On Training wheels and Water wings…
There comes a time in the young cyclist’s life that the training wheels must come off. And there comes a time in the young swimmer’s story that the water wings must be removed. The centrifugal and gyroscopic principles were always the cyclist’s real allies, as was the principle of buoyancy in the case of the swimmer. For a time the respective supports were necessary, but never were they intended to continue.
So it is with the faith of Abraham in looking forward to that promised Seed, the Mosaic Law, and the faith of the Christian in looking backward to that same Seed. The Law was there till we learned our fallenness… gave up our trying to make it our full support… our self-made righteousness.
And when that time arrived, that time to toss off that old and it’s bondage, that time to embrace the new, Christ came… that promised Seed, the eternal Word, “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14) — “we have heard… we have seen… we have looked at and our hands have touched,” writes John (1 John 1:1). And then He was not. And now we look back.
But His coming, tho brief, was at that divine and perfect time, that time known by the Father from the foundations of the worlds, from before time, from, to, and within the eternal! Paul writes the Galatians, “…when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son“ (Gal. 4:4).
God has a time, and a purpose, and when the time is right, God will do.
Solomon in His wisdom observed this rule: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Eccl. 3:1). Or, as some translations have it, “a time to every purpose.”
Nothing is random in God’s universe, unless it is random by purpose. Nothing is rogue, even the devil and his hosts ultimately will serve His purposes. And nothing can thwart these. As Gamaliel cautioned regarding the presumptions of some to do so, “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39).
And so, in God’s good will and purpose, He waited. And then, “…when the set time had fully come” God acted.
Believer, this is so even today. God has His times and purposes for you too. And like the cyclist… like the swimmer… like the gift of God’s Son… these things are made actual to you not by vain effort, but by Faith.
More tomorrow…
To hear this past Sunday’s message, go to the Facebook page of Lincoln Baptist Church, or link to the livestream from the church website.
This past month mankind found its wisdom insufficient to prevent — at current count — the deaths of some 211,766 persons. Each of these people found their own personal physical strength insufficient to combat the invading virus. And every one of us has felt the economic impact of a world brought to a standstill. (The Dow Jones for example plummeted from above 29,000 to below 19,000 points!)
In my office I have a beautiful hand crafted cane – a gift from our previous pastor while on a missionary trip. But I cannot use it! I had begun to, but somewhere deep below its beauty and shellac the wood must have had a rotten patch. When I reached for it at last it was in two pieces! I’ve glued together now and it remains a beautiful souvenir, but I don’t dare trust it to support me.
Moses used a cane, and God told him to cast it down. When he did the staff became a snake… a serpent, possibly representative of what lay beneath all the man-made props we may lean upon. “We know,” writes John, “…that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19).
For twenty-two years we enjoyed living in our little log home just outside Fredericton. We knew when we purchased it that the living room fireplace was unusable due to a prior collapse of the chimney liner. But, no worries, we would get an electric insert.
thebrokenrunner 