A Law That Cannot Be Broken
There are all sorts of things I could teach, verbally ruminate or otherwise “vent” about in this newsletter. As rarely as we put out one of these little circulars, believe me, I’ve got a lot stored up I’d like to write about.
Instead, I’d like to talk about an ever-present Truth that I just can’t get past. I am consistently being reminded of it. A truth that regardless of age, ethnicity, gender or religion, we all will be reminded of until time is no more. A truth that we can ignore but not erase. A truth that will not let us go. A truth that we can’t get past first four words of the Bible with seeing. That is, that everything begins and ends with God.
So much of the pseudo-psychology and psycho-theology that is enjoying ever-increasing popularity today begins and ends with man. Turn on TBN at any given time and you are more likely to find a preacher who goes almost out of his way to keep man at the center of his preaching than one who keeps God at the center.
That is why you hear less and less Scripture quoted when they preach. This is why you won’t hear very many of them preach verse-by-verse in an expositional fashion. If they did, they would have to deal with the depravity of man and our tendency toward sinfulness (a word many preachers refuse to use, though the Scriptures speak of it so often). Today’s feel-better pulpiteers would also have to deal with the fact that the Scriptures show us that any approach to life that starts with man usually ends up in tragedy like, for instance, um… er… the Fall of man, maybe.
When we start with man, we inappropriately elevate him to a position he’s not qualified to occupy. And in doing so, we reduce God. God becomes a bellhop or a band-aid whose primary role is to simply help man reach whatever goals, purposes or desires man has for himself.
But let us be clear on this. He’s not a bell hop or a band-aid. God is the center of the universe and He is the beginning and ending point of everything in life. He’s Sovereign King. You could sum up all of Scripture in one verse: “From Him and through Him and to Him are all things.” You could sum up all of the universe past present and future in one biblical phrase: “for His glory.”
You may not like it. You may argue that you disagree with the picture of the “wrathful God of the Old Testament,” or ignore the whip-bearing, temple-cleansing Jesus of the New Testament. But like it or not, He is God and “hath done whatsoever he pleases.” We can’t ignore the real Him and we can’t re-invent the real Him and it somehow still work out all right.
But it seems that what so many think. Subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly), the church is making God in our own image, and in doing so, we’re not worshiping the One True God, but rather a perversion of the Real Thing. We must remember: we don’t tell God who He is, He tell us who He is.
And in case you think my pendulum is swinging too far, here’s the clincher: when we surrender to Who He really is, we do get a personal blessing – immediately, instantaneously.
Follow my reasoning here. Due to the fact that everything begins and ends with God, due to the fact that everything centers on Him, this makes Him the True Ultimate. And in a culture which seems to have degenerated into one great big ad for everything “ultimate,” we’d better get this down lest we be seduced by snake-oil salesmen (like Hollywood execs and university professors) selling counterfeits. Mark it down: GOD is the Ultimate Source for everything our soul craves – because what our soul craves most is God.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” He gladly honors this promise because He gladly gives us Himself. The novelty doesn’t wear off of Him. The polish doesn’t fade on Him. He is the first, final and best gift to us as our Everything.
Yes, there are promises to you, from God Himself, about your needs, your health, your finances, your future. But the granting of those is all about His Kingdom, not ours. And the blessings personally received as a result of those promises are not and end in themselves, but a means to improve us for Him. Let me put it this way, if you stood before God and asked Him to give you the best thing He could possibly give you in the entire universe, and He had promised to do so, He would have to give you Himself. Period.
Fulfillment? The truest fulfillment (not just merely feeling fulfilled) is in doing HIS will. Life purpose? Our purpose on earth starts and ends with HIS glory. “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Ps. 16:11, NKJV) Those old Puritans had it right after all. As the Westminster Catechism states, “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” And sure it’s hard to have that Mary heart in a Martha world. But Jesus said it is the one necessary thing. (Luke 10:42)
The fact that everything starts and finishes with God, that fact that everything that is IS for His glory, the fact that everything we need or will truly satisfy our hearts is found in Him and Him only, this is a law that cannot be broken. It’s like gravity. You can’t break it for long, you can only break yourself against it.
You and I will unconsciously try to start our arguments and proofs with man and only find a big piece always missing. You and I will try to find satisfaction elsewhere, to see if the bass boat or the new job or the pay raise or the vacation “does the trick” only to find ourselves more frustrated than before. You and I will try to find fulfillment through a job or a position or a higher level of influence or through education, only to find ourselves hollow still.
Only in God, dear friend. Not in “churchianity,” not in religious activities, not even in family. In God alone. That is where the action is. That is where the romance comes alive. That is where the peace prevails. That is where the “click” happens in my spirit that makes everything else in my life fall into its proper place.
Might as well give in. It’s a law that can’t be broken.
