Taking Reality into Account
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
Seems this is reality week at Forthright. So,
let's get a grip.
Taking Reality into Account
by Randal Matheny
In his book The Bible Jesus Read, Philip Yancey
lauds the varied expressions in Psalms as people
of faith grappled with life's realities. Joy mixed
with pain, protest alongside praise, agony and
ecstasy together. Indeed, the Bible has its feet on
the ground.
Joy and peace do not come at the expense of
ignoring the tough issues and the afflictions of
our passage through this world. On the contrary,
Jesus' suffering brings us face to face with sin's
deepest horrors while it breaks the darkness with
divine light.
Christians, therefore, are the true realists.
Atheists must ignore a universe of evidence for
the existence of God. Optimists must close their
eyes to human inequalities and social injustices.
Pleasure-seekers must pretend there is no
accounting for deeds done in the body. Secularists
must squelch the cry of eternity emanating from
the heart.
This holy realism girds up wisdom and spurns
folly. Long ago a man of God made this connection,
"The impious fool says in his heart, 'There is no
God'" (Psalm 14:1, NEB).
Denial of reality comes in many forms. But in
every case it bubbles up into foolishness. For as
long and hard as one may deny reality, God (not
reality) will not deny himself nor his law at
work. Denial of reality is actually denial of
God's ways and rebellion against his person. The
fool of Psalm 14 does not lack rational sense, but
moral integrity.
"How vile men are, how depraved and loathsome;
not one does anything good!" (v. 2).
The fool refuses to learn when reality knocks him
for a loop. He insists he will succeed by going his
way -- as he drives off a cliff that, supposedly,
isn't there.
When God's people deal with reality, they take
several lines of approach.
* They agonize over what men do against what God
wants.
* They analyze what is and compare it with what
should be.
* They mourn what man has become in light of what
he was created to be.
* They view the happenings of time and space
within the framework of eternity.
* They rejoice at the goodness of God winning over
the human perversity.
* They weigh the purposes of the heart in the
balance of God's plan.
* They perceive the hand of God making good sprout
from evil deeds.
* They exult in being new creatures in Christ as
they face the dissolution of creation.
* With righteousness controlling their lives, they
would hasten God's intervention to vanquish evil.
As God's people understand the full gamut of
reality, their emotions range the complete
keyboard of expression. Feelings and thoughts,
motives and purposes, are all laid before the
Sovereign's throne.
During his ministry, Jesus also felt the range of
emotions. He got angry at the hypocrisy of
religious authorities, frustrated at his
disciples' slowness, exasperated at lack of faith.
He showed tenderness to immoral women, love to
lovers of money, and compassion to the suffering
and mourning. He cried before a friend's tomb. He
agonized with three disciples and drenched himself
in sweat during prayer.
So Christians, like Israel before them and like
their Savior whose example they follow, may cry,
doubt, plead, and protest to their Maker. In so
doing, they show their full humanity working
toward holiness and demonstrate that they, above
all others, are taking life as it is in full
account and placing it squarely at the feet of him
who can perform immeasurably more than any can
ask or conceive.