Blessed Assurance and other Iron Clad Guarantees
Matthew 6:34 - “Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day's own evil is sufficient.”
Life is complex. Who would of thought?!! The more we come to know, the less we seem to know. Just a few years ago “Junk DNA” was considered to be the leftover debris of life’s long march towards its present state. Scientists used it as a perfect example of evolution's disjointed creative process of trial and error—lots of error. They turned out to be wrong. Not only is “Junk DNA” not junk, it's one more nail in the coffin of speculative science that is far too frequently posited as fact.
Let me be clear, I'm not saying that evolution is untrue, only that it can't be used as the final answer for every unanswered question regarding life and its origins. When inferring from scant evidence about what might be possible, almost anything can be true.
Sometimes I watch science shows and I'm always in awe of how much scientists claim to have figured out. Occasionally, they'll insert the word theory, but rush past it like a card-sharp using sleight of hand to deflect your attention. They allegedly can pin point, with tremendous accuracy, the daily practices of animals dead for fifty million years with no more than a tooth or a toenail. When, in fact, they frequently can't determine whether an ancient skull and partial skeleton is ape or human, maybe a distant human ancestor, maybe not. Were dinosaurs reptilian? Or, were they descended from birds, possibly some combination. Were they fantastically stupid? Or, were their brains small, but sufficient for the demands of some T Rex-chicken hybrid? Some of these questions have been at least partially answered. For the most part, however, what we actually know is dwarfed by what we don't.
Switch channels to religious programming and you find pretty much the same thing. Occasionally, humility wins out, but not often. It doesn't pay for some television preacher to say “The Bible is God's word, but I'm not really sure what that means.” People searching for the truth don't want indecision, it's answers they're after. They want—and they need—assurances, security, conviction.
This is simply human nature. No one wants to hear their stock analyst say “This stock is a real winner! On the other hand, I’ve been wrong before, so who knows!” If you don't invest in them, their TV show, buy their book, or go to their church, they'll have to get a different job. And who wants to do that?
Politicians will, likewise, tell you they have a program that will solve all of America's problems. Everyone will have a good paying job and our enemies will cower in fear. Or, accept our humble apologies, depending on which leader is doing the talking. No politician will say “How should I know?This is pretty complex stuff after all!”
Life is complex. Who would of thought?!! The more we come to know, the less we seem to know. Just a few years ago “Junk DNA” was considered to be the leftover debris of life’s long march towards its present state. Scientists used it as a perfect example of evolution's disjointed creative process of trial and error—lots of error. They turned out to be wrong. Not only is “Junk DNA” not junk, it's one more nail in the coffin of speculative science that is far too frequently posited as fact.
Let me be clear, I'm not saying that evolution is untrue, only that it can't be used as the final answer for every unanswered question regarding life and its origins. When inferring from scant evidence about what might be possible, almost anything can be true.
Sometimes I watch science shows and I'm always in awe of how much scientists claim to have figured out. Occasionally, they'll insert the word theory, but rush past it like a card-sharp using sleight of hand to deflect your attention. They allegedly can pin point, with tremendous accuracy, the daily practices of animals dead for fifty million years with no more than a tooth or a toenail. When, in fact, they frequently can't determine whether an ancient skull and partial skeleton is ape or human, maybe a distant human ancestor, maybe not. Were dinosaurs reptilian? Or, were they descended from birds, possibly some combination. Were they fantastically stupid? Or, were their brains small, but sufficient for the demands of some T Rex-chicken hybrid? Some of these questions have been at least partially answered. For the most part, however, what we actually know is dwarfed by what we don't.
Switch channels to religious programming and you find pretty much the same thing. Occasionally, humility wins out, but not often. It doesn't pay for some television preacher to say “The Bible is God's word, but I'm not really sure what that means.” People searching for the truth don't want indecision, it's answers they're after. They want—and they need—assurances, security, conviction.
This is simply human nature. No one wants to hear their stock analyst say “This stock is a real winner! On the other hand, I’ve been wrong before, so who knows!” If you don't invest in them, their TV show, buy their book, or go to their church, they'll have to get a different job. And who wants to do that?
Politicians will, likewise, tell you they have a program that will solve all of America's problems. Everyone will have a good paying job and our enemies will cower in fear. Or, accept our humble apologies, depending on which leader is doing the talking. No politician will say “How should I know?This is pretty complex stuff after all!”
The one constant in all such equations is the need for assurances spoken with conviction. It's what people demand. Anything less than that will not be tolerated.
So, we learn very quickly to assure our loved ones, our bosses, our parents, and even our children that we are not only sure, but we are deeply convicted about our assurances.
In our private moments, though, we quake with fear about life's uncertainties, admitting that we are deeply unsure of just about everything. If we're fortunate, those who claim to love us will continue doing so, in spite of our fears and insecurities.
If we happen to be very unlucky, they won't care that we are unsure, they'll simply want us to take care of it. Whatever “It” is! Which only compels the cycle to start all over again. Meaning that, if we wish to be accepted for our weakness and loved by those who claim to love us, it becomes necessary to admit our lack of surety and move forward—together.
Maybe that's what Jesus intended when he said “Love one another as I have loved you. Love your enemies. And, remember, treat others the way you wish to treated. Believe on Me when I tell you this. If you do these things you will have eternal life!” He also said something about loving God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul as a necessary component, as well. By carefully tethering the love of God to the love of your fellow man, including the unlovable (our enemies), he made it clear that you can't really do the one without also doing the other. If you don't love your fellow man, in all his disgusting glory, all the religious rituals in the world are worthless. Jesus offers few easy answers. In fact, He only deepens the conundrum by linking the two, knowing full well that few will do what He's asking. This, in fact, may be the very narrow road that we're asked to walk on—not a stairway to heaven, but a pathway to heaven on earth.
It is unfortunate that we've been taught to read all those passages about the Kingdom of God as a reference to Heaven, the place above the clouds. Jesus, like every Jew before Him, understood the Kingdom of God to be God's rule and reign in the hearts of men. It wasn't a statement about the after-life, but God's will done on earth, as He directed it from Heaven. It was about pounding swords into plowshares, that could then be used to produce enough to sustain all members of the human family; male, female, Jew and Gentile, the poor and even the rich. Once people were no longer struggling just to survive, the Lion (the great superpowers of the age) would lay down with the lamb (the humble, small nations that were often their victims) and they would rest together, in peace—and they would study war no more.
I'm inclined to believe that if we read Jesus in context, His proposition was intended to be as difficult as it sounds, leaving us with a very tough standard to meet. Either Jesus was suggesting divine Grace and justice as a way out, which, to a first century Jew would have meant throwing yourself on the mercy of God's court and asking for leniency—or, when responding to the frequently asked question regarding eternal life, He was implying that this present life has trouble enough, so why are you asking about the next one? What will you do to alleviate the suffering that you encounter today? This is what matters! And, tomorrow, we will do the same thing, all over again. Do this and you will have eternal life.
Do I know this for sure? Most assuredly—I do not!
Mark Magula
So, we learn very quickly to assure our loved ones, our bosses, our parents, and even our children that we are not only sure, but we are deeply convicted about our assurances.
In our private moments, though, we quake with fear about life's uncertainties, admitting that we are deeply unsure of just about everything. If we're fortunate, those who claim to love us will continue doing so, in spite of our fears and insecurities.
If we happen to be very unlucky, they won't care that we are unsure, they'll simply want us to take care of it. Whatever “It” is! Which only compels the cycle to start all over again. Meaning that, if we wish to be accepted for our weakness and loved by those who claim to love us, it becomes necessary to admit our lack of surety and move forward—together.
Maybe that's what Jesus intended when he said “Love one another as I have loved you. Love your enemies. And, remember, treat others the way you wish to treated. Believe on Me when I tell you this. If you do these things you will have eternal life!” He also said something about loving God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul as a necessary component, as well. By carefully tethering the love of God to the love of your fellow man, including the unlovable (our enemies), he made it clear that you can't really do the one without also doing the other. If you don't love your fellow man, in all his disgusting glory, all the religious rituals in the world are worthless. Jesus offers few easy answers. In fact, He only deepens the conundrum by linking the two, knowing full well that few will do what He's asking. This, in fact, may be the very narrow road that we're asked to walk on—not a stairway to heaven, but a pathway to heaven on earth.
It is unfortunate that we've been taught to read all those passages about the Kingdom of God as a reference to Heaven, the place above the clouds. Jesus, like every Jew before Him, understood the Kingdom of God to be God's rule and reign in the hearts of men. It wasn't a statement about the after-life, but God's will done on earth, as He directed it from Heaven. It was about pounding swords into plowshares, that could then be used to produce enough to sustain all members of the human family; male, female, Jew and Gentile, the poor and even the rich. Once people were no longer struggling just to survive, the Lion (the great superpowers of the age) would lay down with the lamb (the humble, small nations that were often their victims) and they would rest together, in peace—and they would study war no more.
I'm inclined to believe that if we read Jesus in context, His proposition was intended to be as difficult as it sounds, leaving us with a very tough standard to meet. Either Jesus was suggesting divine Grace and justice as a way out, which, to a first century Jew would have meant throwing yourself on the mercy of God's court and asking for leniency—or, when responding to the frequently asked question regarding eternal life, He was implying that this present life has trouble enough, so why are you asking about the next one? What will you do to alleviate the suffering that you encounter today? This is what matters! And, tomorrow, we will do the same thing, all over again. Do this and you will have eternal life.
Do I know this for sure? Most assuredly—I do not!
Mark Magula
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