In John 14:1-3, Jesus tells us "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also. It is certain that Jesus will return and His children will reside in heaven with Him. There is no doubt!
I remember vividly my middle son’s first day of school. I lived with my three young children in an apartment complex at that time and he was very excited to take the bus to kindergarten. The pick-up and drop off was right on the corner of the complex so we walked there together in the morning and the plan was for me to meet him back there in the afternoon when the bus dropped him off. I completely lost track of time and it was about fifteen minutes after he was scheduled to be dropped off when I realized I was late! You can probably feel my sense of panic! I hurried to the corner expecting to find him standing alone and probably crying. To my horror, he wasn’t there! Failure at motherhood, right?! I quickly called the school and tried to stay calm as they tracked down the bus driver on his radio. I found out that the bus driver would not let Kevin off his bus with no one to meet him – praise God! My son was still on the bus, sitting up front, having a great time riding all over the valley in the school bus as the driver’s right hand man!! I was supposed to have met him at noon; he finally arrived home at three. He was very excited to tell me about his fun adventure. Needless to say, I was dismayed at my ability to forget my own child, but God’s grace covered both of us.
Jesus will be waiting for us. He anticipates our coming home and there is no danger that He will forget to meet His children!
In part two of this study, I wrote about the blessing of God’s protection in our lives and the assurance that is ours in Him. His love for us will never be thwarted. Unlike the ever-changing things of this earth, God, His character and His promises, remains the same. His love for us, His desire for us to be with Him, and His care for us, are always constant and true to His perfect faithfulness.
God not only has given His children protection but also the gift of His Holy Spirit. ‘The fruits of the Spirit’ is a fairly common phrase used among Christian settings. They are found in Galatians chapter 5 verses 22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These words are a description of the qualities that are developed in an individual seeking after God and under the influence of His Spirit. Talk about blessings!
Without the Spirit working in our lives, it is impossible to love those who hate, to experience joy in the midst of sadness, to feel peace during turmoil, to be patient under trying circumstances, to act in kindness towards those who are seeking to destroy, to act in goodness when it seems that most everything surrounding us is bent on evil, to be faithful when others are unreliable, to be gentle when harshness is prevalent and to practice self-control when restraint has become obsolete. God knows we are incapable of acting in a manner that is pleasing to Him without His Helper, the Holy Spirit. The blessing of the Holy Spirit in our lives enables us to live as lights in a world ruled by darkness. Just think about the things listed above. How contrary to the world is this kind of behavior? In our own strength, we return dislike with dislike, we allow sadness to overtake happiness, we are unsettled when trouble is present, we lose our patience, we answer harshly towards those who are mean, we act according to the moment and circumstances around us, we distrust when others prove to be flakey, we use harsh words toward others, and self-control is almost non-existent.
Consider. How often do we remember to thank God for the blessing of His Spirit who allows us to act in a manner of love towards others regardless of how we are treated?
Let’s now turn our attention to the word worse in our vows. Think of the blessings listed earlier and ask yourself if you always use what’s available to act in love. Unfortunately, I can assure you that there are many times I don’t take hold of the power given to me to avoid sin. But, once again, God knows us well enough to know we will fail and He uses circumstances in our lives to teach us and continue to guide us towards acting in a way that is becoming to His character. He is continually preparing us through His loving discipline to be presented to Himself as a perfect bride without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Eph 5:27 NIV).
So often when we consider the word discipline, we think of punishment for doing wrong. None of us enjoy punishment. I can’t remember a time when any of my own children have asked me to discipline them! Imagine hearing the words, “Mommy, please give me more correction”! Consider. If you have children, why do you teach or train them? Because you love them and want to instruct them to recognize right from wrong. Think of how you might teach a child not to run across a busy street. You wouldn’t consider allowing them to take a chance of being hit by a car in order for them to understand the dangers of that behavior. The hope is that through your instruction, they would avoid the consequences of choices that could lead to serious trouble.
Other words that explain discipline are teaching and training. God trains us through adversity. He allows difficulties in our lives to teach us to lean on His strength and look to His righteousness. The passage in Hebrews 12:7-11 is a tender picture of God’s commitment to discipline us as His beloved children. In fact, only those whom God loves are disciplined by Him for the purpose of teaching holiness. Hebrews 12:9 reads, “But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons”. God’s discipline in our lives actually assures us of our genuine relationship with Him.
Spiritual discipline in our lives produces godly character. By it we are trained to respond righteously in difficult situations. The discipline God gives us helps us to curb the passions that may easily become priorities over God. Unlike the times I’ve become tired and frustrated and wanted to give up when training my children, God is always faithful to the task of teaching us His ways and He does it with perfect understanding.
I grew up in a family with four children. I can remember my Mom sometimes being so exhausted that when there was a problem between the kids, we would all get punished simply because she didn’t have the energy to sort all the facts. I’ve done the same thing when my kids were young. You’re probably familiar with this scenario. “Mommmmmmmy, he’s looking at me!”, then you hear, “I am not”. “Mommmmmy, she touched my leg” followed by “You touched me first!” Then, “Stop making faces at me or I’ll tell (like you can’t hear them), followed by “If you tell on me I’ll tell Mom what you did” and on and on it goes….. You get the picture. It’s about this time when you’ve heard enough and collectively bring down the gauntlet on all. Everyone is sent to their room for a time out. You’re not really even interested in the facts, you just want peace and quiet for a moment. At least some of you can relate. Well, again, unlike us, God disciplines with a perfect love, perfect instruction, and perfect correction and He never gives up or gets tired! He doesn’t need to sort out the facts because He knows exactly where we err, and He is always perfectly just in His punishment.
I have gone through some difficult times just as I’m sure you have. It’s always easier to have someone by your side when difficulties come knocking on your door. You are able to stand stronger when you feel supported by those who are watching out for your best interests. When we go through trials, Jesus is right by our side. He doesn’t run when it gets tough and He knows better than we do what we need each moment to survive any hardship. Ps 46:1-3 tells us God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar [and] foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
We’ve looked at the “for better” statement in our vows which are the abundant blessings we have in Christ. The “for worse” in our vows are the difficulties in our lives that God uses to train us in righteousness. We’ll take a closer look at more specific trials when we consider the words “poorer” and “sickness”.
God is in it for the long run. He won’t quit working on His children. He will see it through till each is home with Him for eternity. How about you? Are you in it for the long haul? When it gets tough, do you have a plan that will keep you close to His strength and endurance? Are you holding His hand through this journey when it’s enjoyable and when it’s difficult?
“I confess You, Jesus Christ, are God, that you became flesh, lived as man and died for my sins. I receive you as my Savior and Lord. I know that no one will be able to snatch me out of Your hands and that I am known as Yours forevermore. As Your child, You promise me abundant blessings. Because I belong to You, I can expect Your loving discipline in my life to encourage me, to correct me and to grow me.
