Jeremiah
1:4-10 Psalm 71:1-6 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13:10-17
I don’t need to
tell you that bad things happen all the time…even to so-called “good”
people…life in a fallen, broken world is not easy and it is especially not easy
when you are trying to imitate Jesus…to walk as He walked…to love as He
loves…to do what He did…to live as He lived. The Scriptures indicate that
living a life of obedience to God will be difficult. There is a popular
teaching today that says God wants us all to be well and wealthy and whole. But
this teaching flies in the face of what God tells us in His Word. The Bible
teaches us that those who are determined to do the will of God will suffer…we
will be persecuted, even by so-called believers, we will be accused of all
sorts of things, bigotry, hypocrisy, arrogance, we will be rejected, mocked,
mistreated, and even beaten or killed.
You see, what is
important to God is our character…He wants us to be like Him…and the one way we
learn obedience unfortunately is through suffering. If we are honest, we will
admit that the best lessons in life have often also been the toughest. In
Romans 5 the Apostle Paul wrote: “We can rejoice, too, when we run into
problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And
endurance strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not
lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has
given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.”
Jeremiah was the
son of a priest, but God called him to be a prophet at a young age…probably in
his twenties. At the time the world was all topsy-turvy…the powerful empire of
Assyria was on the decline while the Babylonian empire was on the rise…and the
tiny southern kingdom of Judah was caught in the middle of the powerful
conflicting forces of Babylon and Egypt. To make matters worse, Jeremiah was
called to speak to a people who had largely turned their backs on their God…he
was told that they would resist him and his message; in fact, in chapter 7 of
his book he was told that they would hear but refuse to listen to him. “Tell
them all this,” the Lord told Jeremiah, “but don’t expect them to listen. Shout
out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.”
Imagine being told
right from the beginning of your ministry that regardless of how hard you
tried, your work would be in vain and fruitless! Is it any wonder that Jeremiah
tried to wriggle out of this calling! “O Sovereign Lord, I can’t speak for you!
I am too young!” In chapter 20 he complained bitterly that his obedience had
led to him being made a household joke…but he found that he could not disobey
either… “…if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in His name, His word
burns in my heart like a fire. I’m worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do
it!”
So in spite of being
mocked, of being ignored, of being opposed, wrongfully accused, beaten,
imprisoned, left to die, lied to, and eventually forcefully taken to Egypt,
Jeremiah remained faithful to his Lord. The stubborn sinfulness of his people
left him heartbroken and his many tears have earned him the title the “weeping
prophet”.
What kept him
going? What kept him from throwing in the towel…from giving up and slinking off
into the sunset with his tail between his legs? I believe there are two reasons
for his persistence in spite of overwhelming negativity.
The first has to
do with God’s call. Before Jeremiah was even conceived, God had set him apart
and appointed him to be a prophet to the nations. God knew him before he was
born and he had determined what he would be. Now, this is not unique to
Jeremiah. The author of Psalm 71 said the same thing in verse 6: “Yes, You have
been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.” In Psalm
139:16, David wrote: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was
recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had
passed.” The same was true of John the Baptist…the angel told Zechariah, his
father, that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before birth and
would grow up to be the forerunner of the Messiah Himself. And then in
Galatians 1:15, the Apostle Paul wrote: “But before I was born, God chose me
and called me by His marvellous grace.”
Is this true only of
great prophets or priests or kings or apostles? I think not…the Scriptures tell
us that our names are written in God’s book…or as the author to the Hebrews
says it, our names are written in heaven. I believe that God knows everyone of
us even before conception and that He calls every one of us to fulfil His
purpose as only we can with our unique gifts and talents. However, many do not
answer that call. Like the people Jeremiah spoke to and those Jesus confronted
many will chose to turn away from God’s purpose for their lives. But that
choice does not stop God from reaching out to them in love…and that leads to
the second reason for not giving up.
Our God is love.
The Scriptures tells us that He loved the world enough to die for it…that He
loved us before we loved Him…that He loved us while were yet His enemies…that
it is not His will that one person be cut off from Him for eternity, but that
all would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. And God is infinitely patient
and compassionate and He delays judgment in order to give everyone a fair
opportunity to respond to Him positively. God created us to love Him and to
live for Him…and this is reason enough for us not to give up as we who
truly know Him share His heart for the lost. It is our responsibility to be
witnesses to Him regardless of whether they listen to us or not…and we must
continue to bear witness to Jesus even when they oppose us, mock us, wrongfully
accuse us, beat us, or even kill us…
An African proverb
says: “ A person destined to live will survive even if you crush them with a
grinding stone.” Or as our Psalmist said, “You have allowed me to suffer much
hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths
of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honour and comfort me once
again.” “…don’t be afraid of the people,” God told Jeremiah, “for I will be
with you and will protect you.” And as the author to the Hebrews reminds us, we
who believe in Jesus have received a permanent and an unshakeable kingdom.
Yes, in this world
we will have trouble…we may even be crushed…but we are destined to live and we
will live if we are in Christ. The Eucharist teaches us that
suffering…brokenness…yes, even bloodshed…leads to life for those who are God’s
children. Like Jeremiah, Jesus was called to tell the people to turn away from
their sin and to turn back to God…but they did not listen. And yet Jesus never
gave up…He did not turn away from His calling…He did not turn away from the
purpose for His incarnation. No, He followed through obediently even to death
on the cross…why? Because, as 1 Peter 1:20 says, “God chose Him as your ransom
long before the world began…” It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless,
spotless Lamb of God that was shed to bring you back to God.
Bad things happen
all the time…that is part of life in a fallen and broken world. But in Christ
we have overcome the world and though we may be crushed or trashed or
discouraged or alienated or even murdered, God will restore us to life in Him.
So bring your burdens to the Lord this morning as you come to feast at His
table once again and lay them down at His feet, asking Him to give you the
courage to carry on…to persevere…to press on…so that you will never give up no
matter what life throws at you.
© Johannes W H van
der Bijl 2019-08-20
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