I had a thought. (I get those now and then.) People say the Bible is a handbook of life. But not quite. It doesn’t tell us which college to enter, which person to marry, which career to go into, right? These are the things we want a handbook to tell us about. These are the kind of life issues we are concerned about.
Actually, the Bible is the handbook for thriving in the Kingdom of God. It tells us how to be a good citizen under the rule of Christ, the King of kings. If this is what you are using the Word of God for, then you’ll find it a precious treasure.
The Bible exalts Jesus and God. But sin separates us from God. Sin disrupts the rule of King Jesus. Sin destroys the subject in Christ’s kingdom. It makes sense, then, that the Bible focuses on dealing with sin.
Jesus came to take away sin, to clear the way between our soul and the Savior. With sin gone, we are free to pursue God, grow in our relationship with Him, and be enriched in every way by His fullness.
The Bible tells us how victory over sin works. Victory over sin is not an academic exercise for a term paper. It really, truly brings a new vitality into our existence. Then we experience life as it was meant to be: enjoying life with God.
If you want to know God (I know you do), the Bible is the only guide to triumphant living over sin. It is truly the handbook to happiness, for it presents a Savior who has already triumphed over sin, breaking its hold over us. Sin is at the root of all evil, all suffering, all ailments of all of mankind. And this suffering is all the worse when we go through it without God’s Word to guide us, without His presence to cheer us.
… without the Gospel to tell us that God forgives sin and gives us power over it.
If I tell a young child to tie her shoes and she can’t, then she knows she’ll be able to eventually when she grows up like mommy and daddy. If I take a class in woodworking and see all these nice, finished wood projects I can’t do now, I should take hope that I’ll be able to it when I finish the class.
The Bible tells believers to rejoice always, to praise God in everything. (See where I’m going with this?) Perhaps you can’t imagine that ever happening, not with the stresses you are facing now. But you should be able to, if you are growing up according to the Bible handbook’s route to spiritual growth.
These are commands in Scripture, not suggestions. You want God to give you a better year in 2021. Are you applying the Handbook wrong, in a way to making you happy in a nice environment? The book doesn’t work that way. It deals with sin. As a corollary, it deals with unbelief and disobedience.
Are you dealing with them?
If we see that rejoicing and praying in hope in hard times are the result of spiritual training, then we might think like this: “God wants me to rejoice a lot more than I am. How does that happen? Well, I need to see something really great about God so I can do that, something so great that it takes my mind off of other things that bother me.”
Then we reason, “Evidently, I am thinking too much about my own troubles. I can’t really help that because that’s the way my life is. But has that thinking really enriched me at all? Do I not have control over my own mind? Since I do, why don’t I turn all my negative thoughts into prayer, and praise God for the changed life this will lead to?”
Now we are working with God’s command and not against it. The training will continue because we are taking the path of obedience and submission. As we further this obedience, we get a better idea of where peace comes from. “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). That quote came from a man who had maybe just a little more than five books in the canon of Scripture. Do we not have a greater advantage?
If we will not worship and rejoice, it is because we have eyes on self and circumstances, not on the One who is working all things for good, who knows when a sparrow falls to the ground, who manages every single neutron and atom, every single molecule of matter in the entire universe.
How’s that for a Master Juggler? Can He handle the crises that come your way?
The Bible trains us to focus on Jesus. He is the central theme of the book. “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he sent” (John 6:29).
I do not minimize the terrible tragedies of your past and present. I want you to see them with the right perspective. I hope you won’t be upset by these words. God suffers when we suffer. It’s good to know that He doesn’t give us more than we can bear (1 Cor. 10:13).
The Bible is about the kingdom. About being submissive to Jesus at all times. Jesus described Himself this way: gentle and humble (Matt. 11:29). This is the person we become who has his heart set on the kingdom. Still, Jesus was frustrated with his disciples from time to time (“How long will I bear with you?” — Matt. 17:17).
We can be upset with the people around us from time to time, because that’s part of being human. It’s up to us to get our head back in the kingdom and see what God wants us to do about it. But if we are following our feelings and emotions, they are the lords leading us, not the Christ the Lord, and they need to be crucified.
I prayed for how to respond to your letter. These words came tumbling out. These are strong words. I think the Lord believes you can handle it and trusts you to do the right thing.
