A Hug...or is Something Else Needed?

I love being nice. In fact it has been one of my trademarks. Sweet encouraging words and hugs to lift the soul are never far from my heart. Over the years I have gotten comments like, "You are the sweetest person I have ever known.", "You always know the right thing to say.", "Why are you so nice?" I hope that the Lord has used some of this "niceness" to draw others to him but I have recently realized that my niceness has been out of place. It has been offered out of a competing love for the Lord and the world that has left me with niceness. Why niceness? Because it allows me to extend love even when undeserved out of love for the Lord without costing me the worlds love. Niceness is an idol in my life. Jesus never offered a hug when something else was needed. Given that I am unaware of the word "hug" being used in the Bible let me reword it this way, Jesus never offered sweetness at the expense of truth. God said this through the prophet Jeremiah, "Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, 'As the Lord lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord." Jesus has come but he is God and God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God does not take sin lightly and he goes to great lengths to move us to repentance, but if as his people we are not speaking truth, and people remain ignorant of the coming destruction, then we are not only not loving we are in fact condemning them in the truest sense of the word. If in light of sin I adopt our cultures words and say "Its alright, everyone makes mistakes." Then I am prizing my comfort above their need for truth. God is love and his love is always extend but it is extended in life saving truth not in face saving pleasantries. Jesus came to save all people but it never looked the same. He appraised the situation and offered what was needed not what was wanted. For the adulterous women he saved her from stoning but told her "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." (John 8:11). For the repentant Canaanite women who was rejected by the disciples but declared Jesus her master Jesus replied, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." (Matthew 15:28). To the rich young ruler who had dedicated himself to following the law Jesus said, "If you would be perfect, go sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Matthew 19:21). To the pharisees Jesus said, "Now you pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you." (Luke 11:39-41). And to the money-changers who defiled the temple Jesus "entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, 'It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers." (Matthew 21:12-13). Jesus' desire was for the salvation of these men and yet he did not have a "nice" response to their sin. For each of these people the purpose of his response was to lead them to repentance, to offer them life to the full, to offer them eternity with him. Yet, his responses were bold and required a response from the people they were addressed to. This is the type of love that Jesus spoke of. This is the type of love that he exemplified. And this is the type of love that we are called to. May the Lord forgive me for the times I have offered a hug when something else was needed, and may he give us the strength to speak the truth in love no matter the cost.

Freedom in the Fear of the Lord

I have been reading through Jeremiah and today was amazed at how much the Lord pleads Truth on our behalf. I know that context can illuminate scripture but the Lord has also been reminding me that his word is eternal and in being so it is as applicable today as it was when it was written. In Jeremiah 10 the Lord pleads with his people to acknowledge the emptiness of idols. Here is some of what he says:

"Do not fear them for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good." V. 5

"They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!" V.8

"They are worthless, a work of delusion." V.15

As I read this I began to think about the cultural application for us and wondered what the Lord would put in place of wood and silver and gold. Our idols are made by a different kind of craftsmen but they fill our culture. They are made of steel with racing strips. They are towering homes of brick. They are seemingly infinite combinations of liquid anesthetic. They are pills that promise deliverance from our problems. They are other people eager for 5 minutes of fulfillment. They are boxes that promise hours of mental relaxation. They are anything that we are tempted to find our security in believing it to be more concrete than the promises and presence of the living God. Here is what he says about himself:

"But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting king! At his wrath the Earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation." V.10

"It is he who made the Earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the Earth. He makes lightening for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouse!" V. 12-13

There is none like the Lord! There is much in this world that promises deliverance at the cost of our standards and leaves emptiness where the Lord desires fulfillment. There is much that promises security for the price of compromise and delivers desperation. But the Lord is in control of all things and though it may seem that our compromise escapes his attention scripture assures us that it does not. God is love and he is holy. I want to learn to live in awareness of both truths. In his great mercy as I learn to live by his word, the fulfillment of his presence in my life offers strength to turn down more idols that offer counterfeit security. The Lord's heart is only for our good! May we learn and understand the freedom and joy that comes from the fear of the Lord.