Trust in Him Alone

It has been a while. I ask your pardons all for having neglected this site for so long, but I either couldn't think of something to post, or didn't have the perseverance to write up a post. I have something short to share now, though. (Knowing me, it may end up being long; we'll see!)

I think most of us tend to take our circumstances for granted. I know I did. It may be affluence, it may be your favorite bicycle, it may be your own health, it may be your father's life, it may be your best friend's trust. We all know that they will eventually pass away (though as for fathers and friends, we will never lose them forever if they have faith in Christ). The bike will wear out, our health will fail from old age if from nothing else, and anyone who took out a sub-prime loan knows that affluence isn't permanent. But while these things are with us, I think we have a tendency to rely on them as semi-constants. Our routines, from the breakfasts we eat to the dynamics of our families, tend to define who we are. I submit that, although family and friends and even good breakfasts on a crisp and sunny autumn morning are wonderful things--blessings from God that should be enjoyed with thanksgiving--we should nevertheless take care that we are prepared to lose these things. In The Two Towers, Tolkien said through the character of Aragorn that a man who cannot give up a treasure at need is in fetters. We do not usually even give up these treasures voluntarily. They are taken from us, by time, by disease, by betrayal, by human weakness.

Because life really is precarious--because it can change in three seconds while tying your shoes for church--we need to have an anchor which nothing that happens to us can dislodge. We must look to something beyond ourselves, to something beyond our beloved wives and beloved children, our trusted parents and our familiar territories. We must look to Christ. My friends, there is one promise that is never broken, one friend who never turns His back, one who never dies, and never sleeps, and never passes away. That is the one without whom nothing would be of lasting importance.

When Jesus told His disciples to hate their parents and brethren and love Him, He did not mean that every Christian should be at enmity with his family, or not love them dearly. What He meant, I think, is that we must love Christ first and above all things else. It may be a bit like what Dietrich Bonnhoeffer said--that we can never truly love someone else unless we love that person through Christ. In this life, on this side of Heaven, everything that we know will ultimately pass away, from a stillborn child to the oldest grandparent dying in sleep, except for God, and the promise of the Gospel. Cling to Him, and then you can be the truest friend, the most devoted spouse, and the most honest businessman. You never, ever know what is going to happen to you, so you have to be prepared for anything. And you can be. Not because you are strong, but because He is strong. May God's name be glorified.

And yes, that turned out to be fairly long. Good night to you all!