Called to Be Our Consecrated Selves

September 2, 2024September 1, 2024Todd R 5 Comments

People have moments where they wish they had a greater role in the world around them. We see other people around us, or in stories from the Bible or in the news, and think we’d like to be more like them. More influential, more effective, more powerful. For example, what if I could be a prophet or an apostle? Or in our modern world, maybe a “social media influencer”? “Be yourself” is often the advice for finding contentment when we feel like this, but the Bible says we are “to be conformed to the image of his Son.”[1] So, should we be ourselves, or should we be like Jesus? What will give us contentment? While not a full answer, the call of Jeremiah the prophet offers some help.

Jeremiah was not a prophet by accident, because Jeremiah 1:4-5 says:

“Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’”

Here, God calls Jeremiah both to conform his ways to God’s, and also to his own specific task. Like Jeremiah, every Christian is known by God and called to do His will. Only God knows why we were each made the way we were made, and in a way God calling us to serve Him is like Him saying “stop living like you’re an accident of a random, purposeless world.” It is because we were made, not just evolved, that we have purpose, and God has “consecrated” us to that purpose.

Stop living like you’re an
accident of a random,
purposeless world.

But each of us was made differently, also on purpose. Unlike Jeremiah, my fellow travelers on this blog probably aren’t prophets, and that is part of why Jeremiah needed to be a prophet. His job wasn’t to call everyone else to be a prophet, but to serve everyone else by calling them to find their own purpose in God. Jeremiah wanted all of God’s people to take whatever He has endowed them with and dedicate it to Him. Likewise, being “conformed to the image of” Jesus does not mean we should all be carpenters, but that we should apply His righteousness to every task He puts before us.

Therefore, God’s people should never live like they are an accident. We are all a valuable work of creation, made to find our good and His glory in His amazing design. We will find our true selves in the One who made us, and God’s people will have unity in Christ’s character, combined with diversity in the infinite creativity of the people He created.

Be yourself, and also be like Jesus.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10

[1] Romans 8:29

Serving Other Gods

March 27, 2024March 26, 2024Todd R Leave a comment

Foundational to God’s relationship with His people – His covenant – is the idea that He will be our God and we will be His people. If we forsake all other “gods,” we will be blessed immeasurably by the true God, Yahweh.

However, in the time of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, right before the exile of Judah into Babylon, God’s people were not being faithful to Yahweh and were worse than prior generations in their rebellion. So, Jeremiah says in chapter 16, verse 13 – “Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.”

This punishment has 2 parts: banishment from the Promised Land, and also “you shall serve other gods day and night.” Have you ever thought that serving gods other than Yahweh is a punishment, or just that its bad or sinful? It certainly isn’t the way the world sees it: many consider serving any god as punishment. Others might have their own gods and would only consider serving other gods, including Yahweh, as punishment. But here the Bible says that it is only punishment to follow false gods.

Why is this? A good explanation comes from another prophet, Zechariah, in chapter 10, verse 2:

“For the household gods utter nonsense,
            and the diviners see lies;
they tell false dreams
            and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
            they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.”

Compared to a loving, omniscient, wise God, these other gods have no knowledge or wisdom and are not benevolent. They cannot give us what we need to live and are not worthy of worship. They cannot guide us like our Good Shepherd can. Therefore, when we choose to follow anything other than Yahweh, are we punishing ourselves?

When Yahweh said “You shall have no other gods before me” in Exodus 20:3, He said it for our own benefit, and for His glory.

Amen.

The Weight of Lent

February 14, 2024February 13, 2024Todd R 6 Comments

When reading the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, chapters 34 and 35, I noticed the two chapters together have an interesting contrast. In chapter 34, with Jerusalem under siege by the Babylonians, King Zedekiah ordered the people to release all of their Hebrew slaves, seemingly with the motivation of appeasing God. However, soon the people were returned to slavery.[1] In chapter 35, this behavior is contrasted with the Rechabites, who, for about 200 years, had obeyed their ancestors’ vow to not drink wine, or build houses, but to live in tents. God tells Jeremiah to call some Rechabites together, pour them some wine, and offer it to them. But they refused to drink, citing their ancestral vow.[2] The two stories together illustrate that this family could obey a stricter code than God’s, from a lesser authority (their human ancestor), and on less-important issues. The Rechabites are an admirable example to the rest of God’s people, and a testament to what the covenant faithfulness of God to us looks like.

What does this story have to do with Lent? This metaphor from the Apostle Paul provides some help:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

Paul says discipline and self-control are valuable in the same way that training is valuable to an athlete – they bring us closer to obtaining an objective that is valuable to us. To those who love God, being a disciple will require discipline, and vows are a form of discipline.

Lent is celebrated many different ways by many different people but is generally seen as a time to practice spiritual discipline as a way to greater awareness of, gratefulness toward, and/or obedience to, God. Often something is given up for the 40 days of Lent, which makes it in some ways similar to the vows of the Rechabites, or the Nazirite vow taken by Samson (or by his parents) in the book of Judges[3].

However, if we do not value the prize – God Himself – nothing we give up for Lent will make us – or God Himself – happy. Lent will not help us love Him, or our neighbors, more. Like the Israelites who flip-flopped on slavery, treating it as a bargaining chip with God and not as an act of faithfulness to Him, wrong motivations can lead to cycles of disappointment. But, for those in Christ, the prize is worth every ounce of effort we can put into it. Discipline during Lent can be like lifting weights for an athlete, strengthening them, and enabling them to better compete in their sport, but discipline during Lent for the sake of self-denial or for trying to impress God is to aim too low. True religion to God is not a trade – He has already given us everything in Christ Jesus and we can’t earn more. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” – Matthew 5:5

I’ll close with this long quote C.S. Lewis’ sermon, The Weight of Glory:

“The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”[4]

[Note: Today’s post idea came to me this morning, based on the beginning of Lent and tying together a couple of things I’ve recently read. While not really part of the Beatitudes series, this post seemed fitting. However, with Return To Office beginning, Lent has already begun by the time I could write this!]

[1] Jeremiah 34:8-11
[2] Jeremiah 35:1-10
[3] Judges 13:7
[4] Lewis, C.S. The Weight of Glory (1949). P. 25-26.

God Equips Those He Calls

September 1, 2023August 29, 2023Todd R 2 Comments

When Jeremiah was called to serve as a prophet in the Old Testament, God told him he was literally made for it in Jeremiah 1:5 –

“‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’”

However, Jeremiah’s response was not an enthusiastic one. Jeremiah 1:6-8 records this exchange:

“Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’ But the LORD said to me,
            ‘Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
            for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
            and whatever I command you, you shall speak.’”

Even though God had just said “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” Jeremiah objects that he was too young and did not have the natural ability required for the job. Maybe he doubted anyone would listen to him, so God must have the wrong guy. God doesn’t disagree that Jeremiah was young (he already knew that), but knows that God’s ability is what matters, not Jeremiah’s. God knew that someday you and I would be reading Jeremiah’s words regardless of his own youth or ability. God never picks the wrong person for the job.

But if “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”[1] why does the Scripture tell us that one of its own authors doubted and questioned God Himself?

The answer of course, is “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” We should learn not only from Jeremiah’s prophecies to the people of his time, but also from His experience with God. In hindsight, we think that because Jeremiah is a book of the Bible, of course he was able to do the work God gave him, but in the moment of his call, Jeremiah had no idea. So, when we think our ability is not enough the job at hand, we should remember Jeremiah’s youth and remember that “God does not call the equipped; He equips the called,” as the saying goes. Jeremiah learned this from his own experience, and we may learn from it as well because the Bible records it.

Also, God shows us Jeremiah’s flaws to comfort us when we feel inadequate, not only in ability but also in faith. Even if we know that “God does not call the equipped; He equips the called,” we don’t always act on that knowledge. Jeremiah doubts not only his call, but there are other examples, including when he questions why he should buy a field the Babylonians were about to seize.[2] Doubt is not something that only some Christians feel – we are not alone in our weakness. Even the Bible’s own authors had doubt because they could not see as God sees.

God is patient when we are honest with Him about our doubts, but He is also honest with us when He says we were literally made to serve Him. No Christian is inadequate for the work God gives them, for in His power He accomplishes what He wants. He has no doubts and is faithful in providing everything we need.

Sometimes God sends us before we think we are ready, so we can learn to put our confidence in the right place like Paul, who wrote: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

[1] 2 Timothy 3:16
[2] The story is in Jeremiah 32, which I covered in an earlier post, here.

When We Are Faithful, All Failure is Temporary

August 23, 2023August 22, 2023Todd R Leave a comment

In the Marvel movie Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange uses a powerful Time Stone to watch millions of possible future outcomes and find one where the Avengers win. The solution involves huge, almost unconscionable losses, including giving the villain, Thanos, exactly what he needs to commit genocide. The movie was part one of two, and the second wasn’t released until a full year later. Infinity War ends with Thanos victorious, and audiences had to wait to see if Strange’s decisions and sacrifices would work. Would the trust the Avengers put in him be rewarded and lead to their deliverance? It didn’t look good at the time, and it was actually a pretty grim movie.

Marvel’s story had cast Strange in the role of a prophet, except that Strange himself saw the future, and decided himself what to report back to the others, who had to trust what he said he saw, his judgement in what to share, and be willing to stick with it no matter what. In the Old Testament, Jeremiah’s call from God to be a prophet in Jeremiah 1:8-10 has some interesting comparisons with Marvel’s story line. The verses are:

“Do not be afraid of them,
            for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.
Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,
            “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
            to pluck up and to break down,
            to destroy and to overthrow,
            to build and to plant.”

Unlike Doctor Strange, Jeremiah did not have the big picture; he could not pick and choose what to say. God would “put…words in your mouth,” words specifically chosen from perfect and infinite knowledge to be exactly what was needed. Strange was able to act on his plan, although the others didn’t understand and resisted. In Jeremiah’s case, Israel did not listen to him, and God actually told Jeremiah they wouldn’t, but he prophesied anyway. He was created for that purpose, and in the verses above he was assured to “not be afraid of them.”

While Strange promised that his plan would work, we had to wait for the sequel to see it. God promised Jeremiah, who also told the people, that his plan would work, and that the words God gave Jeremiah would determine the fates of “nations” and “kingdoms”, who God would “pluck up” and “break down.” But Jeremiah died waiting for the sequel. During his lifetime, Israel was plucked up by the Babylonians and sent into exile as punishment for their rejection of God, which was also a rejection of Jeremiah. His life was like a pretty grim movie, but his story was not finished, as we now know.

In his lifetime Jeremiah may have looked like a failure, but in the years after and in eternity, his work as a prophet and also his personal experience of God has provided invaluable lessons for millions. God knew this from the beginning because He didn’t have to wait a year to see the sequel. He has already seen them all. Therefore, we can trust what He sees, His judgement in what to share, and be willing to stick with it no matter what, because His story and ours does not end in this lifetime.

“It is not your business to succeed, but to do right. When you have done so the rest lies with God.” – C. S. Lewis

(Prior posts on Jeremiah’s call are here and here)

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What "Not Yet" Means for "Now"

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