Afterwords -- week 44
"...let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy..." (Psalm 96:12)
"...he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." (2 Corinthians 5:15)
October 22, 2022
Dear friends,
The other night my heart was impressed with the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:15 (above). When I came to faith in Christ, I died (see also Gal 2:20). Christ died and was raised for me, and the vital purpose stated in this verse is that I would no longer live for myself but for him. The word "that" in the original language (ἵνα, "in order that") is a small word which denotes purpose, aim, or a goal. Christ died -- not only for the forgiveness of my sins, for reconciliation, for the imputation of righteousness, for my purification, and for the gathering of a redeemed community -- he died to set all things right and into their proper place. Very practically speaking, that means he died that I would no longer live for myself but for him who came, who loved, and who died and was raised for me.
THE LORD REIGNS. Christ died for me that I would stop being the center of my world. This truth is also reflected, along with similar assertions, in the OT by the phrase "The LORD reigns" (יהוה מלך)('adonai [Yhwh] malak). King David first used this phrase, as recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:31, and then it appears in a grouping of four psalms: Psalms 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; and 99:1. The emphasis is that God is the wonderful, glorious King of righteousness, who brings justice to the nations and one day will restore all creation to the immense joy of God's glory (see Rom 8:19-23). One day his reign will be experienced by every creature and in every corner of the universe. We, along with the trees of the field, will sing for joy when we see the Lord ruling and reigning over all. It is eternally good that he alone is the Center of all that exists.
HE IS THE CENTER. Another way of saying this is that even now you and I should live for the glory of God. We joyfully, not grudgingly, submit to his reign. He is Lord. The first three requests of the Lord's prayer reinforce this truth: "Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:9-10 NLT). His name, his kingdom, and his will are central to our life, and to all of creation. Each and every day the Lord gives us, we should wake up and recognize that "the Lord reigns" and that he is the center, and that we have died to our sinful selves and now we live to worship and serve him forever. As the hymn says, "When morning gilds the sky, our hearts awaking cry: May Jesus Christ be praised!" (Edward Caswall, trans.)
To God, the Word on high, the hosts of angels cry: May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let mortals too upraise their voices in hymns of praise: May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let earth's wide circle round in joyful notes resound: May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let air and sea and sky from depth to height reply: May Jesus Christ be praised!
So, today we have the great privilege of exalting God, as a kind of first fruits of his creatures, before that great and awesome Day when his glory is revealed to all of creation. Our lives now should be a foretaste of that glorious day.
IN OTHER NEWS. I like maps. When I was in high school (last millennium) I took a vocational inventory, a questionnaire to determine what careers best fitted my personality and interests. The number one result for me was the field of cartography. Though that did not become my career path, I have always liked, and still do like, looking at maps of all sorts, especially when they are framed and mounted. Here's a site I find interesting, Old Maps Online. And here's an article about J. R. R. Tolkien's own annotated map of Middle-earth, now at the Oxford's Bodleian Library.
RELOCATING A FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HOUSE. A few years ago, we enjoyed visiting western Pennsylvania and touring four houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright: Fallingwater, Kentuck Knob, Mantyla, and the Duncan house. Here's the story on how Mantyla was moved and rebuilt at Polymath Park. And here's more about Polymath Park. Of course, I would tell you they're worth visiting!
ARTICLES OF INTEREST.
-- Five myths about how we got the Bible.
-- The ugliness of social Darwinism is seen in modern comedy: "It's never 'just a joke.'"
-- A cornucopia of cool things. Fellow VT and DTS alum and good friend Neil Damgaard has new website with resources and links.
LISTENING TO...
--"How Not to be a Narcissist", a three-message series by Andrew Fellows for the European Leadership Forum.
-- Messages by S. Lewis Johnson on the book of Revelation.
-- Hymnology, season 1, by Hymns of Grace (Grace Community Church).
FINAL QUOTE. "The basic position of man in rebellion against God is that man is at the center of the universe, that he is autonomous -- here lies his rebellion. Man will keep his rationalism and his rebellion, his insistence on total autonomy or partially autonomous areas, even if it means he must give up his rationality." (Francis Schaeffer, Escape from Reason)
That's it for week 44!
Sandy
Image credits: above, my recent photo of the sunflower field at Glade Road farm in Blacksburg, and below, of the rear exterior of Mantyla, taken in 2019. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
