Psalm 106: 24-27 "Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word, but they grumbled in their tents; they did not listen to the voice of the Lord. Therefore He swore to them that He would cast them down in the wilderness, and that He would cast their seed among the nations and scatter them in the lands."
I went to a funeral this past Tuesday for a very godly man who had gone on to glory. His grandchildren took turns speaking about their memories of growing up with him and then watching him with their children (his great grandkids). The theme was so easy to pick out - here was a godly man who loved his family and invested in deep relationships with each of them. A pastor for 53 years, one might expect to hear that he lived what this world would deem a good life. He was a man of humor and of hobbies. He came from a generation that sat on porches at night so he could talk to each of his neighbors. He gave generously to others, whether he had much or little. But these were not the comments that jumped out at me. His pastor and his grandchildren all said two things that stirred a deep passion in my heart. They said:
"He loved His Lord Jesus more than anything else." and "His greatest desire was to share the Good News with everyone he met."
This man had a great giftedness in athletics and was offered a full scholarship to a major university, filling his life long dream. But before he accepted that scholarship, he felt a call to be a pastor, and went to a small seminary (with no sport programs!) instead. From an early age he felt a distinctive call on who he was and what God wanted him to do and he submitted his life to the Lord's plan.
I have friends that got married two years ago and the night before the ceremony, the bride-to-be was talking to the pastor. She was looking at her future husband across the room with a look of love and the pastor noted how much she loved him. She said, "You know what I love best about him? He loves Jesus even more than he loves me." While she was a fairly young bride, she had already identified the best characteristic a person could have and she rejoiced seeing that in her husband. His identity was first in Christ and that is the single most important aspect of his life. Out of that identity, she was confident that he would love her as Christ calls a husband to love a wife - which is far beyond a love this world can understand.
These two examples are people who have set aside the ideas of the world and claimed the promises of Christ as the most important foundation for their lives. These are people who know that the "good" this world can promise is temporary treasure and meaningless next to the holy, perfect plan God has for us, which extends to all eternity.
The Israelites had been called to be a great nation, holy and set apart for the Lord. He wanted to be in their presence. Right before they enter the promise land God says "You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord an dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel." (Num 35:34)
Does this sound familiar? What happened in Eden? God walked and talked with Adam and Eve, until they rejected His will and sinned. Their punishment - banishment from His presence. (Gen 2 -3) And what is the promise of heaven? Revelation 21:3 says "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them." God's desire is to be with His people and to provide good things for them. But when we reject Him and we get exactly what we ask for - separation from His presence.
When the Israelites grumble against Him and don't believe His word or obey His voice, their punishment is to never enter that land where He wanted to dwell with them. They choose not to follow Him and the result is to wander in the wilderness.
We have choices everyday to choose whether or not we follow the Lord. The world will say our identity should be in things or people or money or power. The world will tell you to worry about your possessions and your bank account. The world will tell you that love doesn't last and the only one you can count on is yourself. But that is not the way of the Lord. The way of the Lord is to have your identity as His child, believing His perfect plan and trusting in His perfect provision.
This pastor trust God to use his athletic gifts somewhere else in life and trusted the call to follow Him beyond what he could see or understand. But how many athletes are injured early in life and have nothing left to call their own? God led him to a life of fullness and blessing, where his legacy was glorifying the name of the Lord and living for Him.
It would be easy to try to find our identity and fullness in love through our spouse or children or grandchildren. But people are just as fallen as we are, and despite their best intentions will let us down, or leave or die. But God wants to be our first love - and He will never leave us or forsake us.
His plan is always for us to have the blessing of His presence and His provision. At the end of all things, that is the mark of a life well lived. The world may see your life as small or poor or a failure - but more likely than that - the world will see a person whose life glowed with the light of the love of Christ. More likely than not, the world will see a grace and peace and love that they cannot understand, but they desperately long for.
Don't wait until it is too late - start living in His blessing today!
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