Advent Devotions

Today’s author is Prince of Peace’s Intentional Interim, Pr Steve Sylvester.

“I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.”  (1 Timothy 1:12-13)

There’s a lot of becausing in the above passage.  Paul was strengthened BECAUSE Jesus found him faithful.  Paul received mercy BECAUSE he had acted ignorantly in unbelief.  I find it interesting that Paul didn’t simply say Jesus strengthened him and appointed him to his service.  He didn’t say just that he had received mercy.  Period.  With respect to the first statement, it feels like Paul believes he was strengthened as a reward for his faithfulness.  And if his unbelief had been the result of willfulness instead of ignorance, would Jesus have extended mercy to him?

It’s true, there are times when get lost in splitting hairs, but my concerns about Paul’s becausing are not niggles, because we get off course when we sneak behind the curtain to see the wizard.  What I mean by that is that rather than confine ourselves to noting WHAT God does, we claim to have figured out WHY God does it.  This is problematic.  Think of the temptation to spiritually preen if we believe we are strengthened because of our faithfulness.  Of if we believe the ignorant are more deserving of mercy than those who are wilfully disobedient, might we treat differently those who are one or the other?

What if, instead of chasing the dog’s tail of our own motives and behavior–because I think that’s really behind our guesses about why God does what God does–we simply gave thanks that God strengthens us and that God is merciful?  In other words, what if we simply gave glory to God instead of trying to share a bit of it for ourselves?  I think that would make us less anxious.  It might also make us less judgmental of others.  As we begin our series Honoring God, it is well to remember that one way in which we honor God is by simply accepting the gifts God gives instead of trying to figure out the why behind the giving.