Daily Archives: July 14, 2021

Table Conversations

UNPRECENDENTED

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“Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again” (Exodus 10:14b, NIV).

Unprecedented times.  This is a phrase that has been used over and over and over these past few weeks regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.  I have heard it on news channels and read it in news briefs and updates.  It comes out in emails and letters as a preparatory statement for the changes that are being expressed in the paragraphs that follow.  I opened a letter this morning regarding a church event and there within the first sentence were the words “unprecedented times.”  I thought to myself, “I am so tired of hearing this phrase,” and yet I was caught by surprise when a gentle voice spoke back to me, “There was another time that was ‘unprecedented.’”

My thoughts quickly turned to Jesus.  His entire life was “unprecedented.”  A virgin birth, teaching in the temple at age 12, the calling of 12 disciples, teachings and healings among the crowds, miracles that left people dumbfounded, false accusations and betrayal, sentenced to die on a cross innocent of any wrongdoing, yet taking on that sentence because he was the sacrificial lamb for all sin.  His death, his burial, his resurrection, his revealing of himself after he was alive again, his ascension into heaven, his promise of and the Father’s sending of the Holy Spirit, and his continued involvement in humanity yet today – all of it– unprecedented.  God’s work through creation and in the lives of his people before Jesus came was/is unprecedented.  Even as I write this, I realize there is another day and time that will be unprecedented, and that is when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ returns to claim his bride (the church).

This morning I have been challenged to take something that seemed monotonous and annoying, and see it in a new light.  I have also been made aware that these times are not the only unprecedented times, for we have the testimony of Jesus’ life through the written and Holy Word of God, and the knowledge of his promises that are yet to come.  Glory be to God!

Table Conversations

UNCOVERED AND LAID BARE

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“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13, NIV).

As I’ve recently traveled the country roads and get a glimpse of the bare trees, the question comes to mind, “What would God see if I stood bare before him as these trees do?”  I’ve pondered their sturdiness, yet I also see their brokenness.  I’ve thought of how some branches have remained strong and upward, and some have gone various directions while others have been completely broken off midstream.  Some seem to have a more perfect shape than others.  Some appear to have gone through many battles, yet still remain standing.  For some, there is nothing left but a stump.

When I come before the Lord, bearing my soul to him, what does he see when he gazes upon me?  Does he see my strengths and my beauty?  Does he recognize the brokenness?  When life was going full steam ahead and suddenly came to an abrupt and unexpected halt, does he see the pain in my branches that were suddenly ended?  Do those branches that wind around and bend awkwardly represent the times I’ve had to awkwardly bend to the circumstances around me in order to continue to flourish?  What about the tree that looks more like a bushy hot mess?  Does that represent the goodness of a full life filled with many blessings, or does it represent a life that is overwhelmed and burdened?  Has life been such that I’ve simply become a stump with young branches popping up around me signaling some sense that life still exists?

According to Hebrews 4:13, nothing is hidden from God’s sight; therefore, he sees it all: “the good, the bad, and the ugly.”  Everything in our life is laid bare before him, whether we acknowledge him or not.  We cannot hide it, and we mustn’t try to hide it, for we are accountable for it.  I think of the moment I came to the altar of prayer and laid my heart out before the Lord, how he took me into his arms and has never let me go.  When I look at these trees, I am reminded that even though they have been through much, they have stood the test of time and still reach up to the heavens, offering to their Creator their praise.  And then I ask myself, “When I stand ‘uncovered and bare’ before the Lord, do I lift up my praise to him, or do I just see my nakedness?”

Table Conversations

LAMENT

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“When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father” (Exodus 50:10, NIV).

Our world is lamenting today for many reasons, but the one most vivid is the loss of George Floyd and how his life was drained out of him.  I have not watched the videos, nor do I care to as I don’t need to see them to know that evil was at play.  It is gut wrenching to see photos and hear of what has happened, and my deepest prayer is that justice will be served on his behalf, and God will bring peace to the hearts and minds of his family.

Lamenting is a natural response to loss.  It is a way to express our sorrow and the brokenness we feel inside when we don’t know what else to do.  Our emotions are overrun with grief and our hearts scream out without understanding the depths of sorrow we feel inside.  It is okay to lament and grieve.  God gave us the gift of lamenting.

We have a right to express our grief.  We have a right to cry out and seek justice.  We have a right to stand and demand that answers be given when such an injustice has been done. We have a right to protest and speak for those whose voices are wrongfully silenced.  Yet, when we break out into riots and begin to destroy public and personal property of others, it’s no longer a right.  Looting to benefit self only, without any remorse for the injustice that was done is not protesting, it’s theft.  Setting businesses and public buildings on fire out of anger and hatred is not lamenting the injustice of this man, it’s committing arson.  While I understand the grief that Mr. Floyd’s family (and families like his) feel, I will never understand the riots, although I do understand what they reveal.

Our nation is lost in the deepest, darkest crevices of sin and evil.  It is sin in a man’s heart that causes him to be unwilling to move a knee to allow a man to breathe.  It is deep-rooted sin that allows us to show injustice and racism toward one another.  It is sin that causes us to become destructive and evil in our response.

As I viewed the photos of the National Guard standing in the gap to bring order into the cities, I was reminded of how Moses had to come back down from the mountain to bring order to the people of Israel, and how we as Christians are called to rise up like an army and stand in the gap for our nation.  Racism is sin.  Let us, as Christians, humble ourselves and come before the Lord on behalf of our nation.   For God has promised in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”