He came to make all thingsright: Why Christmas, #6

Why did Jesus come? #6

Sometimes I feel like I'm hanging out under the altar. "I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging. . .?” (Revelation 6:9-10) These martyrs are not alone. Throughout history, down to this present hour, God's people ask,   "How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear?  I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.  Why do You make me see iniquity,  And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me;  Strife exists and contention arises. (Habakkuk 1:2-3) In my life, I've known people who have a keen eye for, and an uncanny feel for equilibrium. If something is just the slightest bit uneven they can detect it. They don't feel right unless their world is plumb and level. I think all of us have a detector like that in our soul. We know when things aren't right, and it makes us ill at ease. Christ came to make all things right. The process hasn't been completed. That last great enemy, death, still struts around this fallen world. But Christ in His death and Resurrection defeated even that enemy. We sing "Joy to the World" at Christmas, and rightly so, but that song is not really about Christ's coming as a babe, but about that time, yet future, when he will come as a king. Make no mistake, though, the victorious coming again has been secured by victory won in humility, that passed through a manger in Bethlehem. Another Christmas carol puts it this way, "Born that man no more may die." Why did Christ come? He came to make all things right. It's STTA (Something To Think About).      Click the image to see the story of redemption The link will take you to chapter 1. You can go from there.

Social Credit, Karma, & the Gospel

MAKING SURE PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY DESERVE,  ONLY GOD'S JUSTICE CAN DO THAT. GIVING PEOPLE WHAT THEY DON'T DESERVE, ONLY GOD'S GRACE CAN DO THAT:

In the car, last night, I listened to a fascinating discussion on NPR about a new program in China that is engineered to foster more desirable behaviour among the population.  It is being described as "Social credit."   It's kind of like the system that creates FICA scores in the USA, only on steroids. The social engineering project is supposed to keep track of a wide range of behaviours that are deemed to indicate whether or not one is trustworthy.  Not only will the database keep track of financial transactions, but also things like how often one calls their parents, or how many disposable diapers they purchase.  All of this data is being crunched by the network, and then based on algorythms the system issues a score.  This score will have wide-ranging impact on a person's life. Official penalties for a low score range from inability to get a job, to being required to pay a deposit in order to book a hotel room.  In addition to stick-type consequences, there are also carrots.  Those with higher scores are given preverential treatment in many business transactions.  There are also unoffficial consequences.  Chinese citizens are encouraged to make their high scores known.  Having the right number could be more important than the right look in getting a date with the hot prospect. As I listened to the conversation I was reminded of another conversation I had earlier in the week.  It was about Karma, the Eastern concept that says each person gets what they deserve.  The book of Proverbs is full of Karma-like maxims.  Those who work hard and save are likely to have more good things.  Those who show themselves to be friendly are probably going to have more friends on whom they can depend in a time of need.  Responsible parents are apt to have well behaved children.  A broad view of Scripture, however, as well as observation of life in this world indicates that Karma is a capricious lady.  Since computers are built and programmed by humans with their agendas and limitations, and those who scam the system are often as resourceful as those who build it, we won't create a system that will significantly improve on what Asaph saw three millenia ago.   "I saw [the proud] prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don’t have troubles like other people . . .   Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain" (Psalm 73:3–14, NLT). As Asaph went on to say (read all of Psalm 73.  Note especially the corner the Psalm-writer turns in verse 17) he is confident that justice will eventually be done. The real problem, though, is not that, outside of the God of the Bible, there is no system, either mystical or silicon-based, that can perfectly deliver what we deserve.  The supreme problem is that God will make sure that ultimately everyone of us will get exactly what we have coming.  It is a theme that runs through Scipture, but is captured in its brutal reality in two sentences from the Book of Romans: "All have sinned. . . ."  Romans 3:23 "The wages of sin is death."  Romans 6:23 To gain a greater understanding of those words, read the first three chapters of Romans and Revelation 20:11-14.  If Karma shows up at all it will be to nod approval of God's justice. I'm way overtime on this STTA, but the good news we celebrate at Christmas is not only is God righteous, He is also gracious.  I'll be back Monday with more, but you can go on, on your own, by exploring this page.  A good place to start is to scroll down to the "The Good News About Jesus."  Until then . . .   It's STTA.

JUSTICE?

The talking heads are working overtime in the aftermath of the Casey/Kaylee Anthony trial. Instinctively, we feel that when a little girl's body is left to rot in a swamp that someone ought to pay. This morning the chief suspect, the mom, has been found not guilty. Many people feel that justice was not done. With no reflection on the jury, clearly justice was not done--often in this world justice is a very rare commodity.

Justice is a major theme of the book of Job. Job accused God of injustice. His three friends accused Job of denying the fact that God is just. As outside observers, given a view into the heavenly scene, as well as Divine perspective on the beginning and end, we can see things differently than those submerged in the events as they happened, yet we still wonder about the questions of right and wrong, and balancing the scales.

Rightly, or wrongly, the case in Florida, in many ways, came down to: "Do I know enough?" Our law, quite reasonably, requires a standard of "Beyond reasonable doubt." (We may question whether the juror's doubts were reasonable, but we cast away that standard at our own risk. Another post, another time.) As believers in the Word of God, we know that justice is often not served down here. We look forward to a time when God will bring flawless judgments to bear.

Elihu, the young spokesman in the book of Job comments on this toward the end of the book. With God there is never a lack of knowledge, never a foundation for doubt. It's STTA.
"His eyes are on the ways of mortals;
he sees their every step.
There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness,
where evildoers can hide.
God has no need to examine people further,
that they should come before him for judgment.
Without inquiry he shatters the mighty
and sets up others in their place.
Because he takes note of their deeds." (Job 34:21-25)

In a world where we often don't know--even can't know--for sure, it is inevitable that justice will not be served.
When we deal with the Lord of the Universe there is no such lack.

It's STTA.