Gladness, Hunger, and Glory

Anyone who knows me remotely well is very aware that my deepest desire, other than to see my Savior in his glory, is to end the killing of innocent children in America. I've probably concocted a hundred plans in my mind since I was very young on just how I'm to accomplish this: writing, film, medicine, education, statistics, pure politics...you name it. And recently, I've had cause to rejoice at the incredible victories being won across various states on this pressing issue. Yet, there is so much work that is still unfinished, in an area where my talents could help fill the void. And that, my friends, is why I wrote this post.

One of the many godly people in my life is very fond of quoting Frederick Buechner, who once said, 

The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.

I'll admit it: the first time I heard that quote I wasn't sure how well it settled with me. What about people who are called to be janitors? Fishermen? Something, well...simple?

And then I read Martin Luther:

All our work in the field, in the garden, in the city, in the home, in struggle, in government-to what does it all amount before God except child's play, by means of which God is pleased to give his gifts in the field, at home, and everywhere? These are the masks of our Lord God, behind which he wants to be hidden and to do all things.

 And it all made sense. You see, God is a God who uses means. I post a lot about his infinite sovereignty over all things, but it's rare that I'll post on the doctrine of vocation because it is just so simple. God can, and in fact, does control the whole world. And yet, he chooses to use means. He chooses simple people, like you and like me, to accomplish things big and small. In the end, he uses every action for his great glory. How cool is that? You and I get to be part of a bigger plan, a bigger purpose...It's like any great saga: Each of the characters, regardless of their silent presence or hugely noticeable dialogues, serves a purpose. Yet this is a thousand times better, because you and I are wrapped into the tale of all history. That is, his story.

The question begs, then, what is each of us to do? It's a question which has been on my mind almost perpetually these last few months, as my friends and I are choosing our various paths in life. One friend is choosing dance, another neuroscience, another education, and still others are undecided. I've realized more than ever that I'm so dependent on my Savior's grace. And it's caused me to ask myself who I am and where I'm going.

One of my favorite teachers, Mr. B., once taught me rhetoric. And there he taught me something which left me in a contemplative mood for weeks:

Theorein (verb, Greek): To gaze intently.

Mr. B. explained that this word is often the word used in the Bible to describe people who have seen the face of God. He then showed us this image, pasted on my mind for weeks:

God showed Moses his face. And, in the Greek translation of the manuscript, Moses did theorein: he gazed intently, in total awe and amazement of Yahweh. Once he had seen this, he was given a command to lead the people of Israel out of their captivity. Notice his response:

 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain.” 

 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

And, after a few more complaints raised by Moses, and many more assurances from God Almighty, these are the Lord's words:

Then he will let you go.

My friends, each of us has a deeply ingrained, God-given passion. Whether it's engineering, teaching, politics, medicine, or art, you have it, and you know it. If you don't know it, you have only to ask.

Sometimes it's so difficult for us to understand the words of 1 Peter 2:9, yet I think they address the issue at hand:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may declare the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

If you are in Christ, you are part of that. That is your heritage.

The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness, the world's deep hunger, and, I might add, God's deep glory meet.

Soli Deo Gloria.

~Meridian

Who You Are

My last post was all about who God is. The God who created things like what you see on the left (Mt. Everest). But I thought maybe it was time to talk about who you are...because of God. Yeah, I figured you'd know there was a catch. :)

Last night I had a brief conversation with one of my friends from debate. It was just a casual conversation about his public school sports teammates, but one little side comment he made struck me, caught me like an unsuspecting fish going for the bait. "If I hadn't been homeschooled, or hadn't been in the family I'm in...I..." Well, the rest was fine too, but that little statement just did a Hallelujah Chorus in my mind. If I hadn't. Wow.

So much theological meatiness to jump on there. So much philosophical questioning. So much certainty of the present. So much to praise God about. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's start with the word, "If." The Bible is pretty clear that God is sovereign over every teensy tiny little detail of the whole universe, but he paradoxically acts this way without being a robot operator. Most Christians agree that God knows everything that will go on, but doesn't mandate it. I understand how those conclusions are reached (believe me, I used to think something pretty close to that), but let's dissect that a bit. If God knows everything (which we all agree on), and God is sovereign (which we usually agree on), then God cannot possibly have known everything without having some hand in it. That's the most basic academic argument for God's sovereignty, other than "the Bible says so" (which, by the way, it does).

However, there's another argument that may hit home a bit more for you. Let's put it this way: God knows everything that will happen. He knows, then, that bad things will happen. But he is the God of all justice! If he truly upholds justice, is he going to just let things slide? No. Clearly throughout Scripture God issues judgement upon sinners. But he cannot possibly just fix all the problems. Then he'd have a little more power than your local plumber. God is all-powerful...let's just say he's got the whole world in his hands.

If that's true, then you and I are not random. In fact, the Bible *clearly* indicates that we were designed for a purpose, something the Westminster Catechism summarizes when it says that "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." Not only does God have a purpose on earth, he has an eternal purpose: that every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the God the Father. In a very glorious and mysterious way, God has already determined who will spend all eternity with him. That is, anyone who puts their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, Paul made it clear that anyone who does so does it only because of the quickening of the Spirit. That is, God chooses to wake you from being dead in your sins to being alive in Christ. Nothing you do can make it happen: only God in his glorious mercy.

Whoa. Mind. Blown.

If God really has this great and awesome purpose for you, though, then he has not placed you in your circumstances randomly. You are not just the child of random Joe: you are firstly the child of the one living God, and secondly the child of the earthly parents God has bestowed you with. Whatever your situation, God has placed you there for a reason.

So now I'm guessing I've pretty well clarified that "if" isn't possible. But it gives those kind of statements so much greater meaning. If you don't follow, allow me to expound.

Since "if" is not possible, it means that you are in exactly the right situation for you right now. I'm not saying it's perfect: God's said that the world will not, and by God's very nature of righteousness cannot be perfect until he returns to set the world right. However, you and I can rest in the knowledge that God has a big plan for us, and that he chose this for us for a reason. Take my friend. He's homeschooled, he's from a great Christian family. God did not place him in some other family. He is not in a public school. If God had him in those circumstances, his plans would have been just as good and holy and righteous. But God placed him here. And that means that he gets to do what God is uniquely calling him to do.

In my own life, this is a very relevant issue. Sometimes I struggle with comparison of my circumstances to other friends' circumstances. Or I just wonder "what if." But that God placed me in the Paulton family, with the exact friends I have, the exact knowledge I have, the exact skills I have, right here in Colorado is amazing. It doesn't mean I won't go on and do other things: it means that I can go on and do those other things, because I was uniquely designed to do them.

There's a reason that Paul compared the Church to a body.

² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves^[d] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts,^[e] yet one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. ²⁸ And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

 Maybe you are called to be a doctor. A pastor. A missionary. A politician. A writer. A teacher. An engineer. A musician. An artist.

Whatever you're called to do, the way God uses you will be unique. But here's the cool thing: regardless of what you're called to do specifically, we're all called to do one thing generally: proclaim God's great name, and make it famous in all the earth. Probably one of my favorite verses of all time, one I quote to myself multiple times daily, is 1 Peter 2:9 --

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may declare the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 That's you and me. This is where we talk about the next part. If we were. Here's where it get's hard. The book of Romans puts it better than any other: before Christ, we're dead in our sins. That means that all the people out there who don't know the love of the Lord are dead. Corpses. Rotting souls. That sin that you see is just the maggot coming out. I don't want to be grotesque, but that's what deadness amounts to. Total lifelessness. Because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

We may not know who God has chosen, but we know that he has chosen us to proclaim his glory. Peter isn't the only one who got this. Listen to Jesus himself in Matthew 28:

¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Some doubted, but then he said that he has all authority. And with his authority we are to go out and preach the Gospel to our friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, our world. When light pierces the darkness, it is a dramatic thing.

Our lives ought to be as Christ's, who though he was pierced, rose again, and lives for the glory of the Father:

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

Can you imagine if you were born in a different circumstance? Maybe. But the thought of that drives us to an even greater realization: that we were born in the circumstances we were born in. That we serve the God we serve, and that we are his chosen people. Out of all the people he could have chosen, of the option to kill us all out or create other beings, God chose to live and die and live again for US. You. Me.

Even those in different circumstances are there by God's divine will, perhaps just so that He can use us as light, because HE is God. 

And, even though this post is titled, "Who You Are," I think you'll have to agree with me that this is more about who God is, and who we get to be as a part of it.

Relish in God's goodness, friends, and celebrate your brand-new identity in Christ!

Soli Deo Gloria!

~Meridian

Life is Always Good

I'm about to offend some people. I'm about to shock some people. I'm about to freak some people out, contradict my own experiences, and do what, despite all these obstacles, I consider to be inevitable: I'm going to say that life is always good.

What I'm not about to say is any sort of Polyanna gospel -- on the contrary, I believe that life is always bad.

Wait. Didn't I just say that life is always good? So how can it always be bad, as well?

Sorry to scare your socks off people, but you read that correctly. I firmly believe that life is both always good, and always bad. How is this possible? It's quite simple, really, which fortunately for you as a reader, means a short post.

Most of you readers are logic or rhetoric students, so I'll make this simple for you and give a set of five syllogisms.

1. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life."
2. Life is equal to itself by the reflective property. =D
3. Therefore, Jesus is life.

4. Jesus is good.
5. Jesus is life.
6. Therefore, life is good.

7. Satan, though not the epitome of evil, is still evil.
8. Evil is bad.
9. Therefore, Satan is bad.

10. Satan (temporarily) has dominion.
11. To have dominion is to have life in your control.
12. Therefore, Satan has life in his control. (temporarily and only under the permission of God)

13. Having control makes your subjects like you, in Satan's case bad.
14. Satan has life in his control.
15. Therefore, life is bad.

So how do those two concepts go together? Hopefully you noticed that the definitions of life were different. You see, true, eternal life is always good, and cannot be bad, though it may bring hard times upon us. Life as we refer to it, though, is bad. So why did I still title this post, "Life is Always Good"? I did so, because it is for me. I'm going to be downright honest: I have nearly lost both my parents due to different illnesses they suffered for a time. I have had my whole home flood and had to live like a maniac for a time thereafter. I have had big plans fall through. These troubles, though small compared to some, are still hard. But why are they not bad? Shouldn't they be terrible things that come upon me?

They should be. And far too often I treat them as such. Even so, they are not bad in and of themselves. Sin is bad. It is badness as bad as bad will ever be bad. It's disgusting before God (see previous post for details). But the trials that come my way? These are not bad. Difficulty stretches mankind. Isn't it always said that necessity is the mother of invention? So why can't trials be the mother of maturity? These things aren't fun. But God is sovereign, and he is allowing, in fact has ordained these things to happen. Sometimes I later discover the purpose of my sufferings -- sometimes I never do. It is frustrating.

The fact stands, though, that my faith is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Therefore, I will not fear, though the mountains give way, though the earth trembles. In God I trust. What can mortal man do to me?

So, life's "ruler" is bad. But he's a pseudo-ruler and I don't need to pay attention to him except as an arch enemy. The true ruler, though, has life in his perfect control, and I know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord. I dare to say that true life is all good. Period. It is. Optimism? Maybe. Contentment and joy in Jesus Christ? Absolutely.

Meridian

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P.S. This is a direct response to another post on a different blog, and if the author of that disagrees, I'd love to hear her thoughts.

Thy Kingdom Come: The earth when Christ returns

"I saw night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed."
    -Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV) 1

Sometimes Christians are prone to wonder what the world will be like when Christ returns. Will it be bright? Solemn? Heaven on earth? With so many possibilities at hand, one longs for some kind of explanation. While it may not be the annals of the new earth, Daniel 7:13-14 offers something of a glimpse into the dominion of Christ, in the unlikely quartet of glory, kingship, servitude, and eternity.

"And to him was given dominion and glory." The word glory in its various forms is used 536 times in Scripture.2 Clearly God wants to make a point about himself! What is this glory of which he speaks? The answer can be found by simply noting what words are frequently used in conjunction with the word glory, throughout Scripture. Daniel 2:37 says, "O King, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory…" Again in at least eight other passages power and strength (or might) are written along with the word glory. Revelation 5:12 builds on this, listing power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise as things attributed to the Lord. What an image this provides for the reader! When Christ returns, the glory described in these passages will be unmatched by any other individual who ever walked the face of the earth. Truly, there will be glory.

The second identified characteristic of the world upon the second coming is the kingship of Christ over all the peoples and kingdoms of the earth. Revelation 12:5 says, "She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter." This passage alone marks out an incredible amount of authority being given to Jesus. To ancient, and even medieval people, this image would have had a large amount of significance. In ancient Egypt and Greece, to have a scepter was an indication of ultimate owe, something only kings would carry.3 So, for Scripture to add on top of this that Christ holds an iron scepter is to make a point of absolute, unquestioned authority. Yet it also entails a sweet, fatherly image. The oldest scepter is the heqa-scepter, which has been described as a shepherd's crook, 4 invoking the picture of God gently keeping us on the path he has before us, thus humbling himself despite his majesty. This will be the kingship of Christ.

So far the glory and kingship of the reign of Christ have been discussed. Now the focus shifts to something that appears far less enticing, though just as beautiful. If Christ will rule the nations, then what will his royal subjects do? Daniel 7:14 continues, "that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him."Servanthood is the third aspect of the new kingdom. While it may not be the modern ideal, a servant attitude is praised in the Bible! It is interesting to note that the knights of the middle ages did not start out as knights, but rather as pages. A page was a knight-in-training who would serve nobility and other knights. As he reached his teen years, the boy would become a squire and assist other knights with the care of their weapons, and their personal needs. FInally, if he had done well, he would take on the rank of a knight. Even then, though, his life would remain one of service to the king. He had come through years of lower service in order that he might be prepared to meet this higher calling of service. 5 This is how the church's servitude to the ultimate king will be- one of progression that will culminate in a joyful, even deeper relationship with God. Servanthood is beautiful, made even more so by the reign of Christ.

The final aspect of the reign of Christ is eternity. Most kingdoms don't last more than a few centuries, and even those that do make it, can't last forever. But God's kingdom will stand. Daniel 7:14 goes on, "his dominion is an everlasting dominion." That means that when it comes, it stays. Nothing could happen to this kingdom to take it away. Rome burned at it's emperor's own hands. Briton lost its momentum to internal corruption, and ultimately was overtaken by invasion. In recent months and years, the governments of various middle-eastern countries have fallen apart. But God's kingdom stands forever. Daniel 7:14 concludes, "and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."

As wonderful a picture as someone may have described of God's kingdom when Christ returns, it's going to be better. Looking back at all that's been discovered over the course of this essay, it is clear that the new earth will be filled with glory. Not only this, but along with it Christ will cause power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, and praise. These will come about because of his kingship, authenticated by his iron scepter. Since he cares about his people, he will use his gentle staff to guide them to joyful servanthood, bringing them closer to himself. And, in the end…well, there won't be an end! The joy will be everlasting! So this tour of the new earth ends right where it began, at Daniel 7:14.

"And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed."


-----------------------
Endnotes
1 All Scripture references ESV.

2 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_times_is_the_word_glory_in_the_bible

3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sceptre

4 http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/cardshowall.php?title=egypt-quiz-1

5 O'Brien, Patrick (1998). The Making of a Knight. Watertown, MA. Charlesbridge.

Isaiah 55: Pt. 7- Come that you may know God

For me, this week has been a really incredible week of learning and soaking in the grace of God. Today I want to conclude my little mini-series by summing up everything I've been finding in this deeply rich passage.

Isaiah 55

The Compassion of the LORD

 ¹ "Come, everyone who thirsts,
   come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
   and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
   and delight yourselves in rich food.
³Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴ Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
   and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you. ⁶ "Seek the LORD while he may be found;
   call upon him while he is near;
⁷let the wicked forsake his way,
   and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
   and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.
 ¹⁰ "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
   and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
 ¹² "For you shall go out in joy
   and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
   shall break forth into singing,
   and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
   instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the LORD,
   an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

To conclude this series, let's look at this one more time, verse by verse, in just a sentence or two each verse.

Vs. 1: God is calling us to come to him!

Vs. 2: If we come, we must come bare before him, so that he can be sufficient for us.

Vs. 3: When we come, we can listen. If we listen and hear, then we will live.

Vs. 4: When we listen, we should become leaders and witnesses.

Vs. 5: When we witness, the nations will come.

Vs. 6: When the nations come, they will seek God, and we must show them how.

Vs. 7: If they seek God, they will leave their wicked ways and God will have compassion on them.

Vs. 8: In his compassion, God is so different from us.

Vs. 9: God's ways are not our ways: he is so much greater and higher!

Vs. 10: In his greatness, God speaks his word, and it stays and takes root.

Vs. 11: Not only does God's word take root, it also succeeds in whatever it does.

Vs. 12: As God's word succeeds, joy and peace will result among the nations-- even the mountains will worship him!

Vs. 13: This joy and peace will be everlasting, and God's reign will be forever.

Isn't this just remarkable? What a mighty God we serve!

Isaiah 55: Pt. 6- Worship that joy may abound

Isaiah 55

The Compassion of the LORD

 ¹ "Come, everyone who thirsts,
   come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
   and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
   and delight yourselves in rich food.
³Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴ Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
   and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you. ⁶ "Seek the LORD while he may be found;
   call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
   and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
   and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.
 ¹⁰ "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
   and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
 ¹² "For you shall go out in joy
   and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
   shall break forth into singing,
   and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
   instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the LORD,
   an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

Wow, wow, wow. That's all I can say. God promises us in this passage that his kingdom is coming at his word, and since his word shall always succeed, we get to enjoy all the glories described in the passage above. Being a child of God is very special.

Vs. 12:  Joy is a very complex subject that involves so many different things. Essentially, though, every facet of joy can be enraptured in the reality that true joy is from the heart, of God, and is a part of every aspect of life. Peace works in exactly the same way. When God says that we, his children, will go out in joy and be led forth in peace, he means that our entire lives henceforth that moment will be joyful and filled with peace. What a picture this is! Because of the fall, all societies have been lacking somehow in both of these departments. God promises to bring both to us! The picture he gives us is glorious, too. Imagine the Himalayas, Alps, Rocky Mountains, Andes, and all the other mountain ranges across the earth breaking into song. Add to that the redwoods, palms, evergreens, aspens, and cherry trees clapping to the beat! This is incredible stuff!

Vs. 13: Remember that thorn you got stuck in your foot when you were little? It hurt, didn't it? Well, God also promises that all such things will be gone. This is probably also a symbol for evil, which will be gone when the Lord comes back and reigns forever. How amazing is that? To replace this evil, good will arise instead. The good, God says, will make God's name great, and everyone from then on shall worship him forever. So if we worship him now, one day we will join the legions of those who have gone before us in the faith, and we'll be blessed with this everlasting joy, peace, and reign of God.

Like I said earlier, wow. That's about all there is to say.

Tomorrow, I'll conclude this little series with an overview of the whole passage: Come that you may know God.

Joyfully praising him,

Meridian