By Pastor Greg...
The old mountaineer had lived a
full but not precisely a saintly life
and now was on his deathbed. He summoned his weeping wife. "Sara," he
said, "go to the fireplace and take out the third stone from the
top." She did as instructed. "Reach in there," said her husband,
"and bring out what you find." Her fingers touched a large mason jar,
and, with some effort, she pulled it up. The jar was full of cash. "Sara," said the old man,
"when I go, I'm going to take all that money with me. I want you to put
that jar up in the attic by the window. I'll get it as I go by on my way to
heaven."
His wife followed his
instructions. That night the old mountaineer died. After the funeral, his wife remembered the Mason jar and
went to the attic. There was the jar still full of money and by the window.
"Oh," the widow sighed.
"I knew I should have put it in the basement."
We chuckle at this because most of
us have a realistic understanding of Heaven and Hell. We are comfortable with the idea that God
will separate humanity into categories.
There are the saved and the unsaved.
However, for others, this concept of judgment makes them uncomfortable.
One of the significant stumbling blocks in the Church today is that many
Christians dwell on only one characteristic of God. For example, a Christian who focuses solely on the love of God tends to overlook the holiness of God and the
justice of God. A Christian who
dwells on love, grace, and mercy permits far too much sin in their lives and in the lives of others. Believing that God is only filled with love,
these Christians draw people to God, but never address their sin. They never focus on holiness, just
acceptance. They teach that God
overlooks their sin, which is not true.
Those who focus only on holiness
and the judgment of God limit His grace, love, and mercy. They restrict a person’s access to God
because, in their mind, He cannot tolerate sin.
Because these Christians focus on God’s judgment, they make no room for those who stumble or those who
struggle with sin in their life. One
group is offended that God would reject the old mountaineer, while the other
affirms God’s condemnation. Sadly,
neither group has seen the fullness of God.
It’s unfortunate that many
Christians are “either/or” in their view of God. In their eyes,
God is either loving, or He is judging. This
view divides Christians into different camps.
We see this in our own denomination.
But what if we viewed God with an “and/also” approach? What if God character is to love and also
judge? Is it possible that the fullness
of God’s character reveals both? I think
Chapter 8 of Revelation is a perfect example of this. (Read Revelation 8:1-13)
When Jesus opens the last seal on
this sacred scroll, all of Heaven falls silent.
For about half an hour, the saints beneath the throne stop their
praise. The angels and the 4 living
creatures stop chanting their
“Amen.” The 24 elders stop singing. The raptured Church stops its worship. It is silent.
And this happens because the
fullness of God’s plan has finally been revealed. The last seal has been broken. The scroll is laid wide open for all to
see. Those in Heaven finally see the extent of God’s mercy, the fullness of
His love, the purity of His holiness, the beauty of His grace, and the firmness
of His judgment.
Which of these attributes do you
think caused Heaven to pause? Do you believe heaven was speechless because of the
severity of God’s judgment? Do you think
the saints beneath the throne finally took a breather when they saw what God
was going to do to the wicked people of this earth? Do you think it was like the victims of a
violent crime finally hearing the Judge say “guilty?” What caused
Heaven to stand still for so long?
I can only imagine. But…
I think it was the fullness of God’s character; the
fullness of God’s mercy, love, grace, holiness, and judgment that caused those
in Heaven to stand in awe.
What is unfortunate is that most
of us only focus on one characteristic of God.
And when we see God demonstrate this, we cheer His grace OR cheer His stern judgment. But, when He displays the fullness of His character, we stand in
silence. We are speechless when we such
grace-filled judgment. When God fully reveals His plan for humanity,
His Grace, Love, and Mercy are balanced
with His Holiness and Justice. He is a
God of Truth AND Grace, not one or the other.
This, I believe, is what caused Heaven to stand in awe.
Yes, as we have read in this
chapter, the breaking of that last seal causes terrible disasters to strike the
earth. Once this final seal is broken, God will send 7 judgments upon the earth through the sounding of 7 trumpets. But that is not the only thing revealed in
the scroll.
God’s truth is the standard by
which He expects us to live. He demands
that we be holy, just as He is holy (Matthew 5:48). However, He shows love and mercy to those who
strive to attain that holiness. This is His grace. And if we were to summarize God character
into two different categories, it would be Truth and Grace. Those two characteristics of God are
inseparable.
John observes that an angel mixes the prayers of God’s people
with the smoke from an incense burner.
As the smoke from the incense rises from the hot coals, the prayers of
the Saints are added as an offering to God.
I suspect these were prayers asking God to reveal the fullness of His
character. As God was about to judge the
world, they prayed that it would be according to the fullness of His nature. I believe these saints were asking God to judge the world with grace, love, and
mercy. For God to judge in any other way would be to diminish His
character… His holiness.
And this is precisely what we see happening. Did you notice God’s mercy in the first four
trumpets? Did you see His restraint? In His mercy,
only a third of the earth was
consumed by fire. Only a third of the
sea creatures died; only a third of the ships were destroyed. God showed restraint and struck only a
third. He could have destroyed it all, but He chose judgment balanced by grace.
As you and I live out our lives
here on earth, the proper prayer for a Christian is a prayer for God to treat
others according to the fullness of
His character. As we lift our prayers
for those around us, we should be asking God to work in their lives in the
fullness of His glory; to show them grace or truth wherever it is needed in
their lives.
It is this balanced view of God
that the world needs to see. It is the fullness of God’s character living in us
that will cause the world to stand in awe.
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