There are many computer games where if you fail you just start over. You get a fresh and new attempt. In some computer games, you the player are not given the information you need to succeed. The idea is that you fail multiple times and start over. But each time you fail you learn something that you can apply in the future, and hopefully succeed.
I lack the eye-hand coordination for action games on computers. And in general I don’t find computer games to be all that fulfilling. But years ago there was a popular computer game I actually liked. It was called Civilization. I know it is still available but I haven’t played it in years.
The game starts off with the computer creating a world with land, oceans, rivers, mountains, forests, swamps and the like. The player is the leader of a civilization. The computer plops you somewhere in this world. It is your job to develop the civilization by building cities and infrastructure, by making scientific discoveries, and by managing resources. As you do this there are also several other civilizations that are forming. All the civilizations are competing. There are wars and conquests, trade, scientific advancement, and the economy to manage. Resources may fail or be captured. The ultimate goal is to rule the world. The competitors were usually pretty ruthless. If at the beginning you find that the computer has located you on a tiny island, or in a swamp, or someplace too inhospitable, you’re going to have a rough time of it. You just won’t develop fast enough and some other civilization with conquer you. If you realize it’s a hopeless case, or you can tell that your demise is immanent, you can just quit. You erase the game and start over.
I never got very good at the game. I never managed to win at the difficult levels. To the extent that the game is realistic I guess that means I’d make a poor leader of a civilization! My point though, is that you could just quit and start over with a clean slate. All the old mistakes were wiped away and you could start fresh and new.
It would be nice if real life were the same way. It would be nice if life gave you a number of “do-overs”. Perhaps you made a mistake, or you tried something that failed, and you wish you could just easily erase it and begin again; this time hopefully wiser.
But life isn’t often that way. Most of the time you’re stuck with dealing with your own messes. Actions have consequences after all. It may take a long time to recover from some things.
But sometimes life does give you a chance at a fresh start. Many people emigrating to America feel that way. America itself felt that way in its early decades. It was a new country in a new land with a new form of government. Its leaders wanted to learn from the mistakes of Europe and keep the place good and pure. It was a wonderful desire. But humans being humans, we did what we always do. We make a mess of things.
I believe the Jewish people that we read about in Ezra 3 felt like they had a clean slate to make a new beginning. You’ll remember from last week that early in the 6th century B.C. the Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem and destroyed it. They had taken many of the leading Jewish citizens to live in exile in Babylon. Many of the Jews enculturated to Babylon. But many held fast to their faith and distinct identity. When the Babylonian empire collapsed quite quickly about 50 years later, the new rulers, the Persians, allowed Jews to return and rebuild if they wanted. So last week we read about the first wave packing up and heading back to their homeland.
This week the story picks up with their arrival and initial resettlement. It must be said that the book of Ezra gives an idealized view of how things went. Other biblical books, like Haggai, say that there were actually a lot of major problems. So, let’s remember that while Ezra is a fairly reliable historical source, it isn’t giving the whole picture of the problems. It’s just telling the successes.
One of the first things they do is to reestablish the religious rituals at the altar. When the Babylonians burnt Jerusalem and knocked over its walls and buildings, they didn’t absolutely destroy everything. Quite likely the massive altar outside the temple sustained little damage. It probably didn’t take a whole lot of work to get it operating again. So we learn that the daily sacrifices and holiday rituals are quickly resumed. The fresh start is happening! They have learned from their mistakes. This time they will be a more faithful people in both heart and action.
Ezra does tell us that there were threats to what they were doing. The neighboring peoples were not pleased, but the Jews felt that God would protect them if they quickly returned to doing the right things.
Then with the altar functioning it was time to turn to the temple. Who knows what shape the remnant of the temple was in. The foundation was probably still there, but it needed to be cleared and repaired. As we read, Ezra 3 tells us there was both loud cheering and loud lamentation from the people as the work on the temple began again.
That’s where we leave the story for this week. Next week we’re going to find that the construction of the temple runs into serious problems, but that’s for next week. We’re just sticking with what we learn from Ezra 3.
Ezra 3 really is a story of hope and opportunity. God was giving them a chance to start again. They were committed to being good and living the right way.
If you’ve had opportunities to start something over in life, at the moment you start over you may be telling yourself that you’re not going to repeat the mistakes of the past. You tell yourself that you’ve learned. Or you tell yourself that you have improved. Perhaps you have committed to being morally better.
I have worked with any number of people over the years who have made a mistake and they are now promising to do better. It’s happened enough that I’ve started telling people that I fully believe that right now they are committed to being better. But time will tell. As time goes by with they truly stay better, or will they slip back into old habits?
Anyone who’s worked through an addiction recovery program knows that recovery is often very very hard. It takes more than just a lot of will power. It’ll probably require separating from old friends and old habits. Old friends and old habits will surely drag you back. It may require a change of job, change of community, and different dynamics with family and friends.
And anyone who has gone through that will probably also talk about setbacks, and many failed attempts. Once in a while I’m here on a Wednesday evening when there are AA meetings. I overhear the conversations and presentations sometimes. Failure is more common than not.
Actions have consequences. Life does not often give us a clean slate to start again. And when we do get to have a new try, we all too easily make mistakes.
Fortunately for us, our God knows how prone to failure we are. We start every worship service with a confession of sins. There’s a good reason for that. It’s about the only dependable uniting thing that we have among us! And so we start worship not by saying, “God, look how good we’ve been. Look how clean and pure we are. We have a right to worship you and have your love.” Instead, we say, “Well God, you forgave us. You gave us a clean slate, but we managed to make a mess of it. Please forgive us and accept our worship.”
If we thought we were sin-free we’d come to God with arrogance and a sense of entitlement. When we come to God knowing that our fears, our self-centered desires, and our tendency to not fully trust God, have bested us again; then we come with honesty and humility.
At this point in Ezra everything seems to be going well. I said earlier that Ezra tends to gloss over the messy bits. But it doesn’t gloss over all of them. Late in the book we’ll meet Ezra himself feeling ashamed before God for the failings of his leadership. Despite a clean slate, it had become messy fast.
Rejoice when life gives you a chance to start again fresh with something. Do your best with it. With wisdom from the past your chances of success have improved significantly.
And also know that as life goes on, the newness gets tarnished, new mistakes are made, and things get complicated. But we repeatedly turn to God for forgiveness, fresh beginnings, and new hope. Those who approach God with humility receive what they seek. God’s forgiveness is abundant. And God’s support is with us always.
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
September 20, 2026 Quiet Guidance Ezra 1
The book is named Ezra, but we don’t meet him in chapter one. Instead, we meet a man very important to Jewish history, but he barely gets any mention. That man is Sheshbazzar.
Sheshbazzar is described as the “prince of Judah.” (Ezra 1:8) We don’t know what that means. Was he truly a prince of some sort? Maybe. Most likely it simply meant that he was the chief or leader. Outside of Ezra 1 the only other time he shows up in scripture is Ezra 5:14. There he is described as a “governor” overseeing the construction of the foundation of the temple. Whatever the case, Sheshbazzar carried a heavy responsibility.
We have to remember back several decades to the time when the Babylonian Empire conquered Jerusalem. That was the year 597. The southern kingdom of Judah was the only remaining remnant of the nation ruled by kings David and Solomon centuries earlier. Several empires and come and gone threatening the tiny nation. It was often a vassal state or puppet kingdom, but it had always managed some bit of independence. It was ruled by a descendent of David and the temple still stood.
But then it was finally conquered by the Babylonians. The didn’t destroy it initially though. They captured the king, King Jehoiachin, and deported him along with the leading citizens to Babylon. They also carried off all the treasures and all the holy vessels and tools used in the temple. Things looked bleak, but the city still stood. The temple still stood. And the Babylonians appointed a new king, who was still in the blood line of David. The prophet Jeremiah encouraged the king and the remaining Jewish people to accept being dominated by the Babylonians. But they didn’t. Ten years later they rebelled. The Babylonian forces returned. And this time they burnt and destroyed the city and its temple. The leader they appointed was not in the line of David.
All was lost. God had promised that there would always be a king in the blood line of David ruling the Jews, and that the temple building would stand forever. Both of those promises had failed.
Now what?
Some Jews remained in the rubble. Many moved to Egypt. Some went to Babylon. I think it is safe to say it was the darkest time in all of Jewish history.
But the prophet Jeremiah had predicted there would be a restoration, that God would raise up a remnant and start again. Jeremiah said they would be subjected to the Babylonians for seventy years.
Jeremiah’s prediction was correct, although his timing was a bit off. It was sixty years later that the vast and powerful Babylonian Empire collapsed. The Persians conquered it. King Cyrus of Persia allows the Jews in exile in Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it. That’s where the book of Ezra begins.
Ezra quotes Cyrus as saying, “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.” (Ezra 1:2) That’s probably more flourish than fact, for Cyrus’ religious views are complex. Elsewhere Cyrus said that Marduk, the god of Babylon, had chosen him and declared him to be ruler of all the world. Whatever the case, Cyrus knew how to establish control across his new empire. If there was a discontent Jewish population exiled in Babylon, and they wanted to return to their homeland, which was also controlled by Cyrus, then he was more than willing to let them do that. Many ancient empires ran that way.
So that brings us to Sheshbazzar. He is charged with leading the Jews who want to return, back to Jerusalem. They can rebuild the city and the temple. Remember those holy temple objects the Babylonians carted off in 597? They are entrusted to Sheshbazzar to take back.
How precious those object must have been to them! They were the only objects linking the past, with all of its promises from God, to the present and future. The temple was gone, but these old artifacts could return to service in the rebuilt temple.
But Sheshbazzar’s task was hardly limited to just that. Jerusalem is 500 miles from Babylon as the crow flies. The normal route of the time is some 900 miles. How do you lead thousands of people and all their belongings safely over such a distance?
We’re not going to read it in worship, but Ezra 2 gives us a list of the families and tribes that returned. I encourage you to read it at home sometime between this week and next. The whole company numbered 42,360. Moving so many is quite a logistical task!
And there are more complications. Not all of the Jews who had been deported to Babylon wanted to return. Remember, they had been there for 60 years. Almost none of the original exiles were still alive. A couple generations had gone by. Though their religious leaders had encouraged them to remain distinct and separate from the Babylonians, many of them had settled in and embraced life in Babylon. There were certainly intermarriages. The name Sheshbazzar is actually not a Jewish name. It is a Babylonian name referring to the god Shamash. How do you lead a people to their homeland and the restoration of their religion when you yourself are named after a foreign god?
So, only those who want to leave their established life in Babylon to return to the barren and abandoned place of Jerusalem actually follow Sheshbazzar on the (probably) 900 mile journey back.
How would you handle that? Would you pick up and leave an established life in order to go on an arduous journey to a barren place, as see it as a religious task? The story in the book of Ezra is one where God works through both national leaders, like King Cyrus of Persia, and the hearts of ordinary people, in order to bring about God’s will. We see this same idea at work in what St. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi centuries later. He wrote, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Said differently, it is God’s inspiration and direction within us, yet also allowing our own freedom, to do God’s work… or not.
Carrying this challenge and promise from God was Sheshbazzar.
Biblical scholar Ralph Klein makes this interesting observation about him:
“Sheshbazzar, the leader of this returning group, was no Moses. Whether appointed by the king or elected by the people, he had achieved leadership and responsibility. He was the person responsible for receiving the temple vessels and carrying them home, and his tasks included initial work on the temple. But Sheshbazzar never makes a speech in the Bible, apparently delivered no law or performed any miracle. We do not even know how his career ended. And yet, without him, would the community in Judah have ever restarted at all? Such nondescript leadership is often significant for the people of God today. Each week Christians gather in congregations across the land, without fanfare or public notice, and then go forth into ministry in daily life to turn the other cheek, to care for the lonely and the marginalized, to forgive as they have been forgiven, to love their enemies.” (New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 3, Pg. 681)
That is what we learn from the work of Sheshbazzar. He had no extraordinary powers. He did nothing new or innovative. He did not try to leave his mark or do anything spectacular. He simply heard the call of God, accepted the enormous task and responsibility, and went steadily forward with it.
I’ve preached this many times before, and Sheshbazzar is another example of it. Do not think you have to be famous, rich, powerful, or remarkable in any way in order for God to do important things through you. It simply takes acceptance and perseverance. As Christians we do not have a literal homeland we have been exiled from, but heaven is our home. We are making the long arduous journey through life. God is at work in us, enabling us to both will and to work for his good pleasure. We want to accept God’s call, even if it is to adventures we do not expect and that call us out of long-established lives, and work for God’s purpose.
Sheshbazzar is described as the “prince of Judah.” (Ezra 1:8) We don’t know what that means. Was he truly a prince of some sort? Maybe. Most likely it simply meant that he was the chief or leader. Outside of Ezra 1 the only other time he shows up in scripture is Ezra 5:14. There he is described as a “governor” overseeing the construction of the foundation of the temple. Whatever the case, Sheshbazzar carried a heavy responsibility.
We have to remember back several decades to the time when the Babylonian Empire conquered Jerusalem. That was the year 597. The southern kingdom of Judah was the only remaining remnant of the nation ruled by kings David and Solomon centuries earlier. Several empires and come and gone threatening the tiny nation. It was often a vassal state or puppet kingdom, but it had always managed some bit of independence. It was ruled by a descendent of David and the temple still stood.
But then it was finally conquered by the Babylonians. The didn’t destroy it initially though. They captured the king, King Jehoiachin, and deported him along with the leading citizens to Babylon. They also carried off all the treasures and all the holy vessels and tools used in the temple. Things looked bleak, but the city still stood. The temple still stood. And the Babylonians appointed a new king, who was still in the blood line of David. The prophet Jeremiah encouraged the king and the remaining Jewish people to accept being dominated by the Babylonians. But they didn’t. Ten years later they rebelled. The Babylonian forces returned. And this time they burnt and destroyed the city and its temple. The leader they appointed was not in the line of David.
All was lost. God had promised that there would always be a king in the blood line of David ruling the Jews, and that the temple building would stand forever. Both of those promises had failed.
Now what?
Some Jews remained in the rubble. Many moved to Egypt. Some went to Babylon. I think it is safe to say it was the darkest time in all of Jewish history.
But the prophet Jeremiah had predicted there would be a restoration, that God would raise up a remnant and start again. Jeremiah said they would be subjected to the Babylonians for seventy years.
Jeremiah’s prediction was correct, although his timing was a bit off. It was sixty years later that the vast and powerful Babylonian Empire collapsed. The Persians conquered it. King Cyrus of Persia allows the Jews in exile in Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it. That’s where the book of Ezra begins.
Ezra quotes Cyrus as saying, “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.” (Ezra 1:2) That’s probably more flourish than fact, for Cyrus’ religious views are complex. Elsewhere Cyrus said that Marduk, the god of Babylon, had chosen him and declared him to be ruler of all the world. Whatever the case, Cyrus knew how to establish control across his new empire. If there was a discontent Jewish population exiled in Babylon, and they wanted to return to their homeland, which was also controlled by Cyrus, then he was more than willing to let them do that. Many ancient empires ran that way.
So that brings us to Sheshbazzar. He is charged with leading the Jews who want to return, back to Jerusalem. They can rebuild the city and the temple. Remember those holy temple objects the Babylonians carted off in 597? They are entrusted to Sheshbazzar to take back.
How precious those object must have been to them! They were the only objects linking the past, with all of its promises from God, to the present and future. The temple was gone, but these old artifacts could return to service in the rebuilt temple.
But Sheshbazzar’s task was hardly limited to just that. Jerusalem is 500 miles from Babylon as the crow flies. The normal route of the time is some 900 miles. How do you lead thousands of people and all their belongings safely over such a distance?
We’re not going to read it in worship, but Ezra 2 gives us a list of the families and tribes that returned. I encourage you to read it at home sometime between this week and next. The whole company numbered 42,360. Moving so many is quite a logistical task!
And there are more complications. Not all of the Jews who had been deported to Babylon wanted to return. Remember, they had been there for 60 years. Almost none of the original exiles were still alive. A couple generations had gone by. Though their religious leaders had encouraged them to remain distinct and separate from the Babylonians, many of them had settled in and embraced life in Babylon. There were certainly intermarriages. The name Sheshbazzar is actually not a Jewish name. It is a Babylonian name referring to the god Shamash. How do you lead a people to their homeland and the restoration of their religion when you yourself are named after a foreign god?
So, only those who want to leave their established life in Babylon to return to the barren and abandoned place of Jerusalem actually follow Sheshbazzar on the (probably) 900 mile journey back.
How would you handle that? Would you pick up and leave an established life in order to go on an arduous journey to a barren place, as see it as a religious task? The story in the book of Ezra is one where God works through both national leaders, like King Cyrus of Persia, and the hearts of ordinary people, in order to bring about God’s will. We see this same idea at work in what St. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi centuries later. He wrote, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Said differently, it is God’s inspiration and direction within us, yet also allowing our own freedom, to do God’s work… or not.
Carrying this challenge and promise from God was Sheshbazzar.
Biblical scholar Ralph Klein makes this interesting observation about him:
“Sheshbazzar, the leader of this returning group, was no Moses. Whether appointed by the king or elected by the people, he had achieved leadership and responsibility. He was the person responsible for receiving the temple vessels and carrying them home, and his tasks included initial work on the temple. But Sheshbazzar never makes a speech in the Bible, apparently delivered no law or performed any miracle. We do not even know how his career ended. And yet, without him, would the community in Judah have ever restarted at all? Such nondescript leadership is often significant for the people of God today. Each week Christians gather in congregations across the land, without fanfare or public notice, and then go forth into ministry in daily life to turn the other cheek, to care for the lonely and the marginalized, to forgive as they have been forgiven, to love their enemies.” (New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 3, Pg. 681)
That is what we learn from the work of Sheshbazzar. He had no extraordinary powers. He did nothing new or innovative. He did not try to leave his mark or do anything spectacular. He simply heard the call of God, accepted the enormous task and responsibility, and went steadily forward with it.
I’ve preached this many times before, and Sheshbazzar is another example of it. Do not think you have to be famous, rich, powerful, or remarkable in any way in order for God to do important things through you. It simply takes acceptance and perseverance. As Christians we do not have a literal homeland we have been exiled from, but heaven is our home. We are making the long arduous journey through life. God is at work in us, enabling us to both will and to work for his good pleasure. We want to accept God’s call, even if it is to adventures we do not expect and that call us out of long-established lives, and work for God’s purpose.
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
September 6, 2026 Discipline Hebrews 12
What does society tell us we were created to be? Does it tell us anything? Are we told we’re the product of our parents’ choices? Or perhaps we are an unintended accident or conceived in an act of violence? (Many youth and young adults are taught that we’re nothing more than the product of western norms and culture, and that we bear all the privileges, arrogance, and biases of it.) Are we told that in order to live a fulfilled life we should maximize our earning potential, and then strategically use our abilities to get the most comforts and conveniences possible?
Are we told that what we really are is whatever other people perceive us to be? Thus, the appearances we make in the world with our car and our clothes and our choices are of supreme importance.
Or are we whatever our economic and political views are? Are we driven to fit in with the views of those around us so that we get a sense of belonging?
Are we told that our value lies in our educational attainments, or our net worth, or our job performance in the last year?
These are all powerful forces that pull on our lives, and in many cases, can rule our lives. But none of them are true.
In Jeremiah 1:5 God says to the prophet, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Those were probably both comforting and frustrating words for Jeremiah. If you know his life at all you know it was not an easy one. He often railed against God for what God pushed him to do. But he did it anyway.
The thing is, those words go for more than just Jeremiah. They go for all of us as well. I do not mean that we were all created to be prophets to the nations. That was Jeremiah’s role. Possibly it is yours, but I do not know. What does go for all of us is the truth that before we were even conceived God knew us. God created us with purpose and for purpose. I’ve preached many times that we are not accidents and we are not junk. God created us good. God invites us to do meaningful and important things.
This is all good news! But it is not automatic. For if you want to do something important and meaningful it is going to require endurance and discipline, and a lot of them!
Hebrews 12 is a chapter about just those things. Last week we read Hebrews 11. There we found a list of heroes of the faith: Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, and the prophets. None of them had easy. They all endured trials and tribulations. Through endurance they developed discipline which kept their faith centered on God. Now Hebrews 12 adds Jesus to the list. But before Jesus was added we read, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1) It then goes on, “…looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”
We’re to get the image of all of us being in an Olympic style race, running alongside each other and great heroes of the faith, with Jesus ahead of us and drawing us forward. The idea is not that only one person gets to win, or that only three people will get first, second, and third place medals, but that we are all striving towards God’s promised future.
If you’re going to be an athlete it takes discipline and focus. It may mean months and years of regular training. It means straining yourself and pushing the limits. No one ever was sitting in the stands in the Olympics eating a hot dog with one hand and a beverage in the other, and then decided to set them down, walk out onto the track, and run in the race and win. That’s not how it’s done.
Our society today does not like discipline. That goes for pretty much all times and places. The author of Hebrews knew the readers didn’t like discipline. He wrote, “Now discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant a the time.” Of course. Humans would rather indulge and have fun. And we do need to indulge and have some fun at times. But God made you with purpose and for purpose. You’ll never achieve that purpose without discipline.
Think over life. There is nothing – nothing – worth having that came easily. The things we value the most are the things we’ve worked and struggled the hardest to obtain. People who have big wins in the lottery or have a sudden great inheritance almost never fully appreciate what they have received. Many of them squander it. Few have fulfilled lives.
God disciplines us for our own effectiveness. Hebrews uses the example of parents disciplining their children. Even something as simple as telling a child they cannot have a snack before dinner is discipline. The child is hungry. He or she wants food. Not getting food is painful. The parent does not (or should not) enjoy causing the pain. But the parent knows the discipline of not indulging every time a child is hungry teaches a child to know satisfaction when they do it. It also teaches that you should eat healthy things and healthy amounts. No parent truly loves a child that indulges the child in everything.
I do want to make the same aside Hebrews does in all of this and note that while parental discipline is the example used for God’s discipline, not all parental discipline is perfect. The author wrote, “[Parents] disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them…” Indeed, parents don’t know their children perfectly. Discipline may go awry, or some parents may be abusive. But the image still works. God disciplines us.
It seems that in many areas of society, especially the social sciences, there is a division being made between victims and oppressors. Oppressors especially are: male, white, heterosexual, and in leadership. Victims are: female, colored, homosexual, and disabled. The more qualities you have in one category or the other the more you are oppressor or victim. And much of current social science teaches that it is the victims who have the highest morality. And oppressors are incapable of moral deliberation because of their privileges.
I don’t want to get too political with all of this, because it quickly becomes that, but the whole notion of splitting humanity into victims and oppressors, with victims having morality and the oppressors being incapable of morality is both inaccurate and unhelpful.
Many young adults have been taught to see themselves as victims. They are to look for traumas and abuses in their past from their communities or their parents or their peer groups. They are told that these abuses are the defining characteristics of their lives. This approach is also inaccurate and unhelpful.
You are made by God with purpose and for purpose. If you define yourself as a victim then you are letting your abuser be your definer. While it is true that severe abuse and trauma impacts a person’s development, those things do not define a person. Nor do they give them moral high ground over others.
When abuses and traumas occur, our faith takes us to Romans 8:28. “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.” Or it can be translated, “in all things God works for good.” And remember how the passage continues, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God… who are called according to his purpose.” There we have that word purpose just like we had in Jeremiah.
Hebrews 12 told us, “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.”
That is an attitude that stays true to God’s purpose. Life was not meant to be easy. It was meant to be meaningful. Without discipline life has no meaning.
This does not mean that you should put a smile on your face every time something hurts. This does not mean that you should see all of life’s hardships as God’s discipline for you. But it does mean that with your faith set on God’s purposes, all things will build you.
Rejoice with God when life is easy and good. Accept that God is with you always, even when things are hard. And that in order for you to have a purposeful life, endurance and discipline will be necessary. The joy of the fulfillment of God’s promises awaits.
Are we told that what we really are is whatever other people perceive us to be? Thus, the appearances we make in the world with our car and our clothes and our choices are of supreme importance.
Or are we whatever our economic and political views are? Are we driven to fit in with the views of those around us so that we get a sense of belonging?
Are we told that our value lies in our educational attainments, or our net worth, or our job performance in the last year?
These are all powerful forces that pull on our lives, and in many cases, can rule our lives. But none of them are true.
In Jeremiah 1:5 God says to the prophet, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Those were probably both comforting and frustrating words for Jeremiah. If you know his life at all you know it was not an easy one. He often railed against God for what God pushed him to do. But he did it anyway.
The thing is, those words go for more than just Jeremiah. They go for all of us as well. I do not mean that we were all created to be prophets to the nations. That was Jeremiah’s role. Possibly it is yours, but I do not know. What does go for all of us is the truth that before we were even conceived God knew us. God created us with purpose and for purpose. I’ve preached many times that we are not accidents and we are not junk. God created us good. God invites us to do meaningful and important things.
This is all good news! But it is not automatic. For if you want to do something important and meaningful it is going to require endurance and discipline, and a lot of them!
Hebrews 12 is a chapter about just those things. Last week we read Hebrews 11. There we found a list of heroes of the faith: Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, and the prophets. None of them had easy. They all endured trials and tribulations. Through endurance they developed discipline which kept their faith centered on God. Now Hebrews 12 adds Jesus to the list. But before Jesus was added we read, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1) It then goes on, “…looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”
We’re to get the image of all of us being in an Olympic style race, running alongside each other and great heroes of the faith, with Jesus ahead of us and drawing us forward. The idea is not that only one person gets to win, or that only three people will get first, second, and third place medals, but that we are all striving towards God’s promised future.
If you’re going to be an athlete it takes discipline and focus. It may mean months and years of regular training. It means straining yourself and pushing the limits. No one ever was sitting in the stands in the Olympics eating a hot dog with one hand and a beverage in the other, and then decided to set them down, walk out onto the track, and run in the race and win. That’s not how it’s done.
Our society today does not like discipline. That goes for pretty much all times and places. The author of Hebrews knew the readers didn’t like discipline. He wrote, “Now discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant a the time.” Of course. Humans would rather indulge and have fun. And we do need to indulge and have some fun at times. But God made you with purpose and for purpose. You’ll never achieve that purpose without discipline.
Think over life. There is nothing – nothing – worth having that came easily. The things we value the most are the things we’ve worked and struggled the hardest to obtain. People who have big wins in the lottery or have a sudden great inheritance almost never fully appreciate what they have received. Many of them squander it. Few have fulfilled lives.
God disciplines us for our own effectiveness. Hebrews uses the example of parents disciplining their children. Even something as simple as telling a child they cannot have a snack before dinner is discipline. The child is hungry. He or she wants food. Not getting food is painful. The parent does not (or should not) enjoy causing the pain. But the parent knows the discipline of not indulging every time a child is hungry teaches a child to know satisfaction when they do it. It also teaches that you should eat healthy things and healthy amounts. No parent truly loves a child that indulges the child in everything.
I do want to make the same aside Hebrews does in all of this and note that while parental discipline is the example used for God’s discipline, not all parental discipline is perfect. The author wrote, “[Parents] disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them…” Indeed, parents don’t know their children perfectly. Discipline may go awry, or some parents may be abusive. But the image still works. God disciplines us.
It seems that in many areas of society, especially the social sciences, there is a division being made between victims and oppressors. Oppressors especially are: male, white, heterosexual, and in leadership. Victims are: female, colored, homosexual, and disabled. The more qualities you have in one category or the other the more you are oppressor or victim. And much of current social science teaches that it is the victims who have the highest morality. And oppressors are incapable of moral deliberation because of their privileges.
I don’t want to get too political with all of this, because it quickly becomes that, but the whole notion of splitting humanity into victims and oppressors, with victims having morality and the oppressors being incapable of morality is both inaccurate and unhelpful.
Many young adults have been taught to see themselves as victims. They are to look for traumas and abuses in their past from their communities or their parents or their peer groups. They are told that these abuses are the defining characteristics of their lives. This approach is also inaccurate and unhelpful.
You are made by God with purpose and for purpose. If you define yourself as a victim then you are letting your abuser be your definer. While it is true that severe abuse and trauma impacts a person’s development, those things do not define a person. Nor do they give them moral high ground over others.
When abuses and traumas occur, our faith takes us to Romans 8:28. “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.” Or it can be translated, “in all things God works for good.” And remember how the passage continues, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God… who are called according to his purpose.” There we have that word purpose just like we had in Jeremiah.
Hebrews 12 told us, “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.”
That is an attitude that stays true to God’s purpose. Life was not meant to be easy. It was meant to be meaningful. Without discipline life has no meaning.
This does not mean that you should put a smile on your face every time something hurts. This does not mean that you should see all of life’s hardships as God’s discipline for you. But it does mean that with your faith set on God’s purposes, all things will build you.
Rejoice with God when life is easy and good. Accept that God is with you always, even when things are hard. And that in order for you to have a purposeful life, endurance and discipline will be necessary. The joy of the fulfillment of God’s promises awaits.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)