Thought for Today
1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
1 Kings 12:19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
Matthew 12:25 "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
Ephesians 4:9 (When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?
I probably do not need to remind anyone that we are in Lent. We are symbolically, metaphorically journeying with Jesus toward Golgotha. We will hear a lot these next few weeks about Jesus’ death on the Cross and about our own salvation being assured by our faith. That is all good; we probably benefit from those reminders.
During Lent, it is almost inevitable that ministers will be asked some variation of “Will ____ get into heaven?” The question may be about an individual, a political party or candidate, an ethnicity, or about some other nation or political system. When asked, my initial response is to explain that not only I am not the arbiter of who gets in and who doesn’t, I don’t want the job. I am thankful for our Creator God, the God who looks on the heart. Only God can truly see into our hearts. We can only listen to what people say, observe how people act and question whether those words and actions illustrate how they understand "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
My focus, during Lent and during the rest of the year, is on my own salvation. Will I get into heaven? And, I remember the words of the apostle Paul, “Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—” To paraphrase something we have probably all heard, ‘when I get to heaven, it’s not so much who I will be surprised to see there but rather who will be surprised to see me there.’
Last night, during a meeting where the group was about to vote on something, we were reminded that this year we will be called on to vote on many things of importance. Some should require time and thought, maybe serious debate before we vote. The thing we were voting on last night was not one of those things.
This is an election year in the U.S.A. We will be called upon to make serious choices. As I recently wrote, ‘all choices have consequences.’ If you have listened carefully (or even if you have not), you may have heard mention of the fact that we are a nation divided. Elections over the last few decades suggest we are a nation almost evenly divided . . . on almost every issue of importance.
I will not tell anyone how they should vote on any particular issue. I will tell everyone that we must vote, we must make choices. But I remind everyone, we must not vilify those with whom we do not agree. I know good Christians, faithful followers of Jesus, who are “on the other side.” I have definite opinions on pretty much everything. Some are the result of careful thought and consideration. Some probably more reflect the times and prejudices of my youth. Some are cerebral, some are mere instinct. Not all my friends and acquaintances agree with my opinions. And, that’s okay. They are still my friends.
God has gifted humanity with free will. I am reminded that it’s not free will unless we are able to make the wrong choice. Thankfully, however, our God is the God of second chances. When we choose poorly, when we make the wrong choices, we always must live with and deal with the consequences of our choices. But, scripture suggests we will always have one last chance for our eternal salvation. The Apostles’ Creed states of Jesus, in part, “He descended into Hell.” Paul wrote about Jesus’ descent to the Ephesians. Many scholars believe the purpose of that descent was to offer one last chance for salvation to all those who had chosen poorly in life.
Christians are called to live in the world. That means Christians are called to participate, in life, in politics and church. Some of us will not always make the right choices. But, if we participate, and if we accept God’s gift of grace, our salvation is assured . . . even for those who disagree with me . . . or with you.
Stay safe, pray about your choices, trust God,
Pastor Ray