No One Is Exempt

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭17‬:‭14-20‬ NIV

Long before Saul was anointed as the first king of Israel the Lord God knew that the Israelites would one day desire a human king.  Anticipating that day, God essentially identified three characteristics that the people should look for in a leader when that fateful day came. 

The first was that the king should not be excessively interested in material wealth -- he should not acquire large numbers of horses or wives or accumulate large amounts of gold and silver.  God knew that accumulating these things would lead the king's heart astray.

Second, God instructed that the king should keep a copy of the law close and read it every day.  God knew that staying in the Word of God would be critical for the king to maintain reverence for the Lord.  In fact, nothing has the power to keep a Christian leader focused on the right things, the right perspective and the right source than reading the Bible religiously.

Finally, the Lord instructed that the king should not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites.  God knew -- and knows -- that a Christian leader without humility and a sincere love of people is ultimately of little use -- regardless of how large his or her following may be. 

As I think about these instructions given all the way back in Deuteronomy, I wonder if we in the church tend to look for characteristics in Christian leaders that are more like those that God values or more like those that public companies look for in CEO's.  It seems to me that there is a marked difference between the two. 

Are we looking for leaders who are appealing on the outside, who attract large numbers, and who seem to achieve tangible numerical results?  Are we looking for leaders based on the number of followers they have on Twitter?  Are we attracted to leaders who are well suited to be game show or talk show hosts or motivational speakers? 

Or are we looking for shepherds who constantly point toward Jesus and away from themselves?  Are we looking for people who not just preach the Word, but try their best to imitate Jesus in the way they live?  Are we looking for men and women who would give up their own lives rather than see one person in the flock that God has entrusted to them become lost?

Time and time again we see God choose men to lead who outwardly do not fit the part.  Moses, for example, had a speech impediment and was a murderer.  He often became frustrated and impatient with the people.  And yet, he would have given himself up for them.

God's anger burned against the Israelites after the rebellion that lead to the golden calf.  Moses burned with anger too.  And yet he interceded on their behalf.  Indeed, he stood with them no matter the consequence.

So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold.  But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”
                                                                          Exodus 32:31-32

Just some things to think about.

Christmas #2

I don't really remember why we were out, and I don't remember the day or even the month.  It obviously must have been late November or early December. 

But whatever the reason and whatever the day Pam and I were near the Galleria and decided to go to Blue Mesa for an early dinner.  We were immediately seated.  In fact, because we beat the rush we pretty much had half of the restaurant to ourselves. 

I am not sure who noticed it first, or whether we both noticed it immediately and just thought we could tune it out.  It is not as though the music was deafening.  But for both of us it was unbearable.  I have never done this before or since, but I asked the waiter if he could possibly turn the music off in our section of the restaurant.  He probably thought we were atheists or at least not Christians and objected to the music on that basis.  He told me he couldn't because of the other customers, so there we were.

In retrospect we probably should have just left.  It was just a matter of time before the pain of the moment would express itself.  It was inevitable.  Predictably, neither of us was able hold back the tears, and when the food finally came we resolved to eat quickly and get out as fast as we could.  We also resolved to avoid public places like restaurants until Christmas had come and gone.

When we were all together as a family on Christmas Eve I always liked to play Christmas music during dinner.  Now, those same songs that once accompanied our times of greatest joy brought nothing but overwhelming pain.  Now, those same songs simply served as a particularly painful reminder of the family Christmas that we would never again experience on this side of heaven.

Now here we are a year later traveling through our second Christmas season without Jonathan.  While things have changed in some ways over the last year, in many ways they are the same.  Christian and Dani were traveling last year, and because of that Pam and I were largely able to avoid the holidays.  It may be that because we were able to opt out of Christmas last year this seems more like a first for both of us.  The difference is that this year there really isn't a way to hide.  Among other things, we are determined to make Christmas fun again for our family.

For those in serious grief, this time of year is like the proverbial unstoppable force meeting the immovable object.  The unstoppable force is time.  The immovable object is Christmas (other times it is Thanksgiving, birthdays, etc.).  They will come together -- we will have to deal with it.

It seems to be the conventional wisdom among grief counselors and others that times such as Christmas prove not to be as bad as people expect, and that the real anxiety is in the days leading up to such occasions.  I don't think that is true -- it certainly has not proven to be true for me.

In fact, not long ago Pam and I started attending a support group for people who, like us, have lost children.  Most of the families involved in the group are in their year of "firsts," and it has been heartbreaking and at times overwhelming to hear their stories and to experience the freshness of their pain.  Almost universally, these wonderful people had heard that the reality of Thanksgiving would not be as bad as they feared, and almost universally each of them actually found it to be worse than they feared.  So much for the conventional wisdom.  So, if that has been your experience you are by no means alone.

The other thing that many have shared is that they are most at peace when they are serving others.  I personally do not find that at all surprising.  I think that God designed us to serve each other.  In fact, when we love and serve others our love for God expresses itself most fully.  To find freedom from grief, or just about anything else that weighs us down in life, we have to get over ourselves.  We have to see the true meaning of life -- which is so much bigger than ourselves.  That is just a spiritual reality.

May God bless and keep you during this great Christmas season.  As I have contemplated Christmas for myself, I am reminded of how grateful I am that Jesus lived, died and rose again for all of us.  I am also reminded of how blessed I am to have so many wonderful friends, and such a great family.

Merry Christmas!!

John

Love God ... Love people ... Advance the Gospel.