total picture and situation, a rather lengthy portion of the Scripture describing the situation is included below:
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"But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs--everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 'I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.' Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, 'Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.'
When Samuel reached him, Saul said, 'The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord's instructions.'
But Samuel said, 'What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?'
Saul answered, 'The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.'
'Stop!' Samuel said to Saul. 'Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.' 'Tell me,' Saul replied. Samuel said, 'Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And he sent you on a mission, saying, "Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out." Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?'
'But I did obey the Lord,' Saul said. 'I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.'
But Samuel replied: 'Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.' Then Saul said to Samuel, 'I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.'
But Samuel said to him, 'I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!'
As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said to him, 'The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors--to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.'
Saul replied, 'I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.' So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord." (1 Sam. 15:9-31).
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A number of important points in this account deserve mentioning regarding our theme of what it means to be unique among the world and for God. First, notice that when Saul speaks to Samuel about God, he says, "the Lord your God." In this, he perhaps spoke more truly than he knew. Why didn't he say, "the Lord my God? It is possible that he was recognizing and honoring Samuel's position as a spokesman for the Lord, but given the lack of respect Saul had shown for God's command to him to destroy all the animals, it is more likely that he simply did not reverence God as his God.

Anyone can call the Lord his God, but to really mean it requires obedience that gives solid evidence of that assertion. Jesus had many followers at the beginning of his ministry, but not all of them truly reverenced him as Lord. So he said, "Why do you call me, `Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Lk. 6:46).

Again and again, we are told by God that obedience to him is the mark that makes a person or a people unique in all the world. For the world is known for its disobedience to God, going its own pleasure-seeking, self-seeking way. Therefore, those who refuse to bow to that false god stand out as unique. Their obedience to God is the unique identifier of God's people. The three men of God in the fiery furnace reflect this truth. They chose obedience and loyalty to God even at risk of their lives. Only three men out of all the people of the nation. Unique. It is the brand of God upon his people.

Another lesson that can be learned from Saul's actions is seen in his attitude: He thinks more of what others think of him than how God views him. His heart is in the world of men and he is more concerned with their approval than with God's. Yet if he had fully obeyed God, he could have had both. Jesus fully obeyed God and cared nothing for the praise of men, and Scripture says of him that, as a boy, he was obedient to his parents and "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Lk. 2:51,52).

If we put God first in all things, then all things will come to us--that is, all things that are good for us, not necessarily all things that we want.

"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well" (Mt. 6:33).

"Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing" (Ps. 34:10).

Our relationship with God should be focused on one thing, on him, not his gifts. The word unique means one of a kind, the only one. From the beginning, Scripture uses this word or its equivalent to describe God and his work and kingdom. He is unique and those who unite themselves to him in Jesus Christ are also, therefore, unique.

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5).

"There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Eph. 4:4-6).

The King James Version of 1 Ptr. 2:9 calls those who believe in Jesus a peculiar people, that is, unique. Many other aspects of God's kingdom are also unique.

"For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him" (Heb. 9:24-28).

All of this emphasis on uniqueness serves to show us the absolute nature of our existence and the extreme seriousness in which we should regard that existence and our relationship with God: We have but one opportunity to live and to live life as it is meant to be lived, for God, and to be saved by his Son so that we can live with him forever.

As an aside, I just want to mention a topic that is not critical to the discussion here but which is sometimes brought up regarding this matter of uniqueness. That topic is whether or not we are alone in the universe, that is, whether or not there are other civilizations and beings "out there" in space. This is a speculative question that is not answered in Scripture, but nevertheless, given all the vast amount of passages that are devoted to our uniqueness, and for other reasons, I believe that it is safe to say that we are indeed alone in the universe, the only planet with life upon it, despite all the dazzling science-fiction movies and imaginations of men to the contrary. I say this even though, in the future, it is possible that the UFO controversy will seem to be settled when apparent spaceships from other planets may openly make themselves known, rather than the furtive sightings now so commonplace. But they will be a deception. They are not aliens from another planet but spiritual beings, demons, from another world or dimension or realm, posing as physical beings such as ourselves so as to deceive human beings into trusting them and falling victim to their devilish schemes to capture human souls.

I say this only as a personal opinion, but based upon the Bible's emphasis on our uniqueness and other teachings it gives to us on the nature of reality. Therefore, even if such UFOs should arrive in the future, they will not be proof of other species from other planets, as many will claim, but the old deception of our enemy the devil. For God has forewarned us and forearmed us with the truth about himself and our own existence, that he is one and that we are one with him in Jesus Christ.

As I said, the above is an aside that you can discard if you think it irrelevant or useless. The important point is that we are told clearly in Scripture that God is unique and so are we. Therefore, it behooves us to behave uniquely in a dark and senseless world. We are to be “blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15 RSV).

Let us appropriate from our singular God all that we need to show this uniqueness to the world, in a loving and truthful way.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (2 Ptr. 1:3,4).

A Lesson From Narnia: Are We There Yet?

A Lesson from Narnia: Are We There Yet?

The Narnia film (Disney version) of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (LWW), has a splendid lesson for us regarding our perception of when our work here in this world is done and when everything has finally come about as it should be according to God's plan. This does not always take place when we think it does, in our limited, human way of looking at things. In this writing, a close look is taken at the numerous ways this film wonderfully portrays this truth.

The first instance of our limited human perception of when things are taken care of occurs very early in the story, when the Pevensie children are sent off by train into the countryside to escape the enemy bombardment of their home area in the city. They arrive at the magnificent professor's house in the country and we might easily conclude, with the children, that that is that: They are now safe from harm and nothing dangerous can further happen to them. Just how strong this feeling of safety has dulled their minds and hearts can be seen in the boredom the children display in the old mansion's room on a rainy day. There is nothing to do here; all they have to do is wait for the war to end.

Ah, but in the midst of a children's game of hide and seek, Lucy comes across a doorway out of this world into another--and out of their limited view of their lives into the wider view that prevails beyond this world: The wardrobe ushers her into the magical world of Narnia, where the first hint of danger comes in the eyes of Mr. Tumnus, as he looks around when he first meets Lucy and discovers that she is human. Just being human puts her in danger.

And that is the way it is for us in this world. Just being human puts us in danger, for we have an enemy who "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Ptr 5:8).

Our enemy, the devil, hates us simply because we are human beings--those whom God has declared will inherit the kingdom (James 2:5) instead of Lucifer/Satan and his wicked angels (1: Cor. 1:9). It is interesting that Scripture describes our enemy as a roaring lion and that a lion is the hero of the Narnia tales and, further, that the enemy there, as in the real world, wants to remove the rightful ruler of the kingdom from the throne and take his place. So, like the enemy of humans in this world, the enemy of humans in the world of Narnia roars like the lion ruler to frighten his subjects into submission to her instead of to him. And she has power to harm them, for a time, to make them do this. Yes, there is real danger here. The children may think that all is calm and at rest in the mansion, but the ruler of Narnia has something more important for them to do than hide away in the countryside. It is not over for them yet. Thus the first inkling of this truth presents itself to the smallest of the children. It will soon sweep over the others as well.

The first time any of the children has access to the other world of Narnia occurs during a game, hide and seek. The second time likewise happens while they still pursue their normal life of being human children by playing a game, this time cricket. This too reflects a truth about how we, as children of God, come to a deeper awareness of who we are and the plans God has to widen our lives. It is as we go about our normal, daily lives that God works his wonderful growth in spirit within us, increasing our awareness of him and our place in his plans and kingdom.

So the children seek escape from their seemingly dull life in the country through a game and unexpectedly find moments later, after the ball smashes through the window, that they are escorted, through the wardrobe, into a far greater escape, into another world entirely. For the first few moments, that is what it seems: an escape from ordinary life in the world to transport into a wondrous world of beauty and snow in another. As they trek towards Mr. Tumnus' house, nothing occurs to make them think otherwise than that this is a safe, wonderfully beautiful land that they have come into.

But then they spy the door to Mr. Tumnus' house kicked in. Immediately they know that something is not right. As they rush to enter that dwelling place, their fears are confirmed: The place has been ransacked and is a mess. Something is definitely not right here, and their sense of danger is further heightened when they discover the notice of Tumnus' arrest. Things are rapidly progressing from safety and playful adventure to danger and the threat of harm. As she looks at the parchment containing the charge of treason against Tumnus, Susan voices the natural reaction to all this: "All right. Now we really should go back!"

Right. That is the natural reaction we humans have to any threat to ourselves. When Jesus first began his ministry on earth, a large crowd of people followed him wherever he went, for he healed their sicknesses, cast out demons, provided food for them--it was all a wonderful time and place to be. But Jesus saw farther and deeper into reality than the crowd did, and he knew that harder times and more serious issues were to come--so serious that it would require a commitment to the point of death on the part of himself and those with him. He told them this plainly, ruining the idyllic mindset many who followed him had of being there with him, and because of this, they no longer followed him (Jn.. 6:1-66).

We cannot blame Susan for feeling as she did. She was simply reacting as any rational human being would react to the threat of danger, and she is known for her logical set of mind and being smart. But while having a good head on one's shoulders is a blessing from God, there are times when God requires of his children that they put aside the natural, instinctive sense of self preservation in order to follow the grander design he has for their lives. And sometimes he whispers this intention of his by using the smallest of means. In the film, a little bird chirps out a "pssst" to the children, and Susan is stunned, asking, "Did that bird just "pssst" us?" He did indeed, and it is the next step in the children's journey to greater awareness that there is a destiny for them that is far different from the smaller, limited one they have been harboring.

The bird leads them outside Tumnus' house, to meeting the beaver, who takes them to yet another house, his own, where the children are further informed of the greater destiny that has been prescribed for them, and they are incredulous all along the way as the beavers tell them more and more about what is expected of them. Now it is Peter's turn to react in incredulity and self preservation, for after hearing that the beavers and all of Narnia expect them to lead an army against the witch, he says incredulously, "We're not heroes!" and Susan chimes in with, "We're from Finchley!"

That scene always makes me laugh, because it is so human, so typical of the way we naturally react when we learn from Scripture and from the Holy Spirit's unfolding of our role in the grand design of God for work in his kingdom. But, Lord, I'm just a little ________ (fill in the blank with your own objection). I'm not capable of doing such a great thing as that for you! But what does Paul say? He says: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).

But the Pevensie children have not yet arrived at that point in their lives. They need to see yet more of what Aslan has to teach them about themselves in order to reach their full potential in his kingdom. But how can they do that, see and learn all that he wants to teach them, if they go back to their own world now? They can't. Going back would mean safety, for the moment, true, but it would also mean losing the one opportunity they will ever have for advancing to the greater glory and service for King Aslan. That moment in Beaver's hut is a much more crucial moment than perhaps many watching the film realize. For if the children turn back now, all is lost, not only for them but for all of Narnia. Yet King Aslan does not force them to continue; rather, one of the children takes matters into his own hands, seeking to find glory on his own as ruler over his overbearing brother, and sets out to find the queen to obtain the throne she has promised him.

Such temptation is not limited only to ordinary children such as Edmund; Jesus also had this same temptation thrown at him by the enemy--only he won out over that temptation:

"Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down and worship me.' Jesus said to him, 'Away from me, Satan! For it is written: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only"'"(Matthew 4:8-10).

Jesus had that wider vision that is necessary to win over all that would hinder him from completing the mission and journey which God had sent him upon in this world. Edmund and the others did not--yet. Therefore, to keep them from abandoning their quest and journey, an act of free will that is contrary to Aslan's goal is used by Aslan to further his purpose and to keep the children in Narnia rather than returning to the supposed safety of their own world: Edmund disappears from the Beaver's hut. That seals the matter, for whatever the faults of Edmund, he is their brother and they cannot leave him while they go back to their own world. Their fate is now bound up with his and they must stay in Narnia. Up until that moment, all was settled: They rejected the Beaver's plea to stay in Narnia and fight against the witch, as the prophecy foretold; they would return to England. But now, with Edmund gone, all has changed in an instant. One moment, all had seemed done and settled; the next . . . who knows where all of this would lead? Only Alan knows. As Beaver himself later says, as they watch Edmund enter into the witch's castle, "Only Aslan can help your brother now." So Peter replies, "Then take us to him."

That is now the second instance when what had seemed completed and settled becomes unsettled and open to further adventures. But there is more.

Once in Aslan's camp, the three remaining children request Aslan's help in returning their brother from the clutches of the wicked white witch. Beaver had promised that Aslan could help; they now expected him to make good on that promise. What is Aslan's reply? He does not say that he cannot or will not do it; nor does he say that he will. He simply says, "This may be harder than you think."

Aslan is aware of the legal and other requirements to free Edmund. The children are aware of none of these things. To them, the matter of freeing their brother is now settled: Aslan will take care of it. In this, they see correctly; what they fail to see is the terrible price Aslan will have to pay to accomplish this. Aslan knows this full well and drops his head slightly--not a show of unwillingness but of awful awareness. He knows what the children do not know, that the matter is settled and done in principle only; there is still a very great challenge lying before them all, Aslan in particular. It is not yet over and done.

This truth is borne out by what happens next. Two of the white witch's wolves seek to attack and kill the girls while they are separated from the others in the camp, but Susan blows her horn, calling for help, to which Peter and Aslan respond and which ends in the death of one wolf and the escape of the other. But Aslan had let him escape on purpose, for, as he told his servants, "Follow him. He will lead you to Edmund." They do follow the wolf, find and free Edmund, and the next morning Peter exits his tent and sees Edmund standing on a hillside with Aslan. The girls also arise to meet another day and also see their brother returned to them. At last, all has been taken care of: Their brother has been returned to them and now they can go back home--at least that is Peter's thought at the breakfast table. But Lucy and Edmund both object. As Lucy puts it, "They need us; all four of us."

They do indeed. It is not all done. Aslan has yet more for them to do in Narnia and, in fact, Edmund is not as free as they suppose. He may have been freed from the witch's camp by force, but she still has a legal right to him and claim on him because of the way the laws of Narnia are written. Force is not the ultimate determiner of what occurs, except, as in Edmund's rescue, temporarily.

"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force" (Mt. 11:12 RSV).

The White Witch is both a hypocrite and one who chooses how much of the truth she will believe and accept. For she herself seeks by force to overthrow Aslan's reign in Narnia, yet when Aslan uses force to free Edmund, she lodges a complaint against him, saying, correctly, that the laws of Narnia forbid such means to accomplish its ends. Those same laws say that she has a rightful claim on any traitor and his blood and therefore if Aslan claims to be the rightful ruler of Narnia, he must abide by those laws. If he does not, all of Narnia will perish by fire and water. As she so defiantly puts it, "You dare not refuse me!"

This is true--as far as it goes. Aslan, being bound by his good and true character and nature, does not dare to contradict that character by disobeying the laws on which Narnia is built. To do so would indeed destroy Narnia. Aslan seems caught in a dilemma from which there is no way out. To keep Edmund would spare his life but destroy Narnia and discredit Aslan himself for flaunting the rightful laws of Narnia. But if he binds himself to keep those laws, Edmund will lose his life. The situation seems hopeless. Why, then, does Aslan tell the witch to speak with him alone, in his tent? What can he possibly say or do to make her change her mind and release her hold on the boy, Edmund?

The two repair to Aslan's tent while all the others wait anxiously outside--Edmund most of all. His life hangs in the balance of what is going on in secret behind the walls of Aslan's tent. Then the tent flap opens and the queen emerges. As she walks past him, she stares at Edmund but says not a word to him, but mounts back in her chariot. Edmund and the whole crowd turn anxiously to look at Aslan as he also emerges. He too is silent for a moment, also staring intently at Edmund. In that stare, I see the Lord Jesus looking at me. He knows that I really am a traitor to him and his cause, that it is because of my sin that he was crucified, and when I see Aslan look that long stare at Edmund/me . . . I realize that Jesus' sacrifice for me on the cross was no reaction to a situation that had sprung itself by surprise on Jesus. He has known from all eternity that he would give his life for mine on the cross; he knows all things, including the darkest depths of my heart. In that one, long stare, all eternity somehow manages to make itself known in that instant. I am known to the depths of my heart, and to the depths of God's heart, his love willing to give fully of himself to pay for that darkness. All of that occurs in that one, brief moment in the film: the stare of Aslan upon Edmund.

Edmund looks back in agonizing fear at Aslan, the questioning in his heart evident in the fear on his face. Is he going to die at the queen's hands after all? After a moment of silence, Aslan announces to Edmund and the crowd that the witch has renounced her claim on the son of Adam's blood, and they all erupt in cheers and shouts of gladness and joy. It really is done this time; Aslan has found a way to satisfy her rightful claim for Edmund's blood.

But in the midst of all the joy and happy shouting and commotion, Lucy looks at Aslan and her smiling face turns to a frown of puzzlement. Aslan is hanging his head down, clearly disturbed in heart about something. Why is he not delirious with joy as all in the crowd are? Obviously, something more took place in that meeting in the tent between good and evil, something that no one else is aware of. But what that something is, is not clear to Lucy. She only knows that something dreadfully serious has taken place.

Aslan then turns to go back into the tent, and as he does his gaze sweeps past Lucy and he recognizes her, and his face, for a fleeting moment, opens up in a sign of recognition that one person is aware of the momentous nature of the moment--and then the solemn look returns to Aslan's face and he continues his slow walk back to his tent. Lucy likewise returns to her brothers and sisters and the jubilation of the crowd, once more smiling. After all, she does not know or understand what it is that so weighs on Aslan; perhaps she will think on that later. For now, she should enjoy having her brother back in the family. Everything has been taken care of; all is back to normal, as it should be.

But, of course, it is not all taken care of. Aslan has only given his word on something to the witch. As she turned to leave the camp, she shouted back to him, "How do I know that your promise will be kept?" Aslan's reply? A mighty roar. She was questioning his integrity and honesty. But Aslan himself had no such doubts about that. He would be true to his word. He would sooner die than break his word to anyone, including the witch.

Later that night, Lucy and Susan follow Aslan on his way to make good his word to the witch. They do not yet know what that word is, but learn later just how awful and costly it is, as they see the witch have Aslan tied up and then mock him at his foolishness for thinking that by giving his own life in the traitor's stead he would thus save Edmund's life. The girls hear her say this and at last understand the tremendous sacrifice that Aslan is about to make as they watch hidden in the bushes. Edmund may have been returned, but it was not yet over.

Aslan makes good on his word to take the place of Edmund on the sacrifice at the Stone Table--and the witch makes good on her word to take life there, only it is Aslan's life, not Edmund's. But, of course, this is what she wanted all along anyway. Edmund is small fry; Aslan is the ruler of Narnia. She is delighted to make the exchange. And so the dagger falls and Aslan dies, much to the shock and sorrow of the girls watching from the edge of the ceremony.

"Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs" Mt. 27:55).

Thus Scripture describes another sacrifice, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. How fitting that the Narnia film depicts two other young women, Susan and Lucy, walking part way with Aslan through the night to care for his need of human companionship in the hour of his greatest need.

So Aslan has given his life for Edmund's. as he had promised the witch. Is it now over? No, for Susan knows that back at Aslan's camp Peter and the others are preparing for battle. They must be told of Aslan's death. The battle will not be stopped simply because Aslan has died. That is not enough for the witch. She also wants to take his place as ruler of Narnia and knows that the Narnians will not willingly allow this. So the battle must still go on. No, it is not over yet.

What the witch does not know is that it is not over yet as far as Aslan is concerned, either. For as an earthquake cracks the Stone Table and Susan and Lucy turn around to see what this means, there Aslan appears before them, alive and as good as new. They shout for joy and run to him and hug him. Aslan then gives a brief explanation about why his death was not the end, because beneath the surface laws of Narnia, called the Deep Magic, there is a deeper magic yet that decrees that when a willing victim is sacrificed in place of a traitor, even death itself will be turned backwards.

What a dramatic portrayal of the way it is with the laws of heaven and our God. For God has given us the law by which we are to live our lives. But beneath the surface list of do's and don'ts and right and wrong lies the spirit of the law, which is love.

"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code" (Rom. 7:6).

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:1,2).

"In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4).

The witch understood only the surface nature of the law, a law that granted her certain rights, even if the exercise of those rights brought pain and suffering to the citizens of Narnia. That is part of the nature of free will. What she did not understand was the deeper nature of the law, the nature of love that formed it and thus granted the free will that she so tragically misused for her own purposes and the suffering of Narnians. Yet, no matter how determinedly she clung to these rights of the law, in the end she wound up losing all rights, even the right to life, for in the battle with Peter both of them hear Aslan's mighty roar back to life from death. The witch can say only one word, and that word exactly expresses the sad, meager understanding of life and goodness and love that she has, for that one word is, "Impossible!"

But after seeing Aslan roar mightily from atop that rock outcropping cause her to abandon her cause? Not at all; in fact, she takes up her battle with Peter all the more passionately, knowing that it is now or never, that her time is short.

"Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short" (Rev. 12:12).

Nevertheless, fury alone is not enough to win the battle over that which is all-powerful. Aslan pounces on the witch just in time to save Peter and dispenses with the witch, then turns to Peter and says, "It is finished." Finally! Finally, after all the many false assumptions that it is all taken care of, there is the word of Aslan himself that it is really finished. What relief! What comfort! Susan and Lucy descend from the rock perch to join Peter and rejoice that at last the victory has been won and all is at rest and finished.

But wait. Something is not right. Susan voices the disquieting thought: "Where's Edmund?" They all turn and rush to find Edmund and get there just in time to protect him from the white witch's aide, who is bent on finishing off Edmund, who was fearfully wounded by the witch's magic spear. As he lies there, vulnerable to the aide's raised axe, Susan shoots an arrow and stops the assault on Edmund just in time, saving his life. But he is terribly wounded and Lucy quickly takes out her gift of healing juice and administers it to her brother, thus saving his life. So it is that both sisters save their brother's life.

"And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them" (Acts 19:11,12).

Even though Aslan had pronounced that it was finished, Edmund still almost died. It was finished, as far as the battle was concerned, for the witch was dead. But still the battle raged on until the rest were also taken care of. And along the way, others still died or risked dying, because, for them, at least, it was not yet quite over.

"When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne; they cried out with a loud voice, 'O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?' Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been" (Rev. 6:9-11).

Many are the children of God who have died for him through the ages, while we who are alive today and read this have yet to experience the end of all things for us. For one, the end has come; for the other, the end is yet to be. Not until we too join our Lord in heaven and there receive our crowns can we say finally that it is done. Yet even that is not necessarily the end, for we are told that all the saints will return with Jesus as he comes to this world again to assume his rule and that we shall rule with him. So it is that even after the coronation ceremony at Cair Paravel it is not completely over for the Pevensie children. For years later, after they have grown, they chase a white stag and are suddenly returned to this world. God has yet more for them to do. It is not finished yet.

What are we to say to all this, then? I, for one, am very grateful for this Narnia film that helps portray so many important truths about life with God. Whatever its human defects, there still remain those many portions of this film that speak deeply to the deep truths of Scripture and our walk with God. Each time I watch this film, the Holy Spirit speaks to my heart and spirit and strengthens me in my faith and walk with the One who put on this earth all who participated in the creation of this film, and I thank him for that. I also look forward to that final day when I also leave this world for another and I hear my Father say to me, "It is finished."

"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master'" (Mt. 25:21).

BOOKS ARE OPENED: The Terror of the Last Judgment

BOOKS ARE OPENED: THE LAST DAY

God keeps records--of everything. Nothing is too small to escape his notice. Every hair on our heads is numbered (Mt. 10:30), so too, every star (Psalm 147:4). Nothing is too big or too small. God keeps track of all he has created--especially the most important of his creation, the human soul:

"The Lord knows those who are his" (2 Tim. 2:19).

But how does God know this? How can God tell whether or not a person really believes in him and his Son in his heart? He can tell because God can see what is in a person's heart:

"I am he who searches mind and heart" (Rev. 2:23).

There is a barrier between human beings. One person cannot see into another's heart, and, being sinful beings, we should be glad that this is so. Nevertheless, often we sigh at our inability to share at least part of our heart with others because of this barrier between us.

"Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy" (Prov. 14:10).

This is both a blessing and a curse: a blessing when we would rather not have someone else see the sin and human weakness in our heart, but a curse when we ache to have someone else help relieve our sorrow or share our joy but are unable to communicate our heart's condition to them fully. All this because no human being can see the human heart the way God does. He knows and sees the deepest depths of every human heart.

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb. 4:13).

God does this through his Holy Spirit.

"The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him?" (1 Cor. 2:10,11).

This answers the how of God's ability to know what is in a person's heart" He knows it by the Spirit's searching ability of each human heart. What the Spirit sees there tells Him who is his and who is not.

Now, to a degree, those who belong to God can see at least something of this same thing, and even worldly people have to a greater or lesser degree this same ability, for we are all made in the image of God and all human beings are made for relationships with each other and with God, and these relationships function through our spirit's ability to discern what the other person is like. This is what makes human relationships so dynamic and alive.

"The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out" (Prov. 20:5).

"A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him" (Prov. 28:11).

Nevertheless, no matter how adept a person may become at reading another person's character and heart, such skill is still limited and faulty:

"We see but a poor reflection as in a mirror" (1 Cor. 13:12).

Among all human beings who have ever lived, only Jesus was able to use this gift from God without limitation, for he is God in his fullness (Col. 1:19).

"Jesus . . . knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man" (Jn. 2:24,25).

We do not yet have the fullness of this gift. But we shall. In fact, every person, every human being, will one day see what is in every person's heart, completely and totally. There will be no more barrier between human hearts, no more hidden secrets. All will be exposed; every hidden thing of every human heart will be revealed for all to see:

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Cor. 13:12).

"There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known" (Mt. 10:26).

Nothing will be hidden in heaven or hell. The true nature of every being, his work and his life and being, will be revealed for all to see; that work "will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames" (1 Cor. 3:13-15).

Fire is a painful purifier. How horrible for a person to have to have his heart's true nature be revealed by fire at the Last Judgment, when God has provided a much better way to have purification of the heart performed before that great day: through the gentle washing of the sinful heart through the water of baptism and regeneration in Jesus Christ and his Spirit:

"He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:5,6).

Fire or water. The choice is ours. Either way, all will have their hearts revealed. The book that is the person's heart will be opened:

"And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books" (Rev. 20:12).

"If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15).

God keeps track of everything. All that we do is recorded in his books, and at the end, those books are opened, the book of our heart, where all is recorded, is revealed.

In his suffering, Job cried out for a record of that suffering:

"Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever!" (Job 19:2).

That heartfelt prayer of Job's has been answered. It has been answered for all of us. Not a single word we ever speak passes unnoticed by God.

"Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned" (Mt. 12:36,37).

Where does all this recording of our words and deeds and even thoughts take place? Where is this book of God wherein are recorded all that we ever think, say, and do? It is the heart. That is where the real person we are resides; that is where the book of our lives is being written:

"You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor. 3:2,3).

In the Last Judgment, all God has to do to open the record book of each person's life is to remove the barrier that previously hid each person's heart from every other person's view. This will be done, as has already been noted here from Scripture passages about this great revealing. What an awesome thought and reality this is! So awesome that it is worth repeating that sobering Scripture passage again here:

""And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books" (Rev. 20:12).

"If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15).

This last verse in particular is frightening and sobering. For just as we are writing a book with our lives, each day penning a new chapter as we go about our daily activities, so too is God writing a book, a huge book containing a narrative of all the lives of all the people who have ever lived or ever will. But he writes that book differently than we do. We write our own book, the book of our lives, by living out what is in our heart each day, doing good or evil deeds and honoring or dishonoring our Father and Creator. God writes his book by incorporating our lives/books into his. But God is holy and only those who have cleansed their lives of sin through belief in his Son and whose hearts have been cleansed by his blood shed for them on the cross are worthy of being added to this book. Those who refuse the cleansing possible only through the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, are deemed unworthy to be added to that book of life and are discarded:

"Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book" (Exodus 32:33).

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats" (Mt. 25:31,32).

This is the Great Judgment of all souls. As evidence in that judgment, books will be opened that have indelibly recorded each person's life and heart. This is without a doubt the most awesome event in each person's life, the final dispensation of one's soul for all eternity. So serious and awesome is it that it behooves every person reading this to consider the following question with all honesty and with all his or her heart. I ask you, concerning God's great book of life:

Friend--is your name in that book?

Why They Just Don't Get It

WHY THEY JUST DON'T GET IT

The ability to see reality accurately and interact with it in an appropriate and functional way, in accord with its true essence--that is a gift possessed only by those in Christ. Only believers in him have a right perception and conception of reality.

That is a strong statement but it is a truth fully confirmed by the Bible and stated or implied in many passages. Some of those passages will be referenced later here, but first it should be noted that there is no room for boasting by anyone about the possession of this ability to see reality as it really is, for Scripture plainly states that this basic necessity of life is freely available to all human beings; it's just that many do not like what this freely available vision shows them, and so they rebel against what they see in reality. Scripture calls them "men who suppress the truth" (Rom. 1:18). They know the truth, but suppress this knowledge because it is not to their liking, especially the truth that there is a God who created them for his own purposes and pleasure and that they are thus not their own (1 Cor. 6:18).

Thus we must distinguish between knowing the truth and reacting to it, either by accepting it as what it is, the truth, or suppressing it instead and preferring a fantasy and unreality. And in case you think that no one would really do this, that is, refuse to accept reality and choose a false reality of one's own imagination--listen to these words of a group of people who did this very thing:

"These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, 'See no more visions!' and to the prophets, 'Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!'" (Isaiah 30:9-11).

It is not just spiritual reality that people reject for false religion of their own making; such rebellion against reality is found in every sphere of life. Alcoholics seek escape from a painful reality; drug addicts not only seek to escape the true reality but seek to create one of their own. It is bad enough when an individual chooses either of these false realities; it is much worse when dictatorial political systems seek to force others to submit to their own false realities as well. But in all such cases, there is always a rejection of the one true reality that God has created. They all come down to the root cause of man not wanting to submit to God, the source of reality.

Romans 1:20 says that the natural, created world clearly shows God's nature in nature and that a person can understand what he there sees as a clear indicator of the true nature of reality. Therefore, there is no excuse, as that passage truthfully declares, for not understanding. If one fails to live in accord with this readily perceived and easily understood reality, then it is because that person deliberately chooses not to see, not to understand, and God is justified in being angry at such blatant rebellion against the truth (Rom. 1:18).

The consequences for suppressing the truth are severe. Rom. 1:21 says that those who do this have "their thinking (become) futile and their foolish hearts . . . darkened." What is worse, they do not even see this horrible degradation of their mind and reasoning abilities. In fact, they become so removed from reality that they think themselves wise when they are, in fact, fools.

This degradation extends beyond the mind, however. Having a deliberate mindset against the truth of reality as revealed by God in nature and Scripture leads inevitably to depravity of the body as well as the mind (Rom. 1:28). So great is this fall from reality that they even rejoice in and approve of vile and filthy habits and deeds, and it takes three whole verses simply to list just some of the depraved sins that come about because of this stubborn refusal to bow to reality (Rom. 1:29-31).

Bodily deeds flow from the mind's thoughts. If the mind is darkened, deceived, and out of step with reality, the body too will become against the natural state of reality, into an unnatural state. Thus all kinds of depraved and unnatural acts come to be (Rom. 1:24-27).

All this unnatural conduct is a natural consequence or result of a mind that is unnaturally against the truth of reality. Their thinking becomes futile (Rom. 1:21), which leads to their hearts (morality) becoming futile and darkened also (also v. 21). Thus they become so out of step with reality that they even think that what is unnatural is natural and that it is alright to do these horrible things:

"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them" (Rom. 1:32).

God is fully justified in being angry at this upside-down perversion of his created order, as he warns those who take pleasure in perverting what he has created:

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness" (Isaiah 5:20).

God has given laws of conduct for human living, and those who follow those laws find that they are a protection from his wrath and from the folly of a blunted mind. But that protection is removed when a person steps out from under the protective covering of the law; then they are susceptible to depraved acts that stem from a depraved mind.

"Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done" (Rom. 1:28).

A number of important points need to be recognized here. First, notice that it is not that these rebels do not know that these things they do are evil. Verses 18-20, already reviewed, point this out clearly. They do know; it is all plain to everyone who wants to see. Therefore, as that section from Romans one concludes, they are without excuse (v. 20).

Secondly, we see that knowledge alone is not enough; knowing the truth is not enough: One must love the truth. But if there is no love for the truth, then it is easy to find some other way to serve as a basis for the one way God has provided for us to live a sane and productive life. That one way is in his Son, Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus himself said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life . . . " (Jn. 14:6).

There are myriad ways that a person can suppress this universal knowledge of the truth, but they all come down to one: wickedness.

" . . .men who suppress the truth by their wickedness" (Rom. 1:18).

Evil deeds dull the mind, and the more the body engages in evil deeds and wickedness, the duller the mind becomes until the evildoer's life is totally bankrupt morally and the mind completely futile in its thinking (Eph. 4:17).

"They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts" (Eph. 4:18).

Here is seen that the entire process of degradation and depravity works both ways. Not only does rejecting and suppressing the knowledge of the truth in one's mind lead the body into ever greater sin and depravity; greater indulgence in sin leads to deepening darkness of mind. It is a vicious circle and downward spiral:

"God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path" (Eccl. 7:29 NLT).

"Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more" (Eph. 4:19).

The connection between ignorance of this truth about not being able to see reality when it is so plainly revealed to us and the cycle of ever-increasing inability to see it, is further declared in Peter's words of warning to "not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. (1 Ptr. 1:14). He says further that these sinful desires "war against your soul" (1 Ptr. 2:11). Later, Peter again stresses the ignorance that this rebellion engenders, saying that "it is God's will that by going good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men" (1 Ptr. 2:15).

Notice that Peter does not recommend arguing with those who are living in ignorance of the most basic fundamentals of reality by their ungodly lives. He does not say to battle words with words but with deeds. Talk is cheap; a life living out the truth is costly--and powerful refutation to those who have only words and who twist the meaning of words to justify their ignorant view of reality.

Peter builds on this concept by telling wives that if their "unbelieving husbands do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when the see the purity and reverence of your lives" (1 Ptr. 3:12).

In his second letter, Peter further confirms that evil desires cause the corruption seen in the world (2 Ptr. 1:4). The blindness and inability of a darkened world to see its own miserable condition is again contrasted to the light of the knowledge of Christ, calling it "a light shining in a dark place" (2 Ptr. 1:19).

Just how dark the lost souls of a lost world are is seen by Peter's description of them as men who blaspheme in matters they do not understand (2 Ptr. 2:12). This same ignorance of reality was seen when men killed Jesus, the very Son of God, the God of glory:

"None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:8).

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14).

It is of the utmost importance that we have the Spirit of God, for without him, we cannot understand reality. This being so, the supreme question then becomes, "How do I obtain the Spirit of God?" It can be done in one way only: through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way . . . (Jn. 14:6).

There is no other way. If one does not have Jesus, that person does not have the Spirit of God within him and he will not be able to understand reality, because all of reality stems from God, the highest expression of that reality. But if you have Jesus, who is God, you have that Spirit of God:

"He who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17).

Having this Spirit of God is necessary both for physical life and spiritual life. Unfortunately, most people in the world receive only the physical life and they settle for that, when they could have the even greater spiritual life that God offers to all in his Son, Jesus Christ.

"As you do not know the path of the wind, or how a body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things" (Eccl. 11:5).

Those without the Spirit of God understand the physical process of human procreation (to an extent), but this knowledge is to their detriment, as they turn this blessing from God into a curse that destroys them in their lust to pursue this blessing from God on their own terms:

"They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only sovereign Lord" (Jude 4).

"These men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals--these are the very things that destroy them" (Jude 10).

Yet, such people could have the dual gifts of the Spirit, physical life and spiritual life as well, if they wanted to, instead of settling only for the physical. For God freely offers this to all and provides the Spirit to all who will accept him in Christ. Then they can have the fullness of life (Jn. 10:10) that Jesus came to bring them.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness" (2 Ptr. 1:3).

God has provided, yes, but too often people, even his own people, try to appropriate what he has provided in their own way instead of submitting to his ways. In Numbers, chapter 14, God's people are told to go into the promised land, God's provision for them. But they are frightened by the reports of giants there, so they refuse and desire to return to slavery in Egypt instead, where, at least, they think, they are safe. But, by allegory, there is no safety in slavery to sin, only a false and deceptive peace, for the enemy ceases attacking then only because they are already in his camp, already captured by him; they are safely his, not God's.

So God is rightfully angry with such for refusing his provisions for them and not trusting him to take care of them. Instead, they want Egyptians, their slave masters, to provide for them, for then they can see and feel and taste what is provided for them, in contrast to God's promises to provide for their souls, spirits, and bodies.

This is a crucial lesson that we who live in these last days of earth need to recognize and appropriate unto ourselves. For Scripture warns us that in the end, the times will be very bad, with devastation wracking the earth, and food and other necessities of life in very short supply. Who will we trust and look to then for providing these things so necessary to life? Many, many in the world will fall for the coming man who would be ruler of the world, because he will indeed provide food and a plentiful supply of cheap goods for these devastated people all over the world. It will be a great temptation then, just as it was ages ago for the ancient Hebrews, to allow our bodily desires to govern our lives instead of trusting the Spirit of God to enable us to rise above such basic concerns. For Jesus said:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Mt. 6:25-34).

"Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe'" (Jn. 6:35,36).

Again and again, we see Scripture declare that seeing is not believing. God reveals himself to all in his grand creation of the universe and Nature, yet man refuses to see and believe because he does not want to submit to God as the Lord of that creation, nor believe in the words of Jesus that he will provide both physical and spiritual bread in the world in the last dark days. He himself is that bread (Jn. 6:35). We have his word on that.

But that is not enough for some. In a word, they have no faith in the Word, just as the ancient Hebrews had no faith in God's word of promise. They did not believe that what God said would come true. Therefore, God was angry with them for their lack of faith and trust in him, even after all the miraculous provisions he had provided for them in the wilderness.

"That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways'" (Heb. 3:10).

"So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief" (Heb. 3:19).

This is borne out in the account of Numbers 14, for after being told to go in and take possession of the land--God's provision for them--they refused, out of fear and unbelief. Then when God became angry over this, and told them their punishment would be to be sent into the wilderness, they rebelled yet again, by refusing to go into the wilderness and instead, now saying that they would indeed go into the Promised Land!

Do not lightly pass over this extremely important lesson here and fail to recognize what it means. These people became their own god! It is not enough simply to obey God; he must be obeyed and thus worshipped (for obedience is a form of worship) with a right heart and spirit (Jn. 4:24). Jesus illustrated this truth in his parable of the publican and the sinner or tax collector. The publican was proud of his obedience to God and boasted of it to him. And, in truth, he had obeyed all the commandments--except the most important one of all, that of loving the Lord God above all else, with all his heart. Outwardly, he was faultless; but inwardly, where it really counts and where only God can see, he failed.

So too, did the Israelites in the wilderness at the edge of the Promised Land. They were so close to actually being within the Promised Land, just as the publican was, for obedience is really the key to being able to enter. But that obedience must be to all God's commandments, especially that first, all-important one. That is why Jesus said that the work of God that we must do (obey) is to believe in the one he has sent, Jesus Christ. For only in believing in him do we truly obey God's commands.

Jesus himself is our chief example of this, for when he was baptized, Scripture says that immediately he was driven by the Spirit of God into the Wilderness. What? He is God's Son, sent into the world to deliver it from slavery unto sin. Now God tells him to go away from the world into the wilderness? How can he save the world by going away from the world? But that is God's word to him, God's way.

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts'" (Is. 55:8,9).

And so, because Jesus loves his Father with all his heart, he obeys and goes into the wilderness. Here we see that it is not just obedience that is outward, as in the publican, that matters, but obedience from the heart, as in Jesus. This is the kind of obedience God desires. He did not find it in the Israelites of old. They sought to obey God on their own terms, not his. This is not obedience; this is rebellion. Therefore, "they were not able to enter" (Heb. 3:19).

"It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience" (Heb. 4:6).

Hebrews 3:19 says that they were not able to enter because of their unbelief. Hebrews 4:6 says it was because of their disobedience. There is no contradiction here. To believe is to obey, to obey is to believe. The two cannot be separated. That is what the book of James is all about.

This being the case, that in that day of old a whole nation was unable to enter into the promised land, "therefore God again set a certain day, calling it today . . . there remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. . . . Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience" (Heb. 4:6,7,9,11).

It is my urgent plea to all who read this that you will not fall by following the example of disobedience into a land of false reality, but will wholly grasp and cling to the one, true reality that proclaims Jesus Christ as the Creator and Savior of the reality in which we find ourselves, that is, that we are sinners in need of that Savior, who will bring us to the full realization of our need and his supply. If you are presently living in any of the many false realities that are so popular in this world, I urge you to reject them and accept the one true reality, Jesus Christ, by praying this prayer:

God, who created the reality in which I exist, I accept that you have provided a way, one way, in Jesus Christ, for me to participate fully in this one, true reality. Lord Jesus Christ, I surrender to you as the Lord of all reality in general and that reality in particular that is myself. I am a sinner in need of you as my Savior, and I accept you as my Lord and Savior, trusting in what you did on the cross to make me acceptable to God--not anything I can do, for my good deeds are as filthy rags in your holy sight. Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross for me, and I ask you, Holy Spirit, to cause me to grow in this new faith in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

Three Questions You Must Answer Before You Die

Three Questions You Must Answer Before You Die

There are three vital questions every human being must answer before he or she dies, or else be found a fool:

1. Where did I come from? (the question of origins--the past).
2. Why am I here? (the question of purpose--the present).
3. Where am I going? (the question of destiny--the future).

The Word of God, the Bible, answers all three of these crucial questions in plain and easily understood language. This is because God wants us to know the answers, because knowing the answer to each of these questions is vital to our fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.

1. Where did I come from (the question of origins--the past).
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).

"You created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Rev. 4:11).

From the first book of the Bible to the last, God makes it clear that he is the source of all that exists. The Genesis passage states, in the plainest of language, the source and origin of the universe. It does not answer the question of where I came from, except in a general sense in that I am part of the universe. For a more specific answer to my own unique existence, other passages of Scripture must be consulted.

"You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb" (Ps. 139:13).

"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Ps. 139:16).

"Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Mt. 10:30).

All these verses show that I am created by God and that he knows me intimately and personally. This is a far cry from the impersonal and mechanistic deception of evolution. That falsehood says that I am a product of chance. The Bible says that I was created by a living and personal God.

2. Why am I here? (the question of purpose--the present).

But there must be more to life than mere existence, or else that existence is a curse and not a blessing. I must know why I was created in order to have purpose and meaning in my life. One of the best and shortest biblical answers to the question of purpose for my existence actually answers the first two questions together.

"All things were created by him and for him" (Col. 1:16).

This verse deserves far more attention than it is commonly given. The by tells us how we came to be; the for tells us why. Here in just a few short words, we have God's plainly revealed answer to two of the most important questions that every human being needs to answer before dying, in order to live a full and rich life: We were created by Jesus and for Jesus.

Some people desperately search their whole lives to learn this truth that is simply and plainly stated in this one verse from the Bible. How grateful we should be that God makes it so easy for us to know what we need to know! If someone, then, should ask us why we exist or what the purpose of our existence is, we can answer in a single word, one name: Just say, "Jesus".

Other Scriptures confirm this central truth about our existence:

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 Jn.3:1".

"Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, 'I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.' And again, 'I will put my trust in him.' And again he says, 'Here am I, and the children God has given me' (Heb. 2:11-13).

We who believe in Jesus are children of God and brothers of Jesus, the Son of God. We were created for this very reason, that he might have brothers and sisters and that the Father would thus have many more children. We were created to be children of our loving heavenly Father.

3. Where am I going? (the question of destiny--the future).

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (Jn. 14:1-3).

"We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words" (1 Ths. 4:17,18).

These are indeed encouraging words for us who believe in Jesus, who will return to this earth to take us to be with him and the Father forever. But this is only for those who have indeed surrendered their very souls to Jesus. Those who have not have a very different destiny:

"Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life" (Mt. 25:41-46).

In answering a very deep and very complex question about the eternal destiny of human souls, the Bible, once again, is very clear and cuts away the excess verbiage of human answers to the question by giving just two words: heaven or hell. If we want to know which of these two places will be our dwelling place for all eternity, all we have to do is answer one question: Do I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, surrender my very soul to him, trust what he did on the cross to save me and get my soul to heaven? Then I will go to heaven. If not, I will go to hell.

I love how God gives simple, easily understood answers to these three complicated, complex questions of life. In fact, all that has been said above can be reduced down even further to a single word, one name: Jesus. If that is done, here is how the three answers God gives us in the Bible to the questions can be stated:

1. Where did I come from? (the question of origins--the past).
Answer: Jesus.
2. Why am I here? (the question of purpose--the present).
Answer: Jesus.
3. Where am I going? (the question of destiny--the future).
Answer: Jesus (either for judgment and hell or salvation and heaven).

This is a wonderful and gracious gift from God to us, and I thank and praise him for giving such precious knowledge to us.