“Your heart
was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of
your splendor; I cast you to the ground...You have become a horror, and shall
be no more forever.”
(Ezekiel 28:17a,19b NKJV)
Suppose there existed a device—a gadget, say—that would give its owner—you or me, say—certain god-like abilities, such as the instant (or near-instant) eradication of evil (or an evil-doer)? What if it could fix things on that laundry list of grievances for God we keep in our back pocket? What if such a thing could work miracles, such as cleaner skin, hair restoration, clear vision, whiter teeth, weight control, a strengthened immune system, arrested addiction, reconciled relationships...even a greener lawn?
I just
finished reading the second book of a trilogy about such a “button box,” a
small wooden box adorned with colored push-buttons. Stephen King co-authored
Book 1 of the Gwendy's Button Box Trilogy with Richard Chizmar, in which
a 12-year old girl is chosen to be the guardian of this button box thingy—the
red button can be used at the whim/discretion of the person who possesses it. As
I started reading, I got to thinking that if I were to have such a device... Well,
as I got thinner, better looking, and less crotchety, I could busy myself with fixing
this planet’s wrongs (as I see them). I might even get around to rebooting the One
Holy and Apostolic Church. Sooner (than later) my world would be restored to
the perfection I meant it to be. Or would it?
There are
plenty of things, in my opinion (and I’m certain in yours), that need change in
our culture and society. Isn’t the dream of Man to become god-like, to find all
the answers, to become invincible, to somehow, some way, someday
accomplish what God cannot (or will not)? Yet, we’re stymied by two insurmountable
obstacles; the first is sin...we’re selfish, error-prone, incorrigible sinners
who continue to make a mess of things—even those of us with good intentions. And
we’re contagious (not necessarily in the corona virus sense). Just turn on the
tv. The second obstacle is that the Man with a plan is God; we don’t
have one...throughout history, Man has never had any kind of plan, other than
to conquer in the name of his cause, at any cost. Just turn on the tv.
My daughter sent me the following text message:
I have
realized that I won't be able to fix any of these huge issues in my lifetime. I
won't ignore them, I will choose to care and do what I can to make my piece of
the world just a little bit better. I will show some love and grace to those
around me. I will be a part of conversations for change and do work in my
community. When I do all those things to the best of my ability, then I can go
to sleep at night knowing I've given God and others the best I have... Our
society is full of a lot of noise for a lot of good things but nothing will
happen from just being noisy and unorganized...
We are
noisy and unorganized! I’m more than certain that a button box in my hands
would just add to the chaos. Rather than using the “gift” of such a device to
feel god-like, what if we could make better use of the gifts we’ve been imbued
with by a loving God with a plan for our restoration to the perfect
creations He designed; perfect, but not god-like. Perfect in Christ, whose
death on the Cross is the fulcrum for God’s plan to save Man from himself.
Perfect in Christ, in whom our faith knows love, grace, compassion, mercy, and unconditional
forgiveness.
The Message
translation of Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that there is a plan, a path to follow...and
that maybe it’s time to throw away that grievance list (you know, the one in
your back pocket).
“This is
God’s Word... ‘I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take
care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.’”
Until next
month…
Peace be with
you all,
Pastor E.B.
