Monday, November 27, 2017

Divine Endurance

My 1960’s childhood neighborhood had lots of kids, and we did all sorts of things. The hilly terrain, loaded with trees, shrubs, and houses, was great for hide-and-seek. I have a vague recollection of once playing a variation of red rover and, being the smallest and youngest in the group, I was chosen last. Nothing strengthens a child’s self-esteem as much as being a leftover. In the winter we played some hockey on slick driveways or, if weather conditions dumped enough rain in our back yards right before a hard freeze, on the ice. Although it was fun to slap the puck around, I was never very good with skates because my ankles were always too wobbly. Ditto with roller blading later in life. At the time, there were also oodles of games being played involving old west or war themes. We did a lot of riding around on bicycles, too, and it was on those machines that I first figured out how to do some work on mechanical devices. Let’s not forget the sports, either.
Playing catch was an option, and it was OK as long as you had a glove and knew how to use it. I’ve always enjoyed sports with paddles or racquets, and we had a badminton net in our back yard. During my high school years most people found that they could not beat me in a ping-pong match. Actually, I remember only one loss, and that was when I worked at a Christian camp one summer. A permanent staff member and I were the finalists in the camp staff tournament. I played very aggressive, very hard-hitting offense, and he played the best defensive game I’ve ever seen. It was extremely close, and he beat me by letting me beat myself. Boy, he was great! I haven’t played much in quite a few years, and I think the loss of flexibility in my back (due to back surgery) would make a difference. Plus, there are the other things that affect 61-year-old people.
And then there was football. The games in my early childhood seemed to me to be somewhat haphazard, and I think that was primarily because I didn’t understand the game at the time. I’m not entirely sure that the other kids did, either, but they sure behaved like they did. I still had fun running around with everyone else. There was a set of shoulder pads and a helmet that fit me; both were presumably left over from when my brother had played with them. The male ego kicks in early in life, and I remember looking in the mirror and liking what I saw when I had the shoulder pads on: I was quite the he-man. The one thing I remember the most about neighborhood football, though, occurred one bright, sunny day in the area where our front yard met that of our neighbors. Through some odd discontinuity in the space-time continuum, I ended up with the football. I didn’t understand what I was supposed to do with it, and so I simply ran around with it, trying to get away from everybody else. Perhaps I had been influenced by Curly in The Three Stooges short film Three Little Pigskins. At any rate, the predictable thing happened: I found myself at the bottom of a large pile of children. Everybody else found this quite humorous, and perhaps I did, too, briefly, before I realized that the weight of the pile was making it difficult for me to breath. I looked around and saw arms and legs and feet, and I couldn’t get out: I was trapped.
Endurance involves both difficulty and time. I had no choice: I was forced to endure until the pile was gone, and it seemed like it took forever. From that point forward I was much more careful about getting involved in football. Prisoners of war are sometimes forced to endure unspeakable acts of cruelty for long periods of time, and those that survive deserve to be admired. Honorable people are outraged at the cowards that inflict such things.
On the other hand, endurance can also involve choice. About 30 years ago I had a friend that offered to take me with him on a long-distance bike ride. The route was about 65 miles round trip, and went from near where I lived in Greenville to the top of Caesars Head, one of the Appalachian Mountains in South Carolina. He was a very experienced road biker, he assured me that I could do it, and so I agreed. It was a cloudy Saturday, and it was supposed to rain, but we left, anyway. We were about 16 miles into the trip when the rain started. It rained, and then stopped, and then started up again, and then stopped again. Like us, it continued cycling throughout the day, and sometimes it poured, and poured, and poured. Mind you, I was expending a lot of energy, and I was glad to get cooled off, but there were times when I got cold. Nevertheless, we were determined, and it poured when we got to the top of Caesars Head. I chose to endure, and we rode the entire 65 miles. I was proud of myself, and he bought me an official Rain Ride patch to commemorate the occasion.
 Choosing to endure can involve difficult choices. Some time ago I talked with a father whose son was living with him. As is true with any good parent, this man has for many years tried to influence his son to make good decisions. However, his son thinks he knows better, and so he continues to disregard biblical truth. Some of this may be the male ego manifesting itself, but that’s irrelevant: Bad thinking translates into bad behavior, and bad behavior has consequences. This is, in fact, a law of the universe: Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. (Galatians 6:7 ESV) God is already demonstrating patience with him, but apparently he thinks this means that there won’t be any consequences. He’s wrong: It may take time, but they are coming. What is this father enduring? It’s tearing him up that his son is going to face serious problems. His son expresses his bad attitude, and this leads to serious conflict in the home. He lacks the ability to change his son’s heart. This dad faces these things day in and day out, and he sees no signs of change. He is enduring anguish, but he loves his son so much that he chooses to live with him, anyway, so that he can try to help him. This is a picture of Divine endurance.
Nobody understands God completely. The Bible teaches that God is triune, existing as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While I commune with all three, I’m still mystified that He exists like this. The idea of being indwelled by the Holy Spirit must sound really bizarre to people that don’t know God, but the fact is, all of God’s children are indwelled by Him. What negative things does the Holy Spirit experience while indwelling Brian Vogt?
First, let’s not forget that God is completely holy, pure and unstained by sin. He is exquisitely sensitive, much more so than any human being. God is very gentle, and He does not like to come down hard on His children, and does so only when He knows that it is necessary. Sometimes He speaks very, very quietly, like one of the times after He showed his power to Elijah. God said
“Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
(I Kings 19:11-12 ESV)
Second, let’s remember that Brian Vogt is still a sinner. Yes, he is a sinner saved by grace, but he is still a sinner. While God tells him to be gentle, sometimes he is not. Patience is not just a virtue—he has been commanded to be so. And yet, sometimes Brian is very impatient, particularly when driving in traffic. He is sometimes covetous, or envious, or angry, or is not meek, or is not thankful, or is selfish, or is unkind, or…. You see, although over the years God has done a marvelous work of transforming Brian, He is not done with him yet.
Third, let’s remember that the Holy Spirit can be grieved. He abhors sin, recoils from it, and detests being around it more than you hate being around whatever it is that bothers you more than anything else.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
(Hebrews 13:5 ESV)
Without exception, the Holy Spirit is deeply grieved every time Brian sins. Do you see the parallels? That father is deeply disturbed by his son’s thinking. So, too, the Holy Spirit is grieved by some of Brian’s thinking. That father knows that his son will face consequences, and he is saddened by the thought. So, too, the Holy Spirit is saddened by what Brian will face if he does not change. That father detests the conflict he experiences with his son. So, too, the Holy Spirit detests the conflict He experiences when Brian fights against him. That father chooses to endure anguish because he loves his son, and cannot bear the thoughts of what will happen if he doesn’t change. So, too, the Holy Spirit chooses to endure anguish so that He can continue to change Brian. That father chooses to dwell with his son, even though at times it is very difficult. So, too, the Holy Spirit chooses to dwell within Brian, even though at times it is difficult beyond human comprehension.
…He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
(Hebrews 13:5 ESV)


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