Yesterday was a wonderful day for several reasons. I am especially grateful for the way Sunday's pulpit message captured the attention of our boys. When we met at the end of the day to discuss Tim's sermon, My wife and I were surprised and delighted at how our oldest 5 sons had processed the sermon.
Something I needed to ask them was this: Did they see God as this "dazzling" figure who does wondrous things, thereby making Himself worthy first of their notice and then of their praise?
Through the years we have shared stories with them, but have largely failed in this area. They see God's amazing provision for this large family, and other "signs" that there is a God, and that He is at work in our lives, and in this world. The category is there, but it is somewhat sparse, with few illustrations to prove it out.
May I share briefly how God dazzled me many years ago? I was reminded of this story last night as we talked.
When I was single and living in Chicago, there was a time when I had a prolonged battle with a certain sin. I struggled to get past this thing, but kept returning to it. I would repent, telling God that I was done with this sin, only to fall again a few days later. This struggle eventually came to the place where I felt that I could not return to God even one more time; that my bluff was over, and that I had exhausted His patience and grace.
As I lay in bed one particular morning, after yet another fall, having determined that I could not impose any longer on the patience and forgiveness of God-- wondering what next? How does one live, having caved in to sin because of a strange kind of "integrity" that must now keep me from returning to my Father for yet another forgiveness?
As I lay there, in this waking and wondering state, my phone rang. It was my mother from New Jersey. This was strange, she doesn't call at this hour of the day. Well, she had listened to Charles Stanley's broadcast that morning, and the Spirit of God clearly told her to phone me, and to insist that I hear today's "In Touch" broadcast. This was most unusual!
My mother did not know what I was dealing with, much less that my situation had come to a head that very morning, and that I was bordering on despair because of this besetting sin. Well, that morning's broadcast could not have been more directed my situation. Clearly God Himself had spoken into my life, and convinced me, at this critical juncture, that He was still for me... ready to receive me, and continue on with me! Wow! I was "dazzled" at His grace and by His timing! I knew that morning He was in no way ready to abandon me, and that I had quite mistaken His character. Praise the Lord-- my soul is blessed even now as I remember His awesome deeds!
And I will be sure to relate this story for years to come, and to the generations that follow!
Good thoughts Peter. I was thinking that along with our youth (and ourselves)being appropriately dazzled by God in displays of His miraculous power, answers to prayer, and His wise and over-ruling providence in our lives, I would suggest also that they and we experience being dazzled through His self disclosure to us in Sacred Scripture, and placarding the grandeur of the infinite-personal God of the Bible before the minds and hearts of the younger generation. It was A.W. Pink who said pointedly that "the God of modern religious thought no more resembles the supreme sovereign of the Bible than does the dim flickering of a candle resemble the glory of the noonday sun." We need to set before our youth this great "supreme sovereign of the Bible" in all His blazing glory, along with our own selves as living demonstrations of His reality.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in a wonderful article titled "Youth and the Pleasures of Piety", theologian Sam Storms expressed the following thoughts regarding another way our youth ought to be dazzled by God, specifically in realizing that it is in God Himself that their desires for joy and pleasure are to be satisfied. In the conclusion of the article Storms makes the following observation----
"Sin can exert a powerful vice-grip on the human heart, one that mere shouts of denunciation and threats of divine wrath fail to dislodge. The promise and allure of sensual gratification must be countered by the promise and allure of a gratification in God that is sweeter, more sublime, more beautiful, more exquisite, more excellent, more solid, more substantive, and more satisfying.
One can only wonder at the impact of the church on this younger generation (and the older one as well) if such were our strategy for dealing with sin. Don’t demonize their desire for joy and pleasure, but point them to Him in whose presence there is “fullness of joy” and at whose right hand are “pleasures evermore” (Psalm 16:11)".
I would commend the entire article. It can be found at the following link:
http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/youth-and-the-pleasures-of-piety/
You know guys: your comments are better than my blog!
ReplyDeleteThese are wonderful reflections that express glorious realities.
Let's keep our eyes on the One who dazzles--through His three volume self-disclosure: Nature, Scripture, and the Incarnate Word--and may the present and coming generations see the glory of God shining on our faces (2 Corinthians 3 and 4) and know that we have been with God.
Yes, that was me, not Gayline.
ReplyDeleteTMS
Bruce, Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThese excerpts are extremely helpful in thinking through this area, and in knowing just what (and how) to convey this idea and this reality to our children.
Persuading my boys that fellowship with God can be more satisfying than hitting a double with bases loaded won't be easy-- I must trust the Lord Himself to draw their hearts to Him.