19 November 2010
Psalm 102; Mal 3.1-12; James 5.7-12; Luke 18.1-8

Two promises are made, one concerning the messenger and the coming of Messiah and the other regarding the blessing of God on the land if they will bring the full tithe into the storehouse. Has Jesus accomplished the work of refining the people of God? Do we see a harvest of righteousness in the household of God? When Jesus was here we see Him pointedly speaking to the religious leaders, speaking to their hearts and calling them out on their attitudes in the way the refiner works impurities out of metal. In our lives we are to respond to the exposure of sinful attitudes and desires in the same way, allowing Him to take them away so that we can shine forth, but we have to have a standard against we measure ourselves and too often it is simply other people when the only standard is Jesus himself. The promise regarding the tithe has always been there, from the dedication of the temple onwards, if the people will turn to Him and worship Him then He will bless them and they will shine to the world.

The widow wanted what was due her, justice. She had no advocate and could only make her appeal through persistence. This passage has to do with eschatology, not general prayer, or we could get the Lord to do our bidding by being persistent about our requests. It fits with the prior passage in that we are told to pray for the coming of the kingdom of God and in that praying we are to pray not only for the coming of the kingdom but also for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. In other words, we are to pray for justice, but we need to know what justice means. Do we see the inequity in the world? Do we see our own blessedness as an opportunity to bless others or do we see it as a way to secure our “future.” How do we think about justice in the world? We need a definition that is godly and biblical, not worldly, but we need to think about the issue and we need to ask for guidance on how we used the talents we have been given to serve the Lord and others.

How are we waiting for the coming of the Lord? Do we realize that is what we are doing? James tells us to wait with patience and Jesus tells us to be persistent in asking. How do we strike the balance? I believe we are to long for and pray for the coming of the kingdom but we are also to wait expectantly and wait actively. We are to work to make the kingdom visible though imperfect. We are to be a people who are characterized by different attitudes towards things and life and are to show the world what living in the kingdom of God looks like, not worrying about the same things, our attitudes shaped by faith in the sovereignty of God and our hope solid in Him. If we truly thought that the Lord had the future in His hands what would change in our lives today?

My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations.
Come quickly Lord Jesus.