How odd; I would have thought that when setting out to write something at this time of year that it would be filled with the message of Christ coming to dwell with us or celebrating His birth in some way or the new year with new beginnings. I guess that’s not how the Spirit is working with me and that what’s been on my heart are events launching change and the horrible shootings in Newtown, CT along with all the Facebook postings, murmurings, and rumors. All this is driving me towards commentary I’d prefer not make.
Seeing the various political ramblings, the gun rights activists using the school shootings to suggest that we have armed guards on campus, the gun control activists using the shootings to crank up efforts to further the political drive at legislation to limit sales of various weapons, and the best yet, religious commentators suggesting the shootings are because we’ve legislated God out of the schools or that the states and courts are recognizing gay marriage as a right. In my personal search for the reasons of a senseless act I came up with a somewhat different viewpoint but resisted the impulse to post it as a FB status. I read a friend’s blog on the subject, a thoughtful consideration on where God was in all of this, and offered my un-posted status as a comment; I offer it here and hope that by the end of this post my point becomes clear:
“It’s my fault. I didn’t pray enough for God to protect the children so that he would directly intervene. I am to blame. I haven’t prayed fervently enough for God to raise up men and women of God who would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to see a need and be moved to love somebody enough to take action when that person needed someone to care. It’s my fault that I haven’t prayed enough. God help me pray.”
The other thing that has been of concern can best be described for me as church turmoil caused by poor communications about changes being considered in light of diminishing worship attendance and significant casualties to the church membership, something that’s be in motion over a few years now, at least from what I have observed.
How are we to react to such things; to tragedy, internal discord, or when it seems that events and people pile up against us? The Body of Christ is under assault, innocent victims to senseless acts are accumulating, day-to-day suffering grows, and it seems that the wicked and the opponents of God’s Kingdom are winning. How do we respond? With legislation? Clever ways to draw people in? Disguising the Gospel to make it more palatable or comflaging ourselves to attract new people before they see who we really are? Arm teachers and priests and train them in armed response?
Let’s look at Joel for a few minutes and see what he prescribes. Joel was witnessing an invasion of locusts on the land with horrific effects that promised years of starvation and suffering. Did he suggest that Israel arm all of the children and farmers, every one of God’s people to battle the pestilence? Not so much. Joel 2: 12 – 17 shows us the way, the heart of it - “15Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. 16Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. 17Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, ‘Spare your people, O Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
God’s Kingdom is the answer and we can’t legislate it into existence or put up buildings so constructed in design as to bring the Kingdom to fruition. A response of repentance and crying out to our Lord is what will catch His ear and provide the answer. Joel 2: 18-19 “18Then the Lord will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people. 19The Lord will reply to them: ‘I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations.’” Joel’s formula is fairly simple when boiled down to the bare ingredients; separation from God’s will, tragedy and opposition, repentance and seeking His face, forgiveness and restoration, and finally, judgment to evil (see Joel 3).
And so we pray, come quickly Lord. Joel 2: 27 & 28 “27Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. 28And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”
