Bojour #blurt.
What are we, those who try to be faithful, to do in the face of abandonment by our society of the One True God? First, we need to reject the false idea that Christianity comes with a cushy – never hard or painful – existence. Scripture contains story after story of people who were caught in the sins of their nation even though they themselves were faithful. I often think of Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet. The atrocities he saw led to the book of Lamentations. The name of the book itself describes how Jeremiah felt. In Hebrew, the original title is Ekah or ‘How…!’ In fact, this is the very first word of the book. The pain and sorrow that he experienced left him almost without words to describe it. Yet, though his countrymen ignored God’s warnings and refused to repent of their evil ways, Jeremiah and his scribe, Baruch, remained faithful.
We might be tempted to think that our faithfulness in the midst of a global time of discipline for abandoning God would gift us a miraculously unburdened life. We would be wrong. Jesus even rejected the idea that our lives were designed to be filled with comfort and ease. In John 16:33, he said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” In Matthew 10:38, he said, “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Imagine carrying the very thing that would mean your death. That is what Christ calls us to do. This life is not our prize. It is our training ground. God calls us to put to death the things that get in the way of sharing His message: our pride, our ambition, even our plans.
Whenever I am tempted to complain because I am suffering alongside and because of those who fight against the Lord’s rule, I am reminded of Jeremiah’s scribe. Jeremiah 45:2-5 reads, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ The Lord said, ‘Say this to him: This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted throughout the land. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’” The reward for Baruch’s faithfulness was not an absence of pain. It was not glory. It was not freedom. He would be carried away with the captives of Babylon alongside Jeremiah. His reward was his life.
God’s plans are larger than our minds can understand. Sometimes it may feel like we are being swept away with the wicked, but take heart. None of us are forgotten or ignored by God. God is pruning His church. He is refining the faithful and challenging the wicked’s blatant rebellion. We have no choice but to be caught up in it. We can; however, cling to the peace of Christ in the darkest storm. We can smile because our faith shines brightest in the darkest night. We can offer grace, mercy, forgiveness and loving correction to others. We can stand for what is right even when it is vastly unpopular. We can shine like a city on a hill and be used by our Maker to fulfill His plans. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33).