R-Rated Scripture For an R-Rated World

Nahum 2:13-3:7
Revelation 13:1-10
Luke 12:13-31
When our daughter and son were small they had Bible storybooks written especially for children. I can assure you that neither our reading from Nahum with its bloodshed and carnage, nor from Revelation with its horrific monsters were to be found in those storybooks. I doubt that our passage from Luke was there either. These are examples of what we might call R-rated scripture: stacks of corpses in the streets, scary creatures running amok, a man who dies in his sleep. What are we to say about such things?

Yet, there in the midst of these very stories is a note of hope and of encouragement. “Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints” we read in Revelation (Revelation 13:10). “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,” says Jesus, what you will eat or wear. “Instead strive for (God’s) kingdom and these things will be given to you as well” (Luke 12:22, 31). Against a backdrop of violence and woe God is calling people of faith to stand firm, to hold fast to God’s word and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Every day’s news brings word of another crisis, another atrocity, another horrific turn of events. How meaningful would scripture be if only contained material suitable for storybooks, easily grasped morals and lessons about shepherds and rainbows? How relevant would that be in the face of war, genocide, terrorism, torture, starvation, greed, despotism, bigotry, and hatred? But scripture DOES have a word from such circumstances because God’s people have faced such times before and were able to rely on God’s presence then. Even when Jesus Christ died a cruel death it did not defeat God’s will for humanity. God’s word to us today is to hold fast to the faith, especially in times of darkness and despair, the “R-rated” times of life. Stand firm, God tells us, and trust in what God will do. It’s a difficult lesson to be sure, but we can not deny that God has been this way before. Our God is a “real-life” God and not one stuck in a storybook for children. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord, help us to stand firm in times of crisis and to trust in you always. In Jesus’ name. Amen.