Do you think we live in a secure world? If you don’t, you’re not alone. And let’s face it, there isn't much reason to feel secure about our world. There is conflict in the Middle East. There are guns and metal detectors in big city and inner city schools. People wonder and worry about what some scientists predict is an inevitable pandemic. We are surrounded by enemies we can’t even see and by some that we can see. Given the state of our world there is plenty of reason to feel insecure.
The story is told of a monastery in Portugal perched high on a 3,000 foot cliff accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men, sweating under the strain. One American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relieve his fear he asked, “How often do you change the rope?” The monk in charge replied, “Whenever it breaks!” Well, in this life many of the things people turn to for security feel like one of those old and fraying ropes—and they’re just waiting for it to break.
But you would think that God’s people would always feel secure. After all, we don’t base our security on global security or job security; we base our security on a God who promises, according to Jesus, that no one and nothing can snatch us from our Father’s hand (John 10:27). We are secure in the hands of a loving and gracious God who holds us tightly—and so it is in this promise that we trust.
Or do we? Or do we sometimes wonder about our own security? We hear the phrase “eternal security” and ask whether it applies to us. Do we really believe that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord? Maybe all of us here do. That would be ideal. But I imagine that many of us have felt at times that maybe we've slipped off the path of the righteous, have backslidden in our faith, and are no longer so secure in the hands of God. As a result we feel as insecure about our faith as we do about everything else.
Our feelings of doubt are not the only thing that shakes our sense of security in God—pain and suffering do a good job of this too. Bad stuff happens, and we wonder how we can trust in God’s secure care if such care doesn't keep such bad stuff from happening. The reality of pain and suffering provides theologians with some of the biggest and most unanswerable questions.
How can a God who is infinitely loving and powerful permit the reality of evil and suffering? The technical theological phrase to describe the intellectual attempt to deal with such questions is theodicy. But no matter what kinds of answers theologians come up with, they never satisfy the heart. We can still be shaken.
In John 17 Jesus prays for his disciples. In verses 11 and 15 we have these words: “Holy Father, protect them in your name . . . I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” Do we not believe that God the Father listens to God the Son—if this is Jesus’ prayer for us, why then should we worry, be anxious and feel so insecure about our salvation?
The last line of Psalm 125 reads, “Peace be upon Israel.” This is a prayer that God will bring peace and security—another way of translating this loosely might be to say: “Relax! You are secure and in God’s hands!”
Scripture: Revelation 21:4; 1 Peter 5:6-7; Philippians 4:6; John 14:27; Matthew 5:4; Proverbs 14:32; Psalm 73:26; Psalm 55:22; Psalm 48:14
-Special thanks to Derek Melanson
Prayer: Almighty God, give us such a vision of your purpose and such an assurance of your love and power, that we may ever hold fast the hope which is in Jesus Christ our Lord who is alive with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen
Have a blessed day,
Trish
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.