When I was reading Rom 8: 29-30 and also Rom 8: 38 I was so struck, of the perfect state of completion of things; predestined, called, justified and glorified-that means from before you were born, until you get to heaven; is in the mind of God -all done, completed over. Yet are not even aware of God, his existence, his plan and purpose for your life- and yet it is all done, over finished set- all the way to glorification. This is quite amazing. And what part do we have in all these decisions of God? None. We have no part, no say. Predestined to glorification is set. But just in case we feel- but where is my part in all these? We look down to verses 38-39- demons, death, depths- all pretty difficult to contend with; that is the part we play. We must go through all the struggles that God has prepared for us. God has taken care of the fact we will be in heaven. It’s a finished decision. Whether tests passed or failed, they are passed. The desired result from God’s perspective is achieved. Now, we have to walk on the road he has set out for us. Yes, there are the positive side of things- angels, heights- but there is a whole lot of failures and difficulties in-between. What we need to see and understand is that all of the tests and trials we go through verse 39 will not separate us from the love of God, from the victory of heaven that God has waiting for us. This is our hope when we see and are conscious of our failures, that even our failures cannot whatsoever change God’s glorification. The road we each must walk on is hard. Difficult. Challenging. When we go through life, the issues are usually funds, money, bills and health. Yet, we see and know they are common to all. Saved and unsaved have these problems in life. But they have nothing to do with our eternity. What does have bearing on our eternity? Nothing really. It is all set. But, the journey of our life, our experiences spiritually, conquering our inadequacies; failing, and then trying again, these are the things that separate us from the pagans- we have a goal, we have a walk, we fail, we get up, we keep going. We have a reason to try to be better people, because we know the LORD loves us and has chosen to use us as examples to others. The difference between, and this is only my thoughts; the difference between understanding your sin brings the next step into being, the next child, the next moral failure, and the casting away of the person from God, is that the one cast away, was never really there, to be cast away, but was always on the outside, never on the inside. And this shows in the walk, the bearing of fruit. A great step, in failure, is repentance. That means, get up keep going. For that is the road marked out for you. Maybe we fail in our crushes, maybe we fail in our actions, maybe we fail in our ethics; but your walk is not about the failures. They must come. The demons must come. But it is about giving up and then returning, because you understand the giving up had to come before the returning. Return to me says the LORD and I will return to you Zech 1: 3. It is about the failure. It is about getting up. It is about being used again by your glorious God. That’s what a Christian walk is about. Up! Shake off the dust! Onwards.
MCC Admin
17 Kislev 5782