All We Ever Need

The last couple weeks have stirred up a lot of feelings. I was filled to the brim with the uncertainty and unrest that COVID-19 has brought about. I was deeply stirred with indignation over the horrible murder of George Floyd by someone who abused the special authority given to police officers. And then I walked into our church’s sanctuary on Central and Glendale and joined with 246 other people to worship Jesus in the beauty of his holiness. There I found shalom. Like King David wrote:

“When I tried to understand it all, I just couldn’t. It was too puzzling—too much of a riddle to me. But then one day I was brought into the sanctuaries of God, and in the light of His glory, my distorted perspective vanished. Psalm 73:16-17 (TPT)

All of the pain, frustration, and dissonance we feel deep in our souls is actually a deep longing for the reign of Christ. If you take away the political rhetoric, it is easy to see that the system that shaped so much of the good we experience in America also produced structures that have led to real injustice and complex systematic problems. The truth is that no human system—and most human effort—is flawed and mingled with sin. It is only Christ who rules and reigns with beauty, goodness and righteousness. In Him there is no guile. When He reigns there will be no more death, sorrow, or pain.  

Now back to the worship night. During the worship service I experienced a powerful moment when we were singing a song called “The Blessing.” At the end of the song these lyrics are repeated over and over as if to overcome all the feelings of hurt, shame and fear rooted deep in our souls: 

May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
Your family and your children
And their children and their children.
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you

As we sang, my heart warmed, thinking of all the goodness I’ve experienced from the Lord in my life. And then, something shifted in my heart and mind. I started to focus my attention on the black community, whose pain has come to the forefront. I continued to sing as if everyone in the black community could hear me. I was asking the Lord to put His blessing and favor on them and their children. I could feel a bit of the overwhelming love God has for His black sons and daughters.  

Then, right in the middle of that, a picture of the offending police officers’ families came to mind. I sensed that the Lord wanted me to pronounce the blessing over them as well. That somehow the wives and children of those men would know that Jesus loves them, that He is for them and wants to lead them to green pastures and still waters. I sang as if my song could keep anger and shame from taking root in their broken hearts. I prayed for the peace of Christ to take root instead and rule their families for generations.  

My friends, please know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation. It the only hope/antidote for the world’s sadness and pain. Jesus’ blood can cleanse all of our sin. His Spirit can empower us to overcome sin. And His promised return will eradicate the stain of sin and our sinful nature forevermore. So let’s get out there and sacrificially love one another well.  

All we ever need is more Jesus.

David

Brief and Powerful

This week I heard a John Adams quote on a podcast.

The quote was not about how to be a good president, or how to win a revolution, or how to form a nation. The quote was about how to be a good son, dad, grandfather, great grandfather, etc. He said, “The best time to start raising your child in the right way is about five generations before the child is born.”

This quote is remarkable because it teaches something that is very hard to learn. Our life is both brief and powerful. This is a hard lesson to learn because, when we are young we are good at believing our life can be powerful, but we don’t believe our life is brief. Then, when we are old we are good at believing our life is brief, but don’t believe our life is powerful. We also have a hard time believing anything that is brief can be powerful. But in the Bible book called James we are taught that life is brief (like a vapor) and life is powerful (the fervent effectual prayer of righteous person accomplishes much).

The fascinating thing to me is when we add the value of right and wrong to the brevity and power of life. Life is brief whether it is lived good or bad. Eighty or so years is not even a blip on the radar of eternity. Yet, since God has placed eternity in our hearts and breathed His breath into our human form, our words and actions, thoughts and attitudes, feelings and personalities, biology and chemistry have all been invoked with power to create lasting good in our world. God has given each of us the gift of giving and being a generational blessing to the generational age group we were born into, as well as the generations to come after us.

Though I don’t think anyone will be quoting these words 200 years from now, I do hope these words can educate and inspire us to run with perseverance in Jesus’ direction.

—David