When I was little, few things could make me happier than to bring a smile to my parents’ face. I used to love Fathers’ and Mothers’ days, because they meant that I could get a present and enjoy watching them unwrap it, and could bring them breakfast in bed then crawl in beside them and enjoy their company. Whether it was because of something I said or did, just knowing that I had brought them joy, that they were rejoicing in their love for me brought me great pleasure. Which is not to say, of course, that this was always foremost in my mind. Plenty of times I made them sad, angry or disappointed too, and that generally wasn’t so fun.

Nowadays, I particularly enjoy delighting and surprising my wife, Katrie. I love to surprise her, to express my love for her in as many different ways as I can think of – I might cook a special meal, or plan a special night out or organise some time when we can just do something entirely random. Once or twice I’ve even bought her flowers, but I tend to save that up for really special occasions!

I remember when we were dating, we used to leave notes for one another in innocuous places – in books, on the computer, in the microwave – just for the knowledge that it would be appreciated by the other person. I once heard of a couple who did the same thing, and she unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper so that she could write him a note on the last square. I just hope he wasn’t in too much of a hurry to appreciate it!

The Bible describes this kind of pleasure using the word ‘delight’, and tells us that God responds that way to us. We are his children and we delight him. True, sometimes we make him sad, angry or disappointed, but the fact remains that he loves us, and we bring him great joy – he delights in us, rejoices in us, cherishes us as his precious, precious children.

This week and next week, we’re going to look at some of the things that the Bible tells us delight God.

Psalm 147 – The Lord Delights in those…

1 Praise the LORD.

How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.

5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

6 The LORD sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.

8 He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.

9 He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.

10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;

11 the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

12 Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion,

13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your people within you.

14 He grants peace to your borders
and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.

15 He sends his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.

16 He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.

17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?

18 He sends his word and melts them;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.

19 He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his laws and decrees to Israel.

20 He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know his laws.

Praise the LORD.

- Psalm 147

Psalm 147 is a psalm of praise to God, the creator and Lord over all – possibly written for the dedication of the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem¹. It is a psalm that touches on the ways God has blessed Israel, building it up, gathering exiles, healing the brokenhearted and binding their wounds. God is revealed as a God of great wonder, great power and great mercy.

Yet the key to understanding this psalm, the very heart of it, lies not in his power, his wonder or his mercy but in his delight.

11 the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

In verse 11 we are told how we should respond to all the other stuff in the psalm. If we want to please the LORD, we need to fear him. If we want to delight him, we must put [our] hope in his unfailing love.

But what does this mean?

God, because of his love for us, desires relationship with us. What’s more, he loves it when we seek him out, when we turn to him and pursue relationship with him in turn. He loves it.

Jesus gives us the beginnings of insight into God’s delight when he tells the parable of the Lost (or Prodigal) Son². Picture for a moment the son, finally returning after being all but given up for dead, being embraced by the father who, “filled with compassion for him” (20) orders that a massive party be thrown in his honour – how’s that for delight? As he later explains to his other son, “‘We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'” (32). The son was not loved because of his actions – after all, by asking for his inheritance he effectively said to his father, “I wish you were dead” – but because of who he was and because of the relationship between them.

I’m fairly certain that my parents’ delight when I brought them presents was not directly because of the presents that I gave. Let’s face it, a $2 piece of slice wrapped in cellophane and all but destroyed by that peculiar mode of transport we call the school bag cannot have been all that appealing!

I remember that one time I decided to make breakfast in bed for both Mum and Dad. The only trouble was that I had never made either tea or coffee before… but how hard could it be? Now Dad used to drink instant coffee, but Mum used to have tea leaves. I knew that the strainer came into the whole thing somewhere, but wasn’t quite sure where… and so I put the coffee in to the strainer and poured hot water through it, and put the tea leaves in the bottom of a cup and poured boiling water in on top. Needless to say, Dad ended up drinking what was, to all intents and purposes, hot water, whilst Mum’s hot water had floaties in it! They both smiled, though, however crookedly, and thanked me profusely, heaping me with praise for my kind actions – you see, they were interested not so much in the gift as they were in the heart of the giver. They knew that my gifts were merely a token of the love that I bear for them, and the I was expressing that love the best way I knew how.

In the same way, God is more interested in our attitude as we approach him than in our actions. Some Christians have conceived this idea of God as being like some elderly relative who, so long as you say the right things, suffer your cheeks to be pinched and write a nice thank-you note for them to show to their friends, will give you presents (at least) twice a year. But God is not like that at all. If I’m singing half-hearted praise to him, if I pray with my lips but not with my heart, if I insist on trying to conform God into my own image and plans then that is abhorrent to him. God will not tolerate people who seek him out trusting in their own righteousness, nor will he put up with braggarts or boasters. The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground (6).

Instead, the psalmist spells out the attitude that we are to have when we come into God’s presence – one of fear, and of hope.

… who fear him

Fear is a word commonly used in the Bible, particularly in relation to God. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom”³ we are told. It usually has one of two meanings: terror; or awe.

Terror is the kind of fear we are most familiar with. We’re afraid of many things: snakes, spiders, sharks; heights, depths, small spaces, large spaces, empty spaces; separation, commitment, rejection. In fact, I looked up phobias on the internet and found a site⁴ where they are listed from ablutophobia (the fear of washing or bathing) all the way through to zoophobia (the fear of animals) – some 530+ in all! Indeed, we make and watch entire movies whose sole purpose is to scare the wits out of us!

Psalm 147 alludes to many things of which we might rightly be afraid: a God of piercing knowledge, able to count the stars and call them by name (4, 5) surely knows all of our secrets, the ones we’d rather stayed buried; a God who can cover the sky with clouds and supply the earth with rain, who makes the grass grow on the hills and provides food for the cattle(8,9), well, what happens if he decides to stop doing those things? Who can withstand his icy blast? (17)

Is it God’s desire then that we should cower in fear whenever we are in his presence?

We’ve already established that he is a God of love, that he rushes to meet us when we return to him. Indeed Psalm 147 gives more evidence (as if we needed any) of God’s unfailing love for us… he builds up Jerusalem’ he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (2, 3), and He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat. (14). No, this is not the picture of a God bent on intimidating us into cowering submission and incoherent terror!

Instead, it is God’s intention that we should approach him with awe and respect.

Imagine for a moment that you were presented with the opportunity to meet with your greatest hero, or someone who you respect above all others. What would you do to prepare yourself? Who here would rock up drunk to a meeting with the Queen? Or would go to a wedding or a funeral wearing stubbies and thongs? Even if you did, you would know it was wrong, right? Why? Because there are certain people and certain events that demand our respect.

In certain people, both of these aspects get mixed. For example, when pulled over by a police officer, most of us are able to respect that he or she is doing their job. At the same time, however, we know that the officer has the power to take away our licence, impound our vehicle or even to imprison us – and this leads us to fear that they might do so. Similarly, imagine yourself in front of a judge, who has the power to fine you, imprison you or even (in some places) condemn you to death. Even an innocent person might be afraid in such a setting, because what if the judge got it wrong?

But if there was ever a person for whom fear and respect were in order, it is Jesus. When the time comes, and all the peoples of the earth stand before him, Jesus himself tells us that “‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God'”⁵. Note what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say “some knees”, or “most knees”. It doesn’t even say “every Christian knee”. No, when Jesus comes again, and is revealed in his glory as the Judge of all the Earth, everyone will acknowledge him as their Lord. I assure you that, when that happens, both kinds of fear we have talked about will be present to some extent or another in every mind. Who can doubt that we will be in awe of Jesus, who “will come like a thief in the night”⁶ and yet will be undisguisable in the same way that “lightning that comes from the east is visible in the west”⁷? Who can even imagine standing before Jesus and not harbouring the tiniest amount of fear – even an innocent man standing before a judge has his doubts and fears, how much more should we who are far from innocent and standing before the One who knows everything we ever did?

There will be a difference, however, between those whose uppermost thought is one of fear and those who are overcome with awe. That difference will be where they have placed their hope.

… who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Now we’ve come to the heart of the matter.

Picture, if you will, the scene in the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy and friends finally reach the Emerald City. As they are escorted through the city, drinking in the wonders of a horse of many colours and the grandeur of the great city, their trepidation steadily builds, climaxing as they are ushered into the vast chamber of the Wizard himself. As the Wizard’s voice booms out, all of them are afraid, not least the cowardly Lion whose knees are almost visibly knocking together. And yet they don’t turn tail and run. Why? They have heard the tales of a Wizard who is good, who is able to help them out of their various predicaments. They have come in hope that he will do so, and their hope overcomes their fear.

One guy describes it like this:

There is a beautiful relation between hope and fear… They are like the cork in a fisherman’s net, which keeps it from sinking, and the lead, which prevents it from floating.⁸

Together our fear and our hope keep us with a proper attitude towards God. Psalm 147 is drenched in this balance: on the one hand you have the LORD, counter of stars, mighty in power, with limitless understanding (4,5), who hurls down his hail like pebbles (17) and is, above all others, worthy of fear; on the other hand stands the LORD whose lovingkindness for Israel stretches across generations, whose provision brings prosperity (8,9), who has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel (19) as a sign of his covenant with them, his special promise that he will be their God, and they will be his people – cause for hope above all others.

Let’s take a moment to consider what kind of hope we’re talking about here. Hope as the world would describe it is something of chance. “I hope I win the lottery,” “I hope you have a nice day,” or “Hopefully it won’t rain.” We are expressing a desire that something will (or won’t) come about. Usually it is something we have no control over. And usually we have some sort of backup plan in case it doesn’t happen.

That’s not the kind of hope Psalm 147 talks about. Listen again to verses 10 and 11:

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;
the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Horses and the legs of men represent cavalry and infantry, the armies of ancient times. The psalmist is deliberately setting up a contrast between those who rely upon their own strength rather than God’s mercy and love. This is particularly poignant if, as is speculated, this psalm was written for the occasion when the returned exiles had just finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. In that light, God is saying through the psalmist, “Even though you now have walls, even though you have kings for friends (for the moment), don’t rely on them. Rely on me.”

This is a reminder for us as a nation. How much do we Australians rely on our strength, easy-going natures, tolerance and our relatively peaceful and democratic society? We define ourselves by who we are friends with, we go to war overseas to prevent war coming to us. We feel safe because of our physical distance from other nations. Let me ask you, is our hope in our horses and men, or is it in God’s unfailing love? When the chips are down, do we turn to God? Or to the Americans? When we consider our world in chaos, climate change out of control, floods, cyclones, fires, hail storms, tsunamis – where is our hope in these things? In God’s love? Or in our own efforts?

More than just a message to our nation, though, I believe that Psalm 147 challenges us to consider our own attitude towards God. Let’s play a game. In your head, I want you to finish each of these sentences:

• When things are hard, I am encouraged because…
• When things go wrong, and not according to plan, it’s OK because…
• When I screw up, when I let myself and everyone around me down, I tell myself that…
• When the chips are down, when all other hopes have disappeared, the one that will remain is that…

How’d you go? What kinds of things came to mind? Here are some of mine: I have an education; I have a job; I am resourceful, and will find a way through somehow; I have friends and family who love me; I’m an Australian. Perhaps you came up with some others: I’m a good person; I’m attractive; I’m healthy (or perhaps I have the right doctors); I know the right people; I have the right girlfriend/boyfriend; I come from the right family; I’m financially secure; I’ve done this before. Some of you might even have “spiritual” answers: I go to church; I pray; I read the Bible.

Your answers to each of those questions reveal where your hope lies. And unless your first word in finishing each one was “God”, your hope is in yourself – your qualities, your possessions, your relationships, your actions. But what happens when those things are taken away? What will you do for hope then? Compare this with placing your hope in God’s unfailing love, a love that will not ever be taken away, a love backed by the power to transform your life, a God who makes “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”⁹, both in this life and the next. God loves us. Unfailingly. He preserves our inheritance for us in heaven, and he shields us until the time comes for us to receive it¹⁰.

I was reminded recently of the story of Jairus and his daughter¹¹. Jairus, a “ruler of the synagogue” (41), was an important man whose job would have included reading the scriptures in the synagogue and perhaps preaching from them; he would have prayed with and for the sick; he would also have been responsible for protecting the people under his care from ‘false Messiahs’, of whom he no doubt considered Jesus to be one. When “his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying,” (42) he would certainly have prayed for her – after all that was his job. But that didn’t work. I can imagine him there on his knees, pleading with God: “I have served you all these years, I have studied your word, I have cared for your people – haven’t I earned the right to have you heal my daughter? Whatever I have to do, I’ll do it! Just, please, please, save her.” All of his hopes had been stripped away. None of them were any good now. Can you imagine his confusion when God’s response was, “You need Jesus” ? Can you imagine the mixed feelings as he “fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house” (41)? How about the emotional yo-yo as Jesus first says he will come, then stops half-way there for some seemingly trivial matter of someone touching him, the arrival of messengers to inform Jairus that his daughter is dead? And then come Jesus’ words, “‘Don’t be afraid; just believe and she will be healed.'” (50) How would you be after a day like that? I suspect strong drink might be involved!

In the end, Jairus had to believe Jesus and take him at his word. What choice did he have? But believe he did, for he went in with Jesus and witnessed his daughter being healed, indeed being raised from the dead.

Here’s the point: Jesus didn’t come because Jairus was a good man, although he probably was; he didn’t heal the girl because Jairus was well respected, or well educated, or popular, or pious, although he was probably all of those things; Jesus acted because Jairus had chosen to rely upon his love and his power, he had chosen to acknowledge that he was helpless in himself and was utterly reliant upon God’s unfailing love to be sufficient for him and for his daughter.

How about it? Is that the kind of hope that you need, the kind that can bring the dead to life, the blind to see, the captive to freedom? Are you ready to give up the uncertain hope found in your own power, privilege, position, performance and piousness? Do you hear God’s voice saying to you, “You need Jesus”? The good news is that God loves you, and his love for you is unfailing. He invites you to put your hope in his love. [Possibly pray some sort of sinner’s prayer here, explaining that it is not the words themselves that are special, but rather the attitude – a mixture of fear and hope.] The choice is yours. If you have made that choice tonight, I would love to hear from you, to pray with you and encourage you to take hold of the hope that God is offering to you.

One final note. Our hope in God’s unfailing love is for now – he loves us now, he cares for and tends his flock now. But that is not all. The hope we have now is like the promise of the time just before dawn: light appears in the east, and we know that the darkness is on the way out, even before the sun is revealed in all of its glory. But it is the Son that we are hoping for, who is the answer to and completion of all our hopes. It is the Son who will chase away the darkness and imperfections of this world, who will judge the world according to true justice. It is God’s Son who is our hope, who is the gift of God out of his unfailing love.

Our hope is anchored in the past: Jesus rose! Our hope remains in the present: Jesus lives! Our hope is completed in the future: Jesus is coming!¹²

Endnotes

1. See Ne 12:27-43
2. Luke 15:11-32
3. Proverbs 1:7
4. http://phobialist.com
5. Romans 14:11, quoting Isaiah 45:23; cf. Philippians 2:10-11
6. 1 Thessalonians 5:2
7. Matt 24:27
8. George Seaton Bowes, In Prospect of Sunday, quoted in C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David (Hendrickson) Vol. 3, p. 430.
9. Jer 29:11
10. 1 Pet 1:4-5
11. Luke 8:41-56
12. Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter, IVD, p. 46.

One of the hardest questions to deal with in life runs something like this: Why is there (so much) suffering in the world? Each of the major religions has something to say in response to this question. In this article, I will attempt to capture the kernel of each of these responses for Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and (not a religion, but still worthwhile considering) atheism.

Hinduism: Suffering brings balance

Most of us will have come across the concept of ‘karma’, the universal principle by which all events in the past balance out with present and future events. This balance spans not only your life, but all of your past and future lives (i.e. incarnations). When you die, according to a Hindu, you will continue being reincarnated until your personal karma allows you to escape physical existence altogether and reach a state of nirvana.

As a result, a devout Hindu encountering a person suffering from disease, illness or poverty will consider it to be ‘payback’ (to put it crudely) for that person’s actions, either in this life or in a previous one. Similarly, a child who dies at birth was obviously wicked or cruel or unjust in a previous life. Which is not to say that Hindu people are any less compassionate or humane than their counterparts who subscribe to other world views; rather this is how, philosophically speaking, a devout Hindu would explain the presence of suffering.

The solution offered is to seek to improve your karma, until such time as you are able to achieve nirvana.

On the one hand this is a brilliant explanation: it is intellectually satisfying and all but impossible to gainsay. On the other, however, such a world-view leaves little room for consolation. Granted, Hinduism emerged well before our therapeutically intensive society, and so does not share what John Dickson calls our “modern Western fixation with consolation,” (John Dickson, If I were God I’d end all the pain [Matthias Media, 2001] p. 21) this remains cold comfort to those suffering under oppression, persecution, poverty, illness or grief.

Buddhism: Suffering is an illusion

Buddhism arose in direct response to the problem of suffering. Sometime around 500BC a man named Siddhartha Gautama, the Prince of a regions near the present-day borders of Nepal and India, left his palace and stumbled across 3 examples of human misery on his doorstep: a man withered by age; a man incapacitated by illness; and finally a dead body. On returning to his palace he decided to devote the rest of his life to understanding the problem of human suffering.

After searching diligently for 7 years, lived in self-denial and asceticism, he still did not have any answers. According to legend he vowed to meditate day and night under a Bo Tree until he had gained the insight he sought. One night, under a full moon in the month of May, Siddhartha found what he was looking for: all pain is an illusion through which we must train ourselves to see. According to Gautama (known to later generations as the ‘Buddha’ or Enlightened One, in honour of this insight) suffering is directly related to our desires and affections for the things of this world. Thus the pain of losing a loved one is caused not by the loss itself but by the affection I feel towards my parent, spouse, child or friend. If I lose my job, my anguish is brought about by my desire to be employed. If I desire intimacy then being single will bring anguish.

To overcome suffering, therefore, you must follow the Buddha’s eightfold path in order to purge yourself of all desires and affections.

There is little doubt in my mind that the Buddha’s solution is an insightful one: who can argue that our experience of suffering is unrelated to our desires. But does this ‘solution’ provide us a way forward? Is it possible to live this way, to isolate myself of all desire and affection? What kind of life will I be left with?

Islam: Suffering is the will of Allah

Unlike Buddhism, Islam deals with questions of suffering only peripherally. Nevertheless the Muslim position is clear: all events in history, from the least to the greatest, occur according to the will of Allah. The word Islam translates as ‘submission’ (to Allah’s will) and the word Muslim translates ‘one who submits’. Suffering becomes an opportunity for the devout Muslim to ‘submit’ to Allah’s will; to do otherwise, to cry out ‘Why God?’, is to presume to question the Almighty, and therefore all but blasphemy.

Thus, all that happens in this world – good or bad – is attributed to Allah: a young woman dies of cancer; chemists develop a life-saving drug; a family breadwinner dies of AIDS, plunging their family into poverty; a couple get married; a child is born with a heart problem… all these things are according to Allah’s will.

Perhaps of more importance, however, is Allah’s reaction to all of these things: none. According to standard Muslim theology, Allah is the ‘unmoved mover’. He causes all things to happen, but is impacted by none of them.

The Muslim solution, then, is to train yourself to submit to the will of Allah.

Atheism: Suffering is natural

For an atheist, the question “why does God allow suffering?” is meaningless as God does not exist. Instead, suffering is purely according to chance, and is the outworking of the interplay between our actions and the laws that govern the universe.

In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and we won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is at the bottom no design, no purpose, no evil, and no good; nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.

- Richard Dawkins, “The Evolution of the Darwin Man”, published during 2000 in The Sydney Morning Herald and cited in John Dickson, If I were God I’d end all the pain, (Matthias Media, 2002) p. 29.

There is no point searching for meaning or purpose in life, because there is none to be found. That’s just the way things have always been and will always be. There is no solution to be found.

So, we have now looked at 4 of the main approaches to understanding suffering in the world today. Next time, we will look at how Christians understand both the problem, and its solution.

I love the apostle Peter. I love the way he always knows exactly what not to say, and exactly when not to say it. I mean, come on, if there was anyone of whom the saying “he doesn’t open his mouth except to change feet” were true, it’s Peter. Many of you, like me, would have been amused at Stephen Hilaire’s Black Stump renditions of “Jesus and his Merry Men” – with poor Peter the butt of every joke and the source of much frustration and headshaking on Jesus’ part.

As we read on in the Bible, however, we start to get a glimpse of a very different Peter indeed. Here is a man confident to speak in front of huge crowds¹ and courts², to heal cripples³, to pronounce judgement leading to death⁴ and even to minister to his gaoler. What could possibly change a man who is afraid even to be associated with Jesus( (Luke 22:54-62)) into one who can rejoice at being flogged because he had been counted worth of suffering disgrace for the Name⁵?

• What do you think could cause such a change in you?

I believe that Peter reveals some of his secrets in his first letter. Throughout the course of this and the next couple of studies I reckon we should get a picture of exactly what motivated this change in Peter… and what can bring about the same kind of change in you!

Background to 1 Peter
The first thing to know about 1 Peter is who it is written to and why. Peter, probably writing from Rome, is writing at a time when Christians are just starting to enter a time of intense persecution. The emperor Nero had recently come to power, and tormenting, torturing and killing Christians was starting to become the in vogue thing to do. History tells us that people lost their jobs for being Christians, were shunned by their society, cast out of their houses, deprived of all their possessions. Many ended up running for their lives and hiding in tombs just to stay alive, whilst others were cast into the Circus Maximus to do battle to the death with gladiators or lions for the public amusement. Peter himself was crucified (upside down, because he did not consider himself worthy of suffering in the same way Jesus did) under Nero. Peter no doubt had some insight into all of this, and so he writes to those who are strangers in the world (1:1), for whom the world has no love but rather hatred and enmity.

• Imagine that you were facing such horrific prospects. Where would you look for strength? What would give you hope?
• On the flip side, what kind of things would you offer as encouragement to Christians today who are suffering persecution?

Living Hope
Read 1 Peter 1:1-5

• How could the words of Peter in the opening verses of his letter (1-5) bring comfort and hope to people who had been driven from their homes and exiled to foreign lands?
• God has offered a storehouse of treasures for all who follow Him. What are some of the treasures Peter highlights that can never be taken away? How have you experienced one of these treasures in your own life?

Our “inheritance is kept for us, and we are kept for it”⁶. Not only will it not perish, spoil or fade, but we ourselves are shielded by God’s power until we receive it.

Read 1 Peter 1:6-12

• Peter describes some of the fruit that is born in our lives through times of trial. What grows in the life of a follower of Christ through times of struggle, loss and trials? (vv. 6-9; cf. Romans 5:3-5)
• Tell your group about a loss or time of struggle you have faced. How did you experience God’s presence and work in your life through this time?

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.”⁷

• Peter promises that hardships lead to “praise, glory and honour” to Jesus. Do you believe this? Have you seen it happen? How?

Read 1 Peter 1:13-21
Verse 13 signals a big shift in Peter’s train of thought. The first 12 verses have been focused on the hope that God provides us, but now he is more interested in how we are to respond. He is calling us to have right attitudes and actions.

All of us have faith that may be mixed with improper attitudes or sinful motivations… In the crucible of life, God our Goldsmith skims off our impurities. Through trials, God burns away our self-reliance and self-serving attitude, so that our genuineness reflects his glory and brings praise to him.⁸

• What are some of the attitudes and actions that Peter calls us to?
• How is God challenging and growing you in one of these areas? How can your group members encourage and pray for you in this area?

Christians look toward the return of Jesus, when pain will end and perfect justice begin. Faith will be rewarded and evil will be punished. But what should we do until then?

The Bible’s answer is simple but not easy: Because we know the future, we must faithfully server God here and now. If today that means resolving a conflict, mending a hurt, working a dull job, confronting a belligerent child, rebuilding a marriage, or just waiting for guidance – do it all with the joy of God, who will return with his reward!⁹

Some prayer suggestions

• Pray for group members who shared about a trial they are facing.
• Pray that God will show you how to respond to Peter’s call to right attitudes and actions, particularly the specific areas that God is challenging you in at the moment.

[Parts of this study were adapted from 1 Peter: Stand Strong by Bill Hybels (Zondervan 1999)]

Endnotes

1. Acts 2:14-41
2. Acts 4:1-22
3. Acts 3:1-10
4. Acts 5:1-10
5. Acts 5:41
6. Edmund Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter, IVP 2006, p. 47
7. Mary Stevenson, “Footprints in the Sand”
8. Life Application Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Peter and Jude (Tyndale 1995) p. 32
9. ibid. p. 33

I just read an article on boundless.org about discernment in grey areas of our lives. I found it to be full of useful insights. From the article:

Does Scripture address R-Rated movies? Music styles? Not directly. But God has provided principles in his Word to help us discern how to live, what to choose, and what to reject. We need principles from Scripture to inform how our practice of living.

So here are five principles for growing in discernment that have implications for our daily lives:

• Imitate God
• Distrust your heart
• Think biblically
• Involve others
• Decide to worship

(Read the full article for more details.)

What kind of ‘grey’ issues have you come across? How did you go about resolving them? Do you think that the suggestions in the article (Imitate God, Distrust your heart etc.) are useful? Can you think of a circumstance in which you would apply them?

If you have answers to any of these questions (or perhaps some questions of your own) leave us a comment – we’d love to have your input!

It was six men of Indostan
    To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant,
    (Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
    Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the elephant
    And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
    At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the elephant
    Is nothing but a wall!”

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
    Cried “Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
    To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an elephant
    Is very like a spear!”

The Third approached the animal,
    And, happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
    Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the elephant
    Is very like a snake!”

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
    And felt about the knee:
“What most this wondrous beast is like
    Is mighty plan,” quoth he;
“‘Tis clear enough the elephant
    Is very like a tree.”

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
    Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles mos;
    Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant
    Is very like a fan!”

The Sixth no sooner had begun
    About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
    That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the elephant
    Is very like a rope!”

And so these men of Indostan
    Disputed loud and long
Each in his own opinion
    Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was plainly in the right,
    And all were in the wrong!

So, oft in theologic wars
    The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
    Of what each other mean,
And prate about an elephant
    Not one of them has seen!

- John Godfrey Saxe

When it comes to God, we are all blind, and he is even bigger than your average elephant. So be very careful about the image of God that you profess and believe, as chances are you don’t have the full picture.

In fact only one man in all of history – Jesus – has ever understood God in his entirety. He is like a man with sight coming and telling the blind men all about the elephant, and walking them around him until their understanding was more complete. Not fully complete, certainly, but a much bigger picture. If we want to know God, we can only do so through Jesus.

Here’s a modern day parable from Charles Swindoll:

On a dangerous seacoast notorious for shipwrecks, there was a crude little lifesaving station. Actually, the station was merely a hut with only one boat. But the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the turbulent sea. With little thought for themselves, they would go out day and night tirelessly searching for those in danger as well as the lost. Many, many lives were saved by this brave band of men who faithfully worked as a team in and out of the lifesaving station. By and by, it became a famous place.

Some of those who had been saved as well as others along the seacoast wanted to become associated with this little station. They were willing to give their time and energy and money in support of its objectives. New boats were purchased. New crews were trained. The station that was once obscure and crude and virtually insignificant began to grow.

Some of its members were unhappy that the hut was so unattractive and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided. Therefore emergency cots were replaced with lovely furniture. Rough, hand-made equipment was discarded, and sophisticated, classy systems were installed. The hut, of course, had to be torn down to make room for all the additional equipment, furniture, systems and appointments.

By its completion, the lifesaving station had become a popular gathering place, and its objectives began to shift. It was now used as sort of a clubhouse, an attractive building for public gatherings. Saving lives and feeding the hungry and strenthening the fearful and calming the disturbed rarely occurred by now.

Fewer members were now interested in braving the sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired professional lifeboat crews to do the work. The original goal of the station wasn’t altogether forgotten, however. The lifesaving motifs still prevailed in the club’s decorations. In fact, there was a liturgical lifeboat preservers in the “Room of Sweet Memories” with soft, indirect lighting, which helped hide the layer of dust upon the once-used vessel.

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast and the boat crews brought in loads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty. Some were terribly sick and lonely. Others were black and they were “different” from the majority of the club members. The beautiful new club suddenly became messy and cluttered. A special committee saw to it that a shower house was immediately built “outside” and “away from” the club so victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up “before” coming inside the club.

At the next meeting there were strong words and angry feelings, which resulted in a division among the members. Most of the people wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities altogether and place all involvements with shipwreck victims somewhere else. “It’s too unpleasant,” they said. “It’s a hindrance to our social life. It’s opening the doors to folks who are not ‘our kind’.”

Well, as you would expect, some still insisted upon saving lives, that this was their primary objective. Their only reason for existence was ministering to “anyone” needing help regardless of their club’s beauty or size or decorations. Well, they were voted down and they were told if they still wanted to be involved in saving lives of various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast! And so they did.

As years passed, the new station experienced the same old changes. It evolved into just another club. And yet another lifesaving station was begun. History continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that coats today, you’ll find a large number of exclusive, impressive clubs along the shoreline owned and operated by slick professionals who have lost all involvement with the saving of lives.

Shipwrecks still occur in those waters, you understand, but now most of the victims are not saved. Every day they perish at sea, and so few seem to care… so very few.

- Charles Swindoll, Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotation (Thomas Nelson, 1998) pp. 89-91

Ever found God’s way a bit too constrictive? Wish you could go your own way for a bit? Consider this illustration:

Can you imagine Thomas the tank-engine thinking to himself, “I don’t need these silly rails, they restrict me too much and I cannot go wherever I please and I cannot do whatever I chose”?

So one fine morning – with a full head of steam, Thomas hits the bend – at speed – and deliberately derails himself in a field.

“Wee!! I’m free!!”, he says.

The earth is soft and warm, the sky is clear, and the sun is strong.

But as the weather changes, and the rains begin to fall, and Thomas’ wheels begin to rust, and the weeds and vines begin to cover his once gleaming but now faded paint work, and the water in his tank turns pale green, Thomas regrets his decision.

And that is because trains function best when they are on the rails.

Thomas is going nowhere and what is more, he is falling apart in the process.

He is miserable, and he is very frustrated, and there is not one thing he can do to change his situation.

Sin is like that.

Sin, fuelled by self-interest and a contempt for God’s decrees and commands – drives people at full speed off the rails (as it were).
Not only is human kind off-course, we are also held fast in that predicament.
There is nothing that we can do to right the situation.
Getting back on track is beyond us.

- Stuart Robinson, “Looking for Justice”, preached to St Paul’s Anglican, Chatswood, 29/1/06

I really like the chorus of the Martina McBride song “Anyway” (I’ve included the whole thing at the end of this post):

God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

- Martina McBride, “Anyway” from the album Waking up laughing (RCA Records, 2007)

What kind of life is it when we don’t do anything for fear that it won’t work out “like the way [we] think it should”? Not much of one. This is particularly true of prayer. Some people fall in to the trap of thinking, “I don’t know what God wants me to pray, so I won’t pray anything.” My advice is to pray anyway – and once you start praying, God may well show you what to pray for!

It’s kind of like a car or a boat: it’s much easier to steer once you’re actually moving. Similarly, it’s easier for God to tell you about his plans if you’re actually in conversation with him in the first place! By all means start out by asking him what to pray for… but even if you don’t get an answer straight away, it’s still cool to keep praying!

On another note, don’t be discouraged because “when I pray / It doesn’t always turn out like [you] think it should.” Sometimes God has other plans. And sometimes his plans are the same as yours, his timing is just different. Consider this story from the book of Daniel. In Daniel 10, Daniel comes to a realisation that a great war is coming. He then begins mourn, fasting and praying. At the end of 3 weeks, he still hasn’t heard anything from God – until an angel appears and says:

‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days… Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future.’

- Daniel 10:12-14

If Daniel had given up on praying, I reckon he would have missed out. But because he kept praying, the angel won through to pass on God’s message to him. Because he was persistent, even though it seemed that God was ‘silent’, he got the result he was looking for. Because he “did it anyway” he unleashed God’s blessing into his life, and into the life of his nation.

You can spend your whole life building
Something from nothin’
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not never come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This world’s gone crazy
It’s hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
In a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway

God is great
But sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
Yea – I do it anyway

You can pour your soul out singing
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they’ll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yea – sing it anyway

I sing
I dream
I love
Anyway

- Martina McBride, “Anyway” from the album Waking up laughing (RCA Records, 2007)

Recently I was having a discussion with some friends (over a bowl of icecream and chocolate topping – the only way to discuss!) about whether Jesus is the only way to be saved. And if so, what happens to those who never hear about him and therefore never have opportunity to choose him? For example, when a child dies in infancy, before reaching a point of understanding Jesus’ message, do they go to heaven? Or what happens to someone who grows up in a Muslim nation, where they are not able to hear the gospel?

The Bible is fairly clear on the first question – Jesus is the only way to achieve salvation. Consider Jesus’ own words :

‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’

- John 14:6

Similarly Peter says that:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

- Acts 4:12

Let me be clear: Christianity is not just one religion among many, all offering different (equally valid) ways of approaching God. Jesus was quite insistent that he was and is the only way of entering relationship with the Father. He is the only doorway into eternal life. This is not a popular stance in the world today, everyone’s ‘truth’ is equally valid, and noone can claim exclusivity in the area of truth without attracting the ire of all around them. Unpopular or not, though, I believe that we as Christians are called to speak and defend this truth.

The second question, however, is a little trickier. The Bible appears to be silent on the issue, and so we cannot say with any great certainty one way or another. There is no promise, for example, that babies will automatically go to heaven. There is certainly no promise that adults who don’t hear about Christ will automatically qualify for heaven.

Some might cite Paul’s letter to the Romans on this issue:

All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets, through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

- Romans 2:12-16

Their argument in doing so would be to suggest that even someone who hasn’t heard of Jesus will be judged on the basis of being a “law for themselves” (14) who “have the requirements of the law written on their hearts” (15) – and will be found guilty even in the sight of their own consciences. The problem with this is that this passage is that knowledge of the law, in my view, is not actually comparable to knowledge of Jesus. That is to say, the argument that “Ignorance of the law is no defence in court and so therefore ignorance of Jesus is no defence in his ultimate court” doesn’t really stand.

Here’s what I do know: God is characterised by his love, his mercy and his justice. I personally believe that, on the day of judgment, Jesus will consider each and every person according to their life and circumstances. In the same way that earthly judges are able to exercise discretion in sentencing, much more will the Judge of all the earth be able to judge “based on truth” (Rom 2:2).

I do not know what measure or method (if any) he might use in doing this.

I do trust him to do what is right.

The Sydney Morning Herald last month published this article about whether the recent tsunami in the Solomon Island’s represents God’s punishment for “straying from Christian ways”. Similar accusations have been made concerning many natural disasters – our present drought, Hurricane Katrina, the Sri Lankan tsunami etc.

I don’t believe that this is the case however. Those who work regularly with children will tell you that discipline is only effective if the child knows what they are being disciplined for. Throughout the Bible, where God has used natural disaster as a means of judgment, he has accompanied it with prophetic explanation of the reasons for it – which hasn’t (so far as I know) occurred in this instance. See, for example, the book of Joel, where Joel announces the Lord’s judgment through the recent plagues of locusts. Further, that judgment was on the basis of the people having transgressed the laws that were given them through Moses, and God was enacting the punishment dictated in those laws – see Deuteronomy 28.

This disaster, to me, is another instance of a world in trouble, “groaning as in the pains of childbirth” (Rom 8:22). A world where such things happen and lead to death is a world gone wrong, a world far astray from the perfect creation God had planned for us. So whilst the tsunami is not a specific judgment upon the people of the Solomons, it is in many ways an ongoing judgment upon humanity in general.

I also believe that God uses the forces of nature to remind us that he is ever present, to cause us to lift our eyes to him even if only to cry out, “Will not the Judge of all the Earth do right?” (Gen 18:25), or, “Oh that I had someone to hear me!” (Job 31:35). I was talking tonight to a friend who was in India when the tsunami hit India, Thailand and Sri Lanka in 2004, and he was telling me of the numerous conversations about God started by that event. He spent 3 hours talking to one guy who wanted to understand how God could allow such a thing, and why. I, like my friend, don’t know the answers for sure, and probably won’t this side of heaven. But maybe, just maybe, it was so that that conversation (and perhaps many more just like it) would take place.