When the fornicator becomes chaste, when the covetous person becomes merciful, when the harsh become subdued, a resurrection has taken place, a prelude to the final resurrection which is to come. How is it resurrection? It is a resurrection because sin has been mortified, and righteousness has risen in its place; the old life has passed away, and new, angelic life is now being lived.
The love of money, the slavery to wrong desires, and any sin whatsoever, makes us grow old in soul and body. Our souls become rheumatic, distorted, decayed, and tottering with many sins. Such, then, are the souls of sinners. Not so those of the righteous, for they are youthful and strong, always in the prime of life, ready for any fight. Not so for the sinners, for they are subject to fall at the least resistance. The sinful lose their ability to see, to hear, and to speak, for they spew forth words that are foul.
When the prodigal [son] was willing, he became suddenly young by his decision.
How am I to go back [to God] again? Start by avoiding vice, going no farther into it, and you will have come home. When a person who is sick does not get any worse it is a sign that he is getting better, and so is the case with vice. God not further and your deeds of wickedness will have an end.
God is not so well pleased with being our Master as he is with being our Father; he is not so pleased with our being slaves as he is with our being children This is what God truly wants.
God's exceeding desire to be loved comes from loving exceedingly.
What is there to fear? Losing all your money? If you bear it nobly, it will be as great a reward to you as if you gave it all to the poor - as long as you freely lose it because you know you have a greater reward in heaven. What else is there to fear? Having people revile and persecute you? If so, those people have weaved a great crown for you if you bear it meekly. Rejoice and be glad, Jesus said, when people speak evil against you falsely, for great is your reward in heaven. And even if they speak the truth against us, it is to our advantage if we bear it humbly, just as the Pharisee spoke rightly about the publican, but only the publican went home because he bore it in humility.
If we were suddenly aware of a serpent nestling in our bed, we would go to great lengths to kill it. But when the devil nestles in our souls, we tell ourselves we are in no danger, and thus we lie at ease. Why? Because we do not see him and his intent with your mortal eyes. (pp. 309-312)
While [the prodigal son] was still far off, the father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. (Luke 15)Sometimes I am lazy. I use a spoon or knife as a screwdriver. Or I use the end of a screwdriver as a hammer. Or I use pliers instead of a wrench. It just seems too difficult to go and locate the right tool for the right job. While some improvisation can be innovative, I usually end up breaking something or hurting myself.
Sometimes I am lazy with my family. I use condemnation instead of encouragement. I point out other people's problems most often when they are my own problems as well instead of showing mercy. I try to give good advice instead of listening for what is needed. Again, I find the wrong tools for job and I break things and people get hurt.
The Bible is a tool notorious for misuse. I am tempted to pull it out on the wrong occasions. I use it to prove how right I am instead of how good God is. I use it to point out other people's sins and shortcomings rather than reveal my own need for a Deliverer. I treat it like a contract instead of an ongoing conversation. The main purpose of the Bible is as Chrysostom says, to make me dead to sin and alive to God. (Romans 6:10) For this reason, I need to be immersed in it as I am in the presence of God.
Dead to sin? I like the picture of sin creating soul-decay. The part of me that holds me together as a unified whole - my soul - becomes frayed and eventually ruined by sin. And so, as with the body, I start to fall apart. How do I fight this disease? Simply, do not get sicker, and I will get better. This takes into account the basic truth of sin: sin kills. If I am getting better, then sin is losing its foothold. The focus is on spiritual health and vitality, not on how much sin can I stand before I really fall apart. I am tempted to remain a little sick, but it shows through under stress or when I am attempting to follow Christ. With sin-sickness, I am quickly winded and giving up.
The one who encourages sin is like that snake in the bed. There is no compromise. There is no "managing" or "coping." Simply sin and its accomplices must die. Getting better is at the heart of killing sin.
Getting better is going back. The very decision to return to the Father will bring hope and vitality. The picture that Jesus wants us to have is of a father longing for a son, not a judge gathering a jury. Perhaps the journey back begins as obligation to a master, but when I draw near, I find that really I am responding to the love of a parent.
Fear hangs over the image of a master waiting for a slave. That is where the prodigal son started. Even with that image, the son realized that his treatment under such a father would be better than the treatment he was now receiving in his runaway status. I see that even a God as judge and master has more appeal than the cruel treatment of sin form my flesh, the devil, and the world. My fear is what I may lose: money or reputation, for instance. I am encouraged by the idea that if I lose them well, they will assist me in drawing close to God and living in his love and power.
This fear is unfounded, though. What I find is not a master or a judge, but a father. This father does not wait for me to make my way back, but comes to me while I am still far off. This is the story of grace: I turn and God is there. I am never far from him because of his mercy and grace.
Lord,
I am always going into the far country,
and always returning home as a prodigal,
always saying, Father, forgive me,
and thou art always bringing forth the best robe.
Every morning let me wear it,
every evening return in it,
go out to the day's work in it,
be married in it,
be wound in death in it,
stand before the great white throne in it,
enter heaven in it shining as the sun.
Amen.
(The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan Prayers &Devotions)
The Bible is then the light and the trumpet that makes me turn around and go home. It shows the darkness of the world's night and the dawn of God's goodness and grace. It shows the sickness of sin and the healing of Jesus hands in my life. I announces the futility of living on my own for myself and whispers the call of family and home in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I want to not be lazy and use it incorrectly, but let it be a light, a medicine, and good news in the hand of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment