Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Clearing the Barriers

Jim:

Nehemiah 9:26-38
In reflecting on the history of God’s people Ezra concludes, “Here we are, slaves to this day—slaves in the land that your gave to our ancestors to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts. Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins; they have power also over our bodies and over our livestock at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.” Because of their waywardness, the people of God found themselves bound in slavery again, just as they had been in Egypt so many generations before. Our idols, of course, have power over us, just as the kings of Assyria had over the people of Israel in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra. Anything that we allow to guide or direct our living, anything that we set our minds on besides God and God’s will for our lives, becomes an idol in that it stands between us and God.

Revelation 18:9-20
The theme of separation from God is continued in the reading from Revelation. The many luxuries that are noted in verses 11-13, luxuries that Babylon enjoyed and that contributed to her dissipation and sinfulness, make for quite a list. “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, find linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariot, slaves—and human lives.” Pursuit of such luxuries was the focus of life in Babylon, and it was by these items that the Babylonians chosen to separate themselves from righteousness and from God. In Romans 8, however, Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from God’s love for us. And Paul provides a list of his own: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39) So, while we are quick to set idols between ourselves and our Creator, quick to be distracted from our attention to God’s will, God remains faithful and steadfast in divine love for us.

Matthew 15:21-29
So what does it look like when the barriers come down and God’s love flows freely? Matthew shows us. The Canaanite woman who sought Jesus’ healing for her daughter showed faith in Jesus and his mercy. As a result, Jesus healed the daughter. “Then Jesus answered her, ‘Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.” (verse 29)

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