Skip to main content

Not Ashamed!


            I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. (Psalm 22:22-24)
           Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me.”  (Hebrews 2:11-13)
           Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend. (Job 16:19-21)

            How do you see God? Many years ago, I was in a Bible study that looked at the different ways people see God. To some, He's an old Grandfather, kind but a little senile. To some, He was the Judge, just waiting for a chance to strike you with lightning for the smallest infraction. To some, He's the Life of the Party who wants everyone to have a great time. There are, of course, as many wrong answers as there are people because everyone has his/her own slight variation and what that variation looks like depends on their
circumstances and personality. Some are further from the truth than others.
          My own wrong answer tends to be a mix of the Judge and a big Brother. It's not that He's looking for a chance to strike me with lightning. He's just constantly disappointed. I'm an embarrassment, but, I'm family and He promised to take care of me. In other words, "despise" and "disdain" and hiding His face are my expectations. I know better but those are my expectations when I'm not thinking. That's part of the reason I hung a sketch of Jesus on my office wall. In it, He is holding a lamb and has His face buried in the Lamb's wool. I don't tend to like pictures of Jesus, because they are wrong in any of a number of ways, but this one is designed to combat a specific error in my thinking. Today's passage also combats that lie. It says God doesn't despise or disdained my suffering. He doesn't despise or disdain me because I'm afflicted. He hasn't hidden His face from me (returning to the sketch, He hides His face "in" me.) 
          In Hebrews 2, this idea makes a turn that has meant a lot to me, when I've remembered t think about. it. In Psalm 22, the focus is on God. In Hebrews 2, it looks at the other side of the coin. It focuses on the  singer's relationship with the brothers and congregation. I know that the "you" in the Hebrews passage refers to God just as it does in Psalm 22, but at the same time, the writer of Hebrews was discussing Jesus' relationship with His brothers. He seems to me to suggest that in addition to praising, honoring and honoring God, Jesus is not ashamed of me, and is willing to praise me in the congregation, not because I'm impressive, but because I'm one of His brothers.
           That brings me to the passage from Job. I have an Advocate who is my friend. He's not ashamed to stand up for me. Suppose you had a lawyer you knew would stand by your side no matter what. If someone mentioned needing a lawyer, would you send that someone to your lawyer or suggest they go elsewhere? Would you sing the praises of your lawyer?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Right Road

          Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:7-12)                  For years before GPSes existed, I told people I wanted something in my car that would tell me, “Turn left in half a mile…turn left in a quarter mile…turn left in 500 feet… turn left in 100 feet…turn left now …You missed the turn, Dummy!” The problem isn’t necessarily that I get lost so much as I’m afraid I’ll get lost. I don’t want to have to spend my whole trip stressing over the next turn. I have the same problem with my spiritual journey.   
Post a Comment
Read more

Died as a Ransom

                 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:15)                  This is something I’d really rather not think about but here it is and it’s important. I was reading in Bold Love about seeking revenge.  The author wrote of seeking justice when a supposed Christian does something sinful, harmful, and/or horrific, like sexually abusing a daughter.  And the thought that came to mind was of God asking if Jesus’ death was sufficient payment to me for the sin committed against me.                I have no specific longing for revenge, vengeance, or justice. I’m sure there are some lurking somewhere in my heart, but this wasn’t a response to one. It was more a question of principle. Jesus’ death was sufficient payment for to God for our sins.  That’s the standard Sunday Schoo
1 comment
Read more

Out of the Depths

  Out of the depths I have cried to You, Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the sound of my pleadings.   If You, Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, so that You may be revered. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and I wait for His word. My soul waits in hope for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning. Israel, wait for the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his guilty deeds . (Psalm 130)             I like Mr. Peterson’s interpretation of the first line. “The bottom has fallen out of my life!” Of course, the problem for some of us is the fact that we’re drama queens, and/or we’re weak. Any time anything happens that disturbs our sense of mastery and control, the bottom has fallen out of our lives. If the past couple of days have taught me anything, they’ve t
1 comment
Read more