Sustainable Trees and Lifeblood

Day 166: Jeremiah 17-20

Jeremiah 17:7-8.
"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." 

The Bible often uses evocative language to communicate ideas. In this passage, a simile is used to compare trust in the Lord to trees planted along a riverbank. I love the imagery of those verses. Just imagine trees along a riverbank, roots extended deep into the ground, into the water. These trees survive all sorts of conditions, and what's more, is that they never stop producing fruit. These trees not only survive; they flourish. They sustain us and give us food. So, too, does God sustain us. When we place our hope and faith in Him, we are nourished; we are fed.

God uses concrete examples, such as the trees, to demonstrate abstract and complex principles, such as what it means to trust and hope in the Lord. Thank you, God, for understanding our needs and providing us words with how we can think about you.

In Jeremiah 18-20, Jeremiah delivers a message from the Lord to Judah and Jerusalem. He tells them that the Lord will destroy them if they turn to evil and refuse to obey God. God will even withhold blessings from them. The people respond back to Jeremiah that they will continue to live as they want. They don't care. It doesn't matter that God tells them he is the potter, and they are the clay, and He can do with them what they want. They will continue to follow evil and reject the Lord. So, as a result, the Lord will destroy them, if He so chooses.

God deals with us the same way. He can destroy us if he want; he sure does have the power. He can bless us if he wants; he has the power to do this, too. He can upset our plans, just like he did with Judah and Jerusalem. He could allow us to be slaughtered, leaving our bodies as food for vultures and wild animals, just like he promises to do to Israel. He can destroy our cities, us. He can shatter us.

And He probably would shatter us....except for one thing. Jesus. God sent Jesus to earth, and now Jesus is the one who intervenes on our behalf. Jesus is our Savior. Whereas God wants to destroy us because of our wickedness and refusal to be blessed by him, Jesus pleads on our behalf. Jesus is the only reason we have hope in coming into the presence of God. What a mighty story we are a part of!

The lifeblood of Jesus allows us to produce fruit. It allows us to be like sustainable trees. May we continue to put our trust and hope in the Lord.

Imagining a Different Reality

Day 96: Job 8-10

This time Job's friend Bildad talks with Job, asking him what sin his children committed to deserve this. He doesn't understand Job's reactions. Job's response is somewhat puzzling to me as well, but from what I understand it appears that Job ultimately asks God why, if he was going to let all this happen to him, did he even let him be born in the first place. Why did he let him be born if he was just going to destroy everything for him? That's a pondersome question.

Even though I don't understand all of what Job says--he seems to be saying one thing and then switches tracks and goes on to something else--I do know that Job's faith appears more complex and deep than his friends. He is able to imagine a God--a world even--in which things like this don't happen. And since he can imagine a world like this, it is even more painful when life takes these turns, when God allows bad things to happen. Ultimately, Job recognizes that God has the power to take away, but he wonders why he chooses to do so.

I am really enjoying the book of Job. I can identify with Job and his expressions to God, but Job's thoughtful words really give me something to ponder.

Imagine

Day 20: 31-40

Moses. I respect Moses. Here is a man who obeys God’s commands. Always. He does everything the Lord commands of him and as a result, as 33:11 says, “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” Wow. That is so cool. Moses got to speak with God in a way that I’ve wanted to my entire life.

Moses even got to see the glory of God while God was shielding him in a cleft of the rock.

God is so creative!! His imagination is like none other. He is poetic, beautiful, and artistic.

Imagine being able to speak to God face to face. Can you do it?

What is amazing is that God has passed these traits on to His people. He blesses His people with this same creativity. For instance, the writer of Exodus emphasizes the craftsmanship and artistry of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the priestly garments, and other things as well. God fills people with his Spirit and they do amazing things for Him. In this case, Bezalel and Oholiab and a whole host of others were put in charge of the artistic designs for all the items God wanted built. The Lord gave them skill and they used it for His glory.

Imagination.

Shane has been preaching on imagination the last two Sundays, and the sermons have really got me thinking about this word. I don’t think I use my imagination enough where God is concerned. I tend to see reality. I’m a realist, you could say. But I don’t dream often enough about how life could be. I don’t imagine life being very different than it is now.

But it could be.

God has an imagination, and He’s given me one, too. He’s given you one. Maybe we should begin dreaming about the possibilities when we imagine.

A world without poverty.
A world without racism.

A world without injustice.
A world without murder, rape, pornography, hatred, divorce, sexual immorality.
A world without sin.

A world full of love and full of people who love God.

Can we imagine it? If we imagine it, it just might happen. But if we don't imagine it, it will never happen.

Imagine.