19 December 2010

Psalm 24, 29; Isaiah 42.1-12; Ephesians 6.10-20; John 3.16-21

The announcement of the one who will bring justice, peace and righteousness to the earth is made. What joy it must have given the prophet to hear these words from the Lord. After all the prophecy concerning judgment of the people to hear that the promise of Messiah who will come and spread the kingdom of God through all the earth, bringing peace locally and all over the world would come as a welcome respite from what he has seen. Do we long for the coming of Christ and what it will mean to the world or are we so caught up in the things of earth that we fail to long for the kingdom of God? We live in a relatively prosperous and peaceful time and place but it is not so for much of the world today. It is incumbent on us to enjoy what we have while simultaneously longing for and working for the kingdom of God. The Messiah will not grow faint or discouraged till he has established justice on the earth. As the body of Christ can we say that is our aim?

The greatest statement of all is made to Nicodemus. The Jews would have wanted the Messiah to come and judge the world and condemn it yet Jesus says He has not come to condemn the world but to save it. The world is different from the nation and the Messiah was thought to be the Jewish Messiah, the one who would declare them to be right and righteous, then the world would see who God’s favorites really were. Do we have that same attitude or do we have the love of God for the world He created? It is a very different way of thinking to love the world that hates you and rejects you yet that is exactly what Jesus says He does. Are we committed to God’s mission of saving the world through the proclamation of His love in Jesus or have we hunkered down to wait and let Him condemn the world?

Paul makes a critical distinction between flesh and blood and the powers of darkness here. I believe we tend to live on the level of flesh and blood rather than the spiritual level. It is easy to get angry with and fight with flesh and blood but we need to always recall that our battle is a spiritual battle. It is the Spirit of God that is being opposed by the spirits of darkness rather than personal rejection if we are preaching Jesus. We need to be certain that we are fighting the right battle and that we have properly identified the enemy. The armor and weapons of which Paul speaks are those that will outfit us to fight that battle. The battle is waged for love of the world and the hope of its salvation, not against the world. When we remember that the world is held captive in darkness we will fight for it rather than against it.

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.