SHARING BREAD
26 He
also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is
like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up,
the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain--first
the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the
sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
Mark 4:26-29 (NIV)
Jesus teaches us today in His parabolic
vernacular the sure Truth that undetected and without clamor yet insuperably
and without fail God carries on His good work in the life of those who believe. I am reminded of Paul words to the
Philippians regarding the settled conviction he had over God completing the
good work he had begun in them. The good
work, of course, being their salvation:
3 I
thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with
joy 5 because
of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work
in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:3-6 (NIV)
King David wrote similarly in the
Psalms:
8 The
LORD will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O LORD, endures
forever--do not abandon the works of your hands. Psalms 138:8 (NIV)
“No one overcomes the corruptions of
his heart except by the enabling strength of the Spirit of God.”
Jerry Bridges
He who has begun a good work will most
assuredly perfect it. We can be certain
God finishes what He begins. Our hopes
that we shall continue to persevere must be based solidly not on our own weak
strength - for that will certainly fail us - rather on the surety of the love
of God - for that will never fail us.
The confidence Christians possess of the assurance of the good work
being completed within brings great comfort indeed. The work of grace will be accomplished –
brought to completion - wherever it has been begun. The continuous work of grace in a life makes
us more and more like Jesus and fits us rightly for the enjoyment of God. Wherever this good work has begun we can be
sure God began it. We cannot begin it by
ourselves because we are by very nature dead in our sins and trespasses. God alone makes alive what was once dead. I am reminded of Ezekiel’s awesome experience
in the Valley of Dry Bones and God’s Words and actions during Ezekiel’s
encounter:
1 The
hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD
and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great
many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones
live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and
say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I
will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon
you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to
life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was
prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together,
bone to bone. 8 I
looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there
was no breath in them. 9 Then
he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to
it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered
them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army. Ezek
37:1-10 (NIV)
Humanly speaking, there is no
potential life for lifeless frames (that would be all of us apart from
Christ). Yet through belief in Jesus, we
are offered life in abundance. Jesus
told us in John He came to give us life in the fullest measure while our
adversary drips destruction:
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have
come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 (NIV)
A.W. Tozer states we can have as
much of God as we want. He is the One
who gives us life that is truly life. When
we hunger and thirst for His righteousness, He will fill us. Why would we want to avoid Him and His
abiding peace and joy - when we can have as much of Him as we want? He offers us life that is truly life in
abundance – fulfillment and purpose in life we all so greatly desire yet often so
wrongly go about searching for in myriads of other ways. These ways, I might add, all eventually leave
us flat lined. Flawed “fillings” leave
flawed flesh flat. Complete satisfaction
comes from the Savior.
“The real believers relentlessly believe that. The world or circumstances will try to dupe you differently– but it’s a law as irrefutable as gravity itself: no matter what — as much God as you want. Is there anything else worth wanting or having?” Ann Voskamp
What I glean from this:
·
God will finish His good work in me even though I may not
detect it.
·
Only God can overcome the corruptions of my heart.
·
Only God makes alive what was once dead.
