Author Todd R

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

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Have you ever watched a movie that was much worse than what the trailer for it led you to expect?  Were scenes taken out of context, giving you the wrong impression?  Was every good scene from the movie already in the trailer, leaving you disappointed?

Every now and then, God gives us a preview of heaven, reminders of His steadfast love for us in our present time that strengthen our hope and empower us to live for Him.  When we seek God, He gives a glimpse of the blessings in store for us.  He may answer with an encouraging word, a compassionate friend, a moment of mental clarity, or some surprise blessing.  David describes something like this in Psalm 36:7-9 –

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
            The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
            and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
            in your light do we see light.”

David wrote these verses in the present tense, meaning we can take refuge with God right now, and experience the abundance of His love.  Commenting on the middle verse, James Montgomery Boice says the Hebrew word translated as delights “is the plural of the word Eden and undoubtedly looks backward to the joys of our first parents before the fall.”[1]  By referencing the past paradise of Eden, David also hints of future paradise where we will have eternal life.

Paradise was real and will be real again, and we know the movie will be far better than the trailer could possibly show us.  God does not give wrong impressions and He does not disappoint.

Take refuge in Him.

[1] From “March 28.” James Montgomery Boice and Marion Clark. Come to the Waters: Daily Bible Devotions for Spiritual Refreshment.  (2017).

An Eternal Perspective on Life: A Quint of Quotes

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Dear fellow travelers,

Here is another “Quint of Quotes” from my collection, five quotes on the theme of living for eternity:

“O LORD, make me know my end
            and what is the measure of my days;
            let me know how fleeting I am!” – Psalm 39:4

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”  – Jim Elliot

“Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody, of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. At that moment I will be more alive than I am now.” – Dwight L. Moody

“Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of eternity.”- Charles Spurgeon

“Rejoice, that the immortal God is born, so that men may live in eternity.” – Jan Hus

Jesus is Indignant – Those Who Mourn #3

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Today is part 3 of a series on the second Beatitude from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” – Matthew 5:4.  The first two are here and here. We begin with story of the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus:

“Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” – John 11:39

Before this dead man Lazarus died, Jesus got a message that he was ill.  Lazarus was in Bethany, near Jerusalem, and Jesus was about a day’s journey away avoiding the Jewish leaders who sought to stone Him to death for claiming to be God (Jn 11:30 and elsewhere).  After saying “this illness does not lead to death”[1], Jesus stayed away for two more days and after the time it took to travel to Bethany, He found Lazarus already “dead four days.”

Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus, were deep in mourning, along with many others who had come to mourn with them.  Then “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).  Reading this we might assume Jesus’ reason for weeping was the same as everyone else’s.  However, pastor and author Tim Keller notes that: “Both verses 33 and 38 say that while He was weeping with grief He was also snorting with anger.  Jesus could not have been weeping for Lazarus because He knew he was about to raise him from the dead.  What, then, was He so grieved and angry about?  He was furious at the sin and death that had ruined the creation and people He loved.”[2]

Jesus knows that “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).  Since Adam and Eve, mankind has been facing, and mourning, the consequences.  From the repetition of “and he died” in the genealogy of Genesis 5 on, we are reminded of the result of missing the mark of God’s righteousness.  Nobody is more aware of this than Jesus.  As God, He understands our loss more deeply than we do, and He is indignant, consumed with righteous anger.

When Jesus got the message Lazarus was ill, He could have healed Him on the spot from a distance as He did the official’s son in John 4:46-54.  Instead, Jesus delayed in coming to raise Lazarus “so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4b).  The miracle convinced many, but not everyone: “the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well”[3] because so many were later believing in Jesus that they plotted to bury the evidence[4].

However, Jesus used the miracle to increase His disciples (and our) faith, particularly in times of loss and mourning.  Jesus taught Mary to replace her “if” statement “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”[5] with His statement “I am the resurrection and the life.”[6]  As man, He feels as we do, and in compassion for us He weeps.  He steps right into our suffering with us – the odor of death does not deter Him.  He knew He would have to die to save us from our suffering, and He willingly took it on.  “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” – Hebrews 4:15

Just as He could have healed Lazarus before he died, Jesus could return right now and take us to heaven, but He waits until His purpose (not ours) is fulfilled so that He may be glorified.  For now, we can know as Mary did that He is “the resurrection and the life,” rather than wonder “if” He could have come sooner.  Therefore, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” – Matthew 5:4.  In time, Jesus will fix it all.

[1] John 11:4
[2] Keller, Timothy.  Making Sense of God (2016).  P. 164-5.
[3] John 12:10
[4] See also this earlier post
[5] John 11:32
[6] John 11:25

Mourning Has Value – Those Who Mourn #2

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Today is part 2 of a series on the second Beatitude from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” – Matthew 5:4. In the first post, I wrote about how mourning logically follows our awareness of needing Jesus because we are poor in Spirit.  When we mourn this way as Christians, we deeply acknowledge that we aren’t happy with the consequences of having sought our own way.

Many religions and philosophies see no value in sorrow.  Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers hated it and strived to avoid it.  Eastern religions sometimes deny its reality and seek to live above it.  On the other hand, in Christianity and Judaism stories like those of Job are highly valued, and verses like these from Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 are common –

“It is better to go to the house of mourning
      than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
       and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
       for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
       but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

In Christianity, mourning can have value, helping sanctify us, making us more like Christ.  Mourning can be a form of confession – a way of saying the same thing about sin that God does.  When we mourn doing wrong things or neglecting things that should have been done, we agree with God on what is “wrong” and what “should” be done.  It is not the same as repentance but is often a preceding part of it.

The framework of the series of posts on Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” – shows many ways living outside the kingdom of heaven fails us and others:

  • Times we were too proud or ashamed to act (Post 1)
  • Times we thought earning God’s favor was more important than loving Him and our neighbor (Post 2)
  • Times we thought our own sins were ok because we thought they weren’t as bad as someone else’s (Post 3)
  • Times we failed privately because we couldn’t see the consequences or the point in trying (Post 4)
  • Times we didn’t love someone because they weren’t like us (Post 5)

Therefore, we should mourn!  Emotionally reacting to these things means that knowing we are “poor in spirit” is more than just an intellectual or logical idea.  Sin needs to mean something to us, deeply.  However, this mourning is not the same as despair, depression, or meaninglessness.  In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, spoken through the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings: “Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt.”  Only God can see the end, and there is more to come!  In Christianity it is but part of a journey, or in the case of the Sermon on the Mount, part of a sequence of Beatitudes.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” – Matthew 5:4

In the next post of the series, I plan to talk about Jesus’ reaction to death and the consequences of sin, focusing on John 11: 33 and 11:38.  He knows more about it than we ever will, and He cares deeply.

This post continues a series on the Beatitudes. To start at the beginning, click here, and for the next post click here

Blessed are Those Who Mourn #1

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This post continues a series about the Beatitudes, the opening statements from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, starting with Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  The crowds who gathered to hear Him needed to hear this Beatitude first of all because if anyone refuses to be humble before Christ, the rest of His speech won’t matter.  The more we see Him as the King we need, the more He can, and will, bless us.

Next Jesus moved to the second of the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:4 –
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Before digging into the meaning of this statement, today’s focus is on the idea that Jesus did not put the set of Beatitudes in a random order, but that He intends them as a sequence. Not everyone takes this view, but to me the sequence makes sense and Jesus – the best teacher ever – would not do anything by accident.

To see the connection between the first two Beatitudes, consider the book of James where he cautions against being a “double-minded man”.  The book begins by saying that going through trials helps a Christian grow.  In testing times, we should ask God for wisdom – trusting God’s voice within our conscience, calling us to action by faith – and he contrasts that with being “double-minded.”  While God gives wisdom “generously to all without reproach,” a double-minded man ignores wisdom and ends up “driven and tossed by the wind…unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8). The original Greek language suggests being “double-minded” is like “having two spirits.”  Such a person cannot make up their mind which voice to follow in their conscience; while having God’s guidance, they are unable to follow it and end up lost.  They do not have the kingdom of heaven.

Later, James comes back to the word “double-minded” in 4:8, saying that overcoming this inability to follow God’s guidance is “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you” (4:1).  Then in verse 9, he recommends: “Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.”

Thus, James provides a link in the Beatitudes’ progression.  Being double-minded is like lacking the kingdom of heaven.  Inability to follow the right voice leads to our “quarrels” and “fights”, while leaving us “unstable.”  Knowing these consequences of failing to be poor in spirit, James suggests mourning as the first, and proper, response to our spiritual poverty.

We do not naturally associate blessing with mourning, but neither did being poor in spirit seem like blessing.  When we mourn, we acknowledge that we have not been poor in spirit but have sought our own way.  That this has consequences.  Jesus offers us blessing now in the reassurance of comfort to come.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” – Matthew 5:4

In coming posts, I hope to expand on what this mourning means, Jesus’ reaction to those who mourn, hope God provides for those who mourn, and the link to the next Beatitude.  For the rest of the Beatitudes, I hope to show how each one builds blessing upon blessing as the kingdom of God is built within each of His people.

This post continues a series on the Beatitudes. To start at the beginning, click here, and for the next post click here