Lenten Devotional, Day 7
Dear Saints,
Our Passages today: Psalm 32, Genesis 4:1–16, Hebrews 4:14–5:10.
Note: I see the RCL likes to repeat certain Scriptures. Please don't get annoyed and skip Them. The Word of God is "quick and powerful," "living and active." Let it speak afresh today and every day and forever.
Also repetition is Biblical. The Hebrew language does not have exclamation points to denote emphasis. Rather it uses a form of repetition called parallelism. There is tons of parallelism in the Bible. (Just maybe God knew something about our brains when He breathed/inspired the Bible). Anyway, here is an oft-quoted parallelism:
"Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.
(Proverbs 16:18)
Or how my brain translates it:
Pride before destruction goes,
And a haughty spirit has tripping toes.
You best stick with the first version. Anyway, I believe that Verse is technically the repetition of one idea, a doubling down as it were. Call it: distinction without a difference. But I also won't argue with those that want to strain out gnats of nuance.
PLAIN TRUTH:
I like to meditate on Scripture. All Christian meditation means is to sit in the prayer closet, to think deeply upon a Scripture, to linger for awhile unrushed, and to pray out the Holy Spirit insights, asking for grace to both love and obey them. Ah, but we live in a Christiandom of microwave Bible study & devotions. Keep it simple. Just the facts. Short, sweet. On the clock.
I'll play along today. I thought of this hypothetical interaction, a brief teaching moment:
The person who likes to keep it tight and plain, says: How are you doing today?
The one who likes a plumbed, textured, layered, full-orbed presentation of Biblical ideas, says uncharacteristically brief: Great! "I acknowledged my sin to God, and I did not cover my iniquity...and He forgave the iniquity of my sin." (Psalm 32:5). "I tell you; but unless you repent, you will...perish." (Luke 13:3). And one more thing: Have a nice day!
Why meditation on something that seems a plain truth? Good question. It isn't as some charge: to complicate that truth. Though that sadly can happen, sorry. Rather, ideally, it is to go from knowing the truth to loving the truth. It's true that knowing the truth is often plain, straight-forward. (rf. Romans 1:19–20). But that is not ultimate protection against deception. (rf. Romans 1:21—23). Say what?
To go from knowing to loving the Truth, I find it takes time, query, pondering, prayer, impartation, quickening. Deception ultimately comes down not to lack of knowing but a lack of loving the truth. The domino fall that locks in deception's chain reaction is not confusion but knowing yet not loving. "All wicked deception for those who are perishing, is because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:10).
HELLGATE:
It has been bubbling, but it boiled over when Kirk Cameron (child star, Left Behind series) came on a podcast interview with his son. In it he questioned a view of hell called ECT or eternal conscience torment. Cameron said he leans towards annihilationism (that too sounds horrific but is infinitely softer than ECT). Annihilationism, there are different views of it, but basically it holds the not-saved will simply die, be judged, perhaps be instantly consumed by fire, and then forevermore cease to exist. This leaning opened up what is being called Hellgate in some circles.
That said, the Genesis reading brought up a notion relavent to the above discussion. Part of Cain's punishment (temporal, I hope) was "from Your face I shall be hidden." (Genesis 4:14). That is a massive statement. For instance, compare that with 1 Thessalonians 1:9: "They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence [face?] of the Lord and from the glory of His might." There doesn't have to be fire to be terrifying!
The whole Bible story can be told from the vantage point of seeing or not seeing God's face (rf. Genesis 3:8, 4:14, 32:30; Exodus 33:11, 20, 22; Numbers 6:24–26; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalm 27:8, 80:7; Ezekiel 39:29; 1 Corinthians 12:12; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:6; 1 John 3:2; Revelation 1:17, 22:3–5). There are many more Verses regarding the face of God. But please look up the references I shared; they are fascinating. Again the whole meta-narrative or overarching storyline of the Bible can be told as a recovery of seeing God's face. The two bookends of the Bible: To See God's face & die and to see God's face & live...forever. And in between we get growing glimpses of hope. What changed? "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25).
EMPATHY V. SYMPATHY REPRISE:
I spent time with Hebrews yesterday and kinda stole the punchline from today's reading. I've noticed the lectionary is crafty in a good way; that is, it leaves things unresolved to get us to really think. Bless 'em.
That said, I'd like to reiterate that empathy is often carelessly overstated. It is a noble pursuit, but with this caveat: Don't presume upon empathy beyond what it can bear. If we have not truly lived in another's shoes (Biblical sympathy), then know that imagining what it is like in their shoes (human empathy) is not the same no matter how sincere we are. Let not empathy produce in us verbal, over-identification with another, but rather let it make us mostly kind, compassionate listeners.
Overstated empathy is not only not safe; it can be triggering or even open new traumas for the one we wish to "get." But Jesus is "just as we are — yet without sin." He is always safe. Run to Him boldly (rf. Hebrews 4:15—16). "The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." — Jesus.
The Only Best in/is Christ,
tIM