Reluctant Retiree

A defendant stands before the judge awaiting punishment for the despicable crimes he committed. He still wears the dirty clothes that bear the marks of his crimes. The criminal has been found guilty. He deserves the death penalty. Before the judge can make his judgment, another man enters the courtroom. This man is impeccably dressed in bright white clothing. The intruder speaks to the judge with an unexpected familiarity. He offers to exchange clothes with the defendant, taking on the clothing soiled by crimes and giving the defendant his perfect white clothes. Beyond that, the intruder requests that the judgment be assessed to himself and that the defendant be set free. There is no reason for the intruder to make such a generous offer. The defendant certainly doesn’t deserve this sacrifice. But the judge, knowing the spotless character of the intruder, agrees to accept the offer. The defendant is set free and the intruder is punished by death.

While not a true story, you may recognize its meaning. The judge is our Heavenly Father. Each of us is the defendant. We have each committed crimes, that is sins, against the Father. We deserve the sentence of death. But the courtroom intruder has entered and made the offer to take our place. In fact, He has already done so, by bearing our sins and suffering the punishment. So our sins have been taken away and placed on Him. In addition, the Father has freely declared us not guilty, because we are now dressed in the garments of His Son’s righteousness.

Romans 3:23-24 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” One thing remains to be done. We have to accept the free gift offered to us by Jesus. The defendant is not set free until he accepts the intruder’s offer. And we are not forgiven, redeemed and justified until we accept the offer of God’s Son.

Our culture can be characterized by a disposable love. We tend to love only for a season. The possessions that we say we love, quickly wear out and are replaced by new loveable things. The values that we treasure are superceded by new values that better serve our desires. Even loving relationships are disposed of when we grow apart or the other person is just not meeting our needs. For us, love does not mean a commitment to remain together through the ups and downs of life and feelings.

God’s love for His children is durable and not affected by life’s journey. In Jeremiah 31:3 God says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” God’s love for His children began before the foundation of the world. His love will continue forever. His love never changes or fluctuates with our performance and is not based on our faithfulness to Him. God is always faithful to His people and His promises.

The question is “what will you do with God’s love?” You can choose to reject Him, and live like His love does not exist. Or you can choose to accept God’s love, and live in the glory and protection of His love. Both decisions come with eternal consequences, so choose wisely.

We use different types of guards to protect ourselves and others. In football the offensive guard protects the quarterback from defensive linemen. Face guards and mouth guards secure those body parts from injury. On a bridge the guardrail keeps cars on the road and drivers safe. Security personnel guard property and people from attack and injury. Regular doctor visits help guard our health and keep us strong.

One thing that we do not guard well enough is our mouths or speech. We are often careless in our words, which can cause hurt to those listening. My observations of myself and others is that we frequently use words that criticize, tear down, discourage, and harm others. We need to recognize that God designed our lips to offer praise, worship, thanksgiving, encouragement, counsel, and hope.

James 3:2 says, “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” Let’s ask God to put a guard on our mouths, so that we can offer positive words that build up rather than tear down. This guard will protect our families and personal relationships while bringing glory to God.

Most people do not like change. We resist it and complain about it. When change comes on the job, our first response is to question and grumble, at least until we realize that the change was good after all. If our favorite store alters its layout or selection we are tempted to never return, even though going someplace else is a more drastic change. We blast government officials for road construction that causes us to alter our way to work. Software updates throw us into a tizzy.

I find comfort in knowing that God never changes. He won’t change because He is perfect. No improvements can be made in Him. He is already all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, loving, good, kind, rich in mercy, and full of grace.

James 1:16-17 says, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Every good gift that we have ever received has come from God. He will continue to give us perfect gifts because that is who He will always be. He will never have a need to entertain even a shadow of change.

Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” We can trust Jesus for our salvation because the Father gave Him for us as the ultimate perfect gift. This truth from God will never change.

When I was young I played sports constantly. Whether at home or school or with a team, I was actively participating in sports. I can no longer do the same activities, but I am trying to keep fit. As I have mentioned before, I walk about 10 miles per day. I enjoy being outside and especially communing with God in His creation. While walking I spend a lot of the time praying, worshipping, and listening. It is also important to keep spiritually strong and healthy.

The writer of the book of Hebrews uses the analogy of physical strength to illustrate how to stay strong spiritually. He wrote, “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.”

Lifting hands describes worship. So the writer is encouraging us to strengthen our worship muscles by continually worshipping the Father. Strengthening knees refers to prayer. The encouragement is to frequently pray and thereby strengthening your prayer muscles. And preparing straight paths for your feet instructs us to walk in righteousness, the path God has made for us. These righteous paths keep us from injury and heal previous injuries. There is so much more instruction that the writer could have included here, but strengthening our personal worship, prayer, and walking in righteousness will go a long way to making us spiritually strong and healthy.