Month: March 2018

Playlist

When we bought our family car, the salesman at the dealership commented on the sound system that came with the model we were considering.  I just looked at him. Exactly how loud does “The Wheels on the Bus” need to be? But those speakers have blasted everything from Imagination Movers to TobyMac.  “Jingle Bells” is a perennial favorite. We pull up to the ballfield rocking out to “We Are the Champions”.

Music gives expression to our emotions. It evokes a response from us. Toe-tapping songs that pull us into joy. Tender melodies that help us drift to sleep. Harmonies of praise when we’re overflowing with thanksgiving.  The blues when our hearts are broken. We sing what our hearts are full of.

We’re in the middle of Passion Week, recalling the week leading up to Easter.  It began on Palm Sunday, the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem. It was a jubilant scene. The road was covered with coats and palm branches, and the crowd shouted, “Praise God for the Son of David!  Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:8-9). Those words were lyrics to a song, lines from Psalm 118.

A few days later, Jesus ate the Passover meal with the disciples. He kept the ancient traditions associated with the meal, remembering how God spared His people and delivered them from slavery in Egypt (see Exodus 12). And He pointed to Himself as the Passover lamb, giving the disciples bread and wine in anticipation of His body broken and His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins. “Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30).

Jesus’ very soul was in anguish at the thought of what was coming (John 13:21). Betrayal, abandonment, mocking, beatings, a cross, and a grave were just around the corner. And yet He went out singing.  The Bible doesn’t say which hymn, but there were some traditional songs associated with the Passover, including Psalm 118, the very song that He rode into town on.

In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and rescued me.  The Lord is for me, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me… You did your best to kill me, O my enemy, but the Lord helped me.  The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my victory. I will not die, but I will live to tell what the Lord has done. Psalm 118:5-7, 13-14

When Jesus got to Gethsemane, He asked the disciples to stand watch while He prayed. Luke says that He prayed so “fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood” (22:44).  This was no walk in the park for Jesus. This required all-out focus and determination. Perhaps this other traditional Passover hymn came to mind:

I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers.  Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath! Death had its hands around my throat; the terrors of the grave overtook me.  I saw only trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Please, Lord, save me!” How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!  The Lord protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and then he saved me. Now I can rest again, for the Lord has been so good to me. He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. Psalm 116:1-9

I don’t know exactly what song Jesus sang, but I love that these words, written long before Jesus was born, are possible candidates.  To think that maybe God inspired these melodies knowing full well that His Son might need to hear them on the hardest, darkest night of His life and be encouraged to hold fast, to continue to the very end. To be reminded of His Dad’s unfailing love and faithfulness. An ancient playlist.

My friend, God knows the soundtrack of your life.  He’s prepared the songs ahead of time. He sings the lament when you’re mourning, and He carries the beat when you’re dancing. The Cross isn’t the last track, and neither is the grave.  There’s glory bursting forth with the sunrise on Easter. There’s whole new melody, a salvation song, a hymn of praise to the Savior.

He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:3

For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zephaniah 3:17

Click here if you want to know what we’re currently rocking out to.

Heavy Lifting

Stephen was the first martyr for Christ.  He spoke so powerfully, so persuasively, in the synagogue that no one who debated him was able to win their argument.  To say they were sore losers is to put it mildly – they lied about Stephen, incited a mob, and had him arrested. When he appeared before the high council, Stephen spoke very clearly and powerfully about Israel’s failures in their relationship with God.  This was the same high council that had arranged Jesus’ arrest, then tried and condemned Him, and their response was pretty much the same.

“The Jewish leader were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists in rage… Then they put their hands over their ears, and drowning out his voice with their shouts, they rushed at him.  They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him” (Acts 7:54, 57-58)

When someone offends us, I think we can be pretty quick to pick up a stone.  Our default response is accusation – You did this. You did that. You. You. You. Sharp words. When we fling them in anger, someone is sure to wind up bleeding.

Other times we choose to let the matter drop.  But if we drop the stones and just leave them there without doing the work of restoring the relationship, we can end up with a mountain of bitterness and resentment between us and the other person.  Have you ever noticed the Jews always seemed to have a lot of rocks handy for stoning?

In response to a crowd ready to stone a woman caught red-handed breaking the rules, Jesus said, You’re right, she’s guilty.  If you’ve never done anything wrong, go ahead and take the first shot (John 8:7, paraphrase). We’re forgiven sinners because of the grace and mercy of God.  Not because we were so great. Not because our sins weren’t so bad. Simply because the Lord loves us.

Peter asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?” (Matthew 18:21). I read that and I totally get it. Peter wants to know when is enough, enough?  How many times do I have to forgive this person when they let me down, disappoint me, don’t come through?

The answer is every time. “If he repents, forgive him.  Even if he wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). This is what’s been done for us. God says, I am never done with you.  Until your final breath, I will forgive you.  I will welcome you back. I will release you from any debt you owe me. Because I love you.

We need humility to remind us that we ourselves were once enemies of God. It allows us to do for others what God has done for us – give up our claim against the offender, our right to demand payment.  We can cancel the debt, drop the stone, regardless of what the offender does in response. It was Stephen who cried out with his last breath, “Don’t charge them with this sin!” (Acts 7:60).

I want to say very clearly that forgiveness does not approve of the wrong others have done.  It doesn’t condone or excuse. It doesn’t make everything ok. It doesn’t demand that you remain in a dangerous situation.  God never intends harm for you and His goal is always to lead you to a place of safety, a place of rest. A quiet stream in a green pasture. Even if you cannot remain the relationship, forgiveness clears the ground.  This is for our benefit so we don’t get tripped up by the boulders that would otherwise be left behind.

The enemy would love for us to leave the pile intact.  He’s content with the status quo. He’s happy when we’re separated.  But God has a tendency to upset the status quo – He makes us new persons, with new and right desires and a new and right relationship with Him.  He wants us to have a fresh start in our relationships with others as well. So God calls us to do the hard work of removing the stones, of clearing the rubble.  

After all, how can the enemy get any traction when we are constantly clearing the battlefield in order to build a fortress?  How can he find an opening, how can he divide and isolate where we are fierce and intentional in our pursuit of unity?  We disarm him when we refuse to let offenses become weapons.

“You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other” (James 3:18 MSG emphasis added).  When repentance and forgiveness are practiced regularly, reconciliation can occur and harmony can be reintroduced into the relationship. This is hard work.  But it’s possible. We can move the stones that separate us and use them to build a wall of protection. A place of refuge and safety. One that encircles us and the other person.

Love that keeps no record of wrongs is love that protects.

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace (Romans 14:19 NIV)