Afterwords -- while it is day
"We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work." (John 9:4 ESV)
April 15, 2023
Dear friends,
The painting above, "Sower at Sunset," is by Vincent van Gogh. He created some thirty paintings on the theme of sowing. "The sower in particular was a figure that Van Gogh saw in terms of representing the eternal cycle of agricultural life, of honorable endeavor and tradition, and symbolized these qualities to the artist." Read more here.
In the words above, taken from the Gospel of John, our Lord Jesus teaches us that there is a time to work the works of God (daytime), and that there will be a time when the works are finished (nighttime). We have only a window of time to work in this present age. The sower in the painting is still working even as the sun is going down.
KEEPING ON. I've been impressed with the swift passage of time, and that we will not have forever in this earthly life. Now is the time to sow, and to serve, and to lay the foundation for future blessing. I'm wondering, too, when we speak to others about the Lord, if we do justice to the imminent reality of Christ's return? In the Apostles' Creed we affirm, "He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead." This phrase, "to judge the living and the dead", comes from Scripture:
"And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:42-43)
"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." (2 Timothy 4:1-3)
"With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." (1 Peter 4:4-5)
There may be a long season of sowing and growing, but the great harvest will come at last (Matt 13:30). "No man is entirely without inklings of judgments to come," wrote J. I. Packer. Most people simply want to avoid any thought of divine judgment. But this must be faced. The Bible tells us that the proclamation of "the year of the LORD'S favor" will be followed by "the day of vengeance of our God" (Isaiah 61:2). The "year" is longer than the "day," but the day will come. God sent his Holy Spirit into the world to convict people of these truths (see John 16:8-11). We should not be afraid to speak of the judgment to come, for this gives weight and urgency to our gospel proclamation.
OVERWHELMED WITH THE TASK? When I think of the problems in our secular, postmodern world, I feel overwhelmed by all the issues facing us. There are so many things that are twisted and perverted by our culture, and so many lies are being promoted by academia, media, social media, corporations, entertainment, and government. Sometimes the task of being a witness in this world just feels like a crushing weight. Any answer a Christian might give will certainly be shouted down. There is a temptation to hide or to run away, or on the other hand, to become belligerent and fight in a worldly way. But neither is helpful. I take heart from Francis Schaeffer, who was an effective evangelist to the students of his day. He wrote,
"Proclaiming this gospel to rebellious mankind can, of course, seem foolish at times. We can be overwhelmed by the difficulty and the size of the task. Yet, thankfully, God has given us only three things to do and then our responsibility is closed. The first is to preach the gospel as clearly as possible, answering all questions as clearly as we can to present the truth about the universe, man, and our dilemma. The second is to pray for each individual who hears it. And the third is, by the grace of God, through faith in the finished work of Christ, to live a life that in some poor fashion will commend the gospel we have preached. When we have done these three things with compassion, amid this world that has turned away from God and is totally dark and vain, some of them will respond." (Francis Schaeffer, The Finished Work of Christ)
RETIREMENT? Christians can and do retire from their full-time vocations, at least from those activities which require more physical strength and vitality (Num 4:1-28). However, we should never become inactive in our service to the Lord. Since my retirement four years ago, I have found ways of being active and (hopefully) useful for the Lord. I prepare for and lead a study group in Systematic Theology, help lead a NT Greek class, and host a weekly lunch with a number of men studying the book of Revelation. On Mondays a friend and I pick up and deliver food donations from Kroger to the local food pantry. Every other week I get together with a group of retired men for lunch and discussion. As needed, I officiate graveside services for veterans' families who do not have a local pastor, and I visit the local youth detention center each month. Daily I find there is a lot to think about, pray about, and write about. And many things to give thanks for! Jan Lu and I read the Word together, pray for others, and try to walk at least a mile each day. Retirement has eased the pace and load significantly. Most days I can get an afternoon nap, which helps my energy level during the day. Oh, and we help as greeters at church (see graphic at bottom).
ARTICLES OF NOTE...
-- "Christians were fighting over minor matters, causing unnecessary division among them. Paul does not tell them to fight the good fight of faith, but to stop fighting bad fights of faithlessness." Read "Fight the Good Fight but Surrender the Bad Ones."
-- "Pollsters are constantly telling us that American religion is falling apart. The younger generation is turning away from church, the prophets of doom say. The 'nones' will soon be a plurality, if not a majority of Americans. Maybe this is true, but polling on religion can be highly misleading. A statistically significant number of people who say they have 'no religion,' for example, will also say that they attend church regularly. Meanwhile, some self-identified white evangelicals almost never go to church. We shouldn’t depend on polls to tell us what’s really happening on the religious landscape." (Thomas Kidd)
-- "Adoption is an act of transfer from an alien family into the family of God himself. This is surely the apex of grace and privilege." (John Murray) Read about the blessing and privilege of being adopted by God.
-- On a recent walk on the Huckleberry Trail, we spotted (the first time for us) a pair of Tree Swallows. They are such beautiful birds, and quite the travelers!
FINAL QUOTE. “God underwent three great humiliations in his effort to save the human race. The first was the incarnation, when he took on the confines of a physical body. The second was the cross, when he suffered the ignominy of public execution. The third humiliation is the church. In an awesome act of self denial God entrusted his reputation to ordinary people.” (Dorothy Sayers)
That's it for this week!
Sandy
Image credit: "Sower at Sunset" by Vincent van Gogh (1888). 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.
