We understand that life is a blend of sweet and bitter, happiness and heartache, sunshine and shadow. We experience victory followed by defeat, and we begin to understand that fact. Jesus knew it, and so did Moses, Abraham, Jeremiah and Elijah.
Solomon wrote the following in Ecclesiastes 3:1ff:
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted…A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn…a time of war, and a time of peace.”
This is one of life’s most difficult lessons to learn, but all have it to learn. Some grief and pain can be avoided, others cannot. Some laughter and tears are dependent upon choices we make ourselves, but this is a lesson all must learn.
The difficulty in learning them is that we must face these challenges if we are to grow stronger. We will not like all the lessons we have to learn, but facing them and overcoming them is the path to perseverance and strength of character.
Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
That verse may not sound sad at first, but most mature people know that every person cannot have their own way in all things. Standards, laws must be in place and respected by all, or our society will be chaotic and dangerous. To no one’s surprise, that era of the Judges would be known as the “dark ages of Hebrew history.” As appealing as it is to some, lawlessness and anarchy are good for no one. For years our own nation’s songs made it clear that liberty and law must go together. No, you can’t always have your way, nor can I. We must live within the law, both civil law and God’s law. Read Acts 4-5 and see how early Christians respected the laws of man, yet honored God’s law as supreme. In so doing, they turned the “world upside down”, Acts 17:6.
2 Samuel 18:33 “…the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
The king was David, Absalom was his son, and his son died. David was grief-stricken because he knew his son’s death was to a great extent his fault. David had been too busy “being king,” while his family was breaking apart [read 2 Samuel 13-21]. Regret is a sad, sad state! Parental regret is even more so, for its consequences last for generations.
1 Kings 12:28 “…the king took counsel and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
This time the king was Jeroboam, the victims were God’s people and God’s law. “It’s too much trouble for you to go to Jerusalem! Many things are there that pull us back to God’s ways.” Jeroboam wanted things done his way, so, “Here they are, the gods that brought you out of Egypt.” The surprise is that the people accepted that lie. From this point on God’s people would be divided into two nations, often warring against the other, and that division would characterize that race of people for centuries. They thought this move would result in freedom, but we know that it was “bondage” instead. “Sad” is not strong enough to describe this event in history!
What can we learn from that episode? We hope that all see the futility of thinking we can ignore God’s laws, replace it with our preferences when we want to, and still claim to be God’s people.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
This section of scripture may be the most important reading material anyone can find. In many ways it is the saddest of all these sad statements because so many – thinking they are in harmony with God and living according to His will – are going to hear those very shocking words.
All of us have been mistaken about some matter. It may be big or small, but we discover our mistake and then rectify the situation by un-doing or re-doing the matter. But the scene in Matthew 7 is not one in which one can go back and “live life over”, correcting all the mistakes and doing all the right things. At the time of judgment (referenced in this text) it will be too late. TOO LATE! Too late to change. Too late to decide. Too late to start over.
God has never expected or demanded perfection, but He does require our respect and our submission to His will. A life with Christ will bring supreme happiness. Not sadness. Not regret.
