Do you ever get tired of conflict?

Arguments at home, frustrations at work, tension in our communities, divisions in our nation. Conflict seems to meet us at every turn. After a while we almost grow used to it, because it is so common. 

“That’s just the way life is,” we say.

But wouldn’t it be wonderful if conflict didn’t have to be the norm? If the things that wear us down, worry us, or keep us up at night were simply gone?

Many people worry – some are even terrified – about the end of time. But for those in Christ, Scripture invites us to see it differently. In him, the end will be . . . . the moment when we finally witness the end of all conflict.

We can’t count on human institutions to bring this peace. Even God’s own people, Isaiah says, had become like a tree cut down to a stump, lifeless because they had walked away from his covenant. Yet from that stump a shoot would grow. A Root from the line of Jesse. A King from David’s family. Jesus.

His kingdom is unlike anything we know. “The wolf will live with the lamb” (Isaiah 11:6). Other wild animals become gentle. A child leads them. No more danger, no more fear, no more conflict.

This is why Jesus, the Root of Jesse, came into our world. By his sacrifice and resurrection, he gives forgiveness and new life. And forgiven, we know our future is secure in a kingdom where peace reigns forever.

Don’t let conflict consume you. It is temporary. In Christ, a resting place awaits, and it will be glorious (Isaiah 11:10)!

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
            the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
            and a little child will lead them.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:6,10)

Do you remember the feeling when someone important is about to arrive at your place? It’s a mixture of anticipation and excitement and nervousness. Did you make all the correct preparations? Will the person be happy to see you? When and how will the person arrive? Will there be any surprises?

During these weeks before Christmas, we anticipate the imminent arrival of Jesus. He’s an important person! We are about to celebrate his birth. He could return on judgment day at any time. But in worship we realize that he impacts our lives when the Bible is read and when the sacraments are administered. Suddenly we feel the excitement of an imminent arrival.

We usually connect the Last Day with pictures of power: the heavens disappearing with a roar (2 Peter 3:10); the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven arriving with angels and a loud trumpet call (Matthew 24:30-31); God on his white throne opening the books to judge (Revelation 20:11-15). This is certainly how it will be as Scripture tells us.

Have you ever thought of the Last Day as God coming to wait on you? Luke 12:37 gives us that unique image. Jesus will return as the Master of the entire world. Then he will change into servant’s clothes. We will recline at the table. The Lord of all will begin to serve those who are believers.

God encourages us to long for his appearing. What better way to do that than to let us know that he himself will give us the banquet of joy and peace in his mansions! There is nothing to . . . . be concerned about for those who live by faith in Christ. God will humbly serve his people the reward of grace.

While we wait, we are the servants. We are to be dressed and ready with our lamps burning (Luke 12:35). We have lives filled with distractions like never before. The same technology that makes our lives easier in some ways makes our lives more difficult in the sheer volume of messages and sales pitches and opinions that impact us. How are you actively taking on the command to be dressed and ready? Can you push aside a good number of the distractions that keep you from deeper faith and knowledge of the Word? Can you be more alert and watchful in temptation and more confident in your eternal hope in Christ?

God is the first to wait on us. He offered his life for our eternal salvation. He brought us into his family through the Spirit. Be ready! Hold on in faith to God’s promises of grace. Then when he returns, he will wait on you again with the great blessings of heaven.

It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them (Luke 12:37).

Do you trust your closest friend’s judgment? Do you trust your politicians to make good decisions? Do you trust your neighbors to look out for your well-being? Many say we live in an age of “low trust.” Confidence in leaders, media, even one another, seems to have declined. Much feels like it is not as it should be on that front.

So where can we look for peace when so much is not right? Surprisingly, to God’s judgment at the end of time.

Paul wrote to Christians in Thessalonica who were being persecuted for their faith. They were suffering for living in faith in Christ. To strengthen them, he pointed to the coming day when God would set everything right. The injustices that came their way were not . . . . signs that God had forgotten them. Their perseverance under pressure showed that God was already preparing them for his kingdom.

When we are wronged, we often want to act immediately, take matters into our own hands. We do what we can to find justice, but it is not always possible. Remember that Jesus has promised to return and judge. And he will do that with perfect wisdom. Every wrong will be righted, and every injustice overturned. That promise gives us peace now. We don’t have to fix everything. We can wait until God does.

For us, we stand in faith as we look ahead to that day. We will be counted worthy, not because of our own holiness, but because Christ has made us worthy in his forgiveness. God’s judgment for us will be to lift us out of a world of injustice and take us to his home of peace.

All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering (2 Thessalonians 1:5).

There is a great question near the end of the book of Micah: “Who is a God like you…?” The prophet has seen Israel’s sin up close – rebellion, idolatry, injustice. He knows they deserve judgment. But as he closes his message, he celebrates a God who takes delight not in wrath, but in mercy.

Micah says our God pardons sin and forgives transgression. The Lord isn’t looking for reasons to hold our failures against us. He is looking for opportunities to show compassion. We often imagine God the way we imagine human authorities – stern, frustrated, quick to punish. God is different. He doesn’t forgive reluctantly. He forgives because mercy brings him . . . . joy.

This changes how we live. When we know we are forgiven, we don’t need to hide from God or pretend. We can bring our sins into the light because we trust God’s forgiving grace. We can also relate differently to others. We can be quick to forgive and slow to judge.

There are a couple of wonderful pictures of forgiveness here. God tramples our sins underfoot. He throws them into the depths of the sea. They cannot chase after us. They cannot affect us. They are gone!

Finally, Micah reminds us that this mercy rests on God’s faithful promises. From Abraham to you, his covenant does not fail. Rest for your soul is in those truths. In Jesus your sins are defeated. Your past is buried. Your God delights to show you mercy.

Who is like our God? No one. And that is why we live in hope.

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. (Micah 7:18)

Blessed Are You When People Speak Badly of You

It’s become very “normal” in public speech to hear insults and rejection of another group. During our current government shutdown, the accusations fly back and forth. Each side claims the moral high ground while pointing fingers at the other. In this environment it’s easy to think the only possible response to someone who speaks what you don’t like to hear is retaliation. Our instinct is to fire back.

Is that the only option?

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil … (Luke 6:22).

Then there’s an important add-on:  … because of the Son of Man.

We can see exclusion and even hatred as a blessing if it is because of Christ. Jesus isn’t approving wrongdoing or encouraging us to let others walk all over us. He’s teaching us to view those situations in which we are opposed in a different light. When people treat you poorly because you follow Jesus, it means they’re . . . . seeing Christ in you. The faith the Holy Spirit planted in your heart is visible to others.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven (v. 23). The approval of the world may not be there for you, but your reward of grace through Jesus’ sacrifice for you always is.

We’d much rather be included, respected, and liked. But when that doesn’t happen, Jesus reminds us we’re in good company. The prophets were mocked too. Believers before us stood firm under pressure.

If people speak badly of you because of Jesus, God calls you blessed. It shows you are a disciple of Jesus. Your hope is anchored in Christ and nothing others say can change that.
 

22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. (Luke 6:22-23)

“You’re free!”
“Great. What does that mean?”
That’s not as simple a question as it sounds. Freedom runs through our nation’s story. The Statue of Liberty still invites, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …” Every July 4 we celebrate independence, our freedom from Great Britain. It’s a gift we rightly thank God for, because not everyone enjoys that liberty.

Yet that’s not the freedom Jesus was talking about. When he offered freedom to his hearers, they were still under Roman rule. He was speaking of something deeper.

Many today chase a kind of freedom that means doing whatever they want, no restrictions, no accountability. But that’s not biblical freedom. Scripture tells us, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). No one by nature is . . . . free from the reign and condemnation of sin.

Here’s a great truth – you can be truly free in Christ even if you live under an oppressive government or have little power or influence. At the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

Forgiveness in Christ is real freedom. It’s freedom from sin’s debt and eternal condemnation. Hold on to Jesus’ teaching. Trust his death and resurrection for you. The truth has set you free forever. You are free! Don’t ever let it go.

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)