Part 4 of a continuing series by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
1 Peter 4:7-10  "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.   Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.  Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace."
 
            Again, note the urgency.  The end is at hand so we should do these things.  Love is described two ways: as hospitality and as something that covers sins.  Last time we looked at hospitality, so let's look at what it means to cover a multitude of sins.
            First, it is not referring to covering up sins against God.  Everything in the Bible teaches against that.  Paul declares that the impenitent sinner is to be expelled from the church (1 Cor. 5:1-8).  Clearly that is confronting sin, not covering it up.  Jesus' letter to the church in Thyatira in Rev. 2:20 mentions that the only thing He had against that church was that they tolerated a false teacher.  Obviously He had expected them to confront that sinner.  Instead of covering sins up, we are encouraged to make great efforts to bring the sinner to repentance.  Galatians 6:1 tells us to go to the sinner, 2 Thess. 3:15 tells us to admonish the sinner and James 5:19-20 speaks of converting the sinner.  None of this is covering sin.
            So, what does it mean that "love covers a multitude of sins"?  Perhaps we should look at the proverb Peter was quoting:  "Hatred stirs up strifes but love covers all transgressions" (Prov. 10:12).  From this we see that while hatred is looking for ways to cause problems, love is looking to build the relationship; to build trust.  Love overlooks, or covers, all the transgressions of the loved one against the lover.  In other words, the sins covered by love are the offenses or transgressions my brethren perpetrate against me.  If someone is rude to me it may not be sin in the evil-against-God sense, but I have still been offended.  To transgress is to cross a line, which is instructive.  If I love people, then when they cross a line with me, I overlook it. 
            Of course, sometimes the transgression is serious and needs to be addressed.  Jesus gives us the method to do this in Matt. 18:15-17: "And if thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.  But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established.  And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican."  These are the rights of the offended brother with the goal always being to regain your brother.  However, notice the seriousness of the consequences.  If your brother is too stubborn to apologize and make things right, he can wind up cut off from the church.  That means there can be eternal consequences for an offense which may not have been evil to begin with.  As the offended party, were you hurt so badly as to chance that outcome, or will you allow your love for your brother to cover the transgressions?   Paul teaches us that in order to keep the peace within the church we ought to be willing to be wronged, to let love cover those wrongs:  "Nay, already it is altogether a defect in you, that ye have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather take wrong? why not rather be defrauded?" (1 Cor. 6:7) 
            Love covering a multitude of sins means forgiveness.  We aren't keeping track of the transgressions to make use of later.  Love "takes no account of evil" (1 Cor. 13:5).  That phrase is actually the exact phrase used by first century Greeks to mean bookkeeping as in business.  We forgive.  We don't store up, but forgiveness must be genuine.  If I forgive, but then refuse to speak to the offender I haven't really forgiven.  If I forgive, but speak ill of or make sure to sit on the opposite side of the building or refuse all requests from, that isn't forgiveness.  In those cases I'm not covering sins but quietly hoarding injustices to myself.  If we can, we should always choose to overlook insults, but if the offense is too bad to cover, then we must use the steps Jesus gives in Matt. 18.  These are the only two options given for Christians by God. Quietly stewing isn't an option. 
             "Love suffers long".  Most offenses we deal with from our brethren are actually quite minor in reality but very annoying personally.  If I love that brother, I put up with it.  Maybe I address it, maybe not, but either way I love my brother.  And remember, love "believes all things and hopes all things."  I'm not going to assume my brother is out to get me, but rather is just innocently annoying. 
             Finally, allow me to let you in on a secret:  we are all annoying.  None of us is perfect in everything.  YOU annoy someone greatly.  God loves us despite our annoying tendencies and teaches us to love in the same way.  One day the annoyances will be gone forever while "love never ends" (1 Cor. 13:8).
 
Lucas Ward

Bible study is one of my favorite pastimes.  We are blessed to live in an era when all sorts of tools are available that make research fairly easy, and much less tedious than ever before.  They also make it much more dangerous.  It is easy for me to read a commentary, lexicon, or Bible dictionary and suddenly think I have become a great scholar, when the truth is, not only am I not instantly a Hebrew or Greek scholar, I am not even a good English scholar!
            Some of us studied Latin in high school and learned why it is called a “dead” language—it is no longer spoken and therefore no longer changes.  A living language changes every day.  Take the word “silly.”  We know it means “absurd, foolish or stupid.”  Did you know that it originally meant “happy and blessed?”  How about “lewd?”  It now means “sexually unchaste;” originally it meant “a common person as opposed to clergy.”  “Idiot” now has the specific meaning of “someone whose mental age does not exceed three,” and a colloquial meaning of “a foolish or stupid person.”  Originally it meant “someone in private station as opposed to someone holding public office.”  So five hundred years ago, most of us could have been described as silly, lewd idiots and we would not have taken offense!
            The same changes are true of every language, including Greek and Hebrew.  When you search for meanings in a lexicon, be sure you find out what meaning the word had when it was written in the scriptures.  In fact, that is why I usually limit my studies to the various ways a word was translated into English.  Psallo once meant “to pull out one’s hair,” but by the time Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 were written it had gone through several changes and simply meant “to sing praises.”  That is why we sing to God instead of standing before Him pulling out our hair!
            Another thing to be careful of is root words.  A lot of arguments have been made based on the root of a Greek word.  Let me just give you a quick example in English to show you how dangerous this can be.  Do you know what the root word for “nice” is?  The Latin nescius.  Nescius means “ignorant!”  Think about that the next time someone tells you how nice you look on Sunday morning.
            We do all sorts of other things that we think are so smart and really are not.  We talk about compound words as if just knowing the two parts to one will instantly enlighten us to the real meaning of a Greek word.  Not necessarily.  How about “pineapple?”  The bush certainly does not look like a pine, and the fruit neither looks, tastes, nor smells like an apple!  Truly, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
            Then there are those simplistic definitions we often use.  “Faithful means full of faith.”  Really?  Ask someone whose spouse has been “unfaithful” what that word means and you are much more likely to get an accurate and useful definition.
            And what does all this have to do with anything?  God chose to use His written word to communicate His will to us.  I need to be very careful how I use it.  Translations are fine.  Jesus used one—the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, completed about 200 BC.  However, I must be careful in my study lest I think that learning a few things makes me an authority.  I know it is a cliché, but it is so true—the more I learn, the more I realize I do not know.  But God has made sure I know what I need to know.
            We have in our hands the Words of Life.  Be careful with them. 
 
…many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.  Jesus said therefore unto the twelve, Would you also go away?  Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  John 6:66-68
 
Dene Ward

Once I was straying in sin's dark valley,
No hope within could I see,
They searched thru heaven and found a Savior,
To save a poor lost soul like me

Chorus

Oh what a Savior! Oh Hallelujah
His heart was broken on Calvary,
HIs hands we nail scared: His side was driven,
He gave his life blood for you and me


He left the Father, with all his riches,
With calmness sweet and serene,
Came down from heaven and gave his life blood
To make the vilest sinner clean.

Chorus

Death's chilly waters I'll soon be crossing,
His hands will lead me safe o'er
I'll join the chorus in that great city,
And sing up there forever more
Chorus
 
            O What a Savior was written by Marvin P. Dalton in 1948.  As a musician I find it one of the most beautiful hymn melodies we sing.  Let's face it, folks—the modern hymns have a tendency to hover over four to six notes and repeat three or four of them incessantly (along with a lot of word repetition as well).  I have asked more than once, "Can't anyone write a melody anymore?"  Well, this man knew how to do it.
            Yet I have heard many want to do away with this hymn because of this one line: "They searched through Heaven and found a Savior."  Why?  Because we all know that God already had it in mind "before the foundation of the world" that Jesus would become flesh and dwell among us, eventually dying on the cross for our sins.  No search was necessary!  Well, of course God had it all planned, but that objection shows a whole lot of ignorance of Scripture.
              And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look thereon. And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look thereon: and one of the elders said unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the book and the seven seals thereof (Rev 5:2-5).
            Did you catch that?  "No one was found"—that phrase implies a search.  And where did they search?  "In heaven, on the earth, or under the earth."  John, speaking in figurative language, uses the metaphor of a search to impress upon us the absolute impossibility of anything or anyone other than Jesus the Messiah being able to save us.  Just as God paraded the animals in front of Adam to prove to Adam (not Himself) that he needed the woman, John is showing us a search to prove to us that we need Christ.  It's called poetic license, and if you read the Psalms, this sort of thing is not uncommon. 
            God has always used language the way we use it, the same rules of logic, the same use of figures, the same rules of reading (such as context), and language that anyone, not just a scholar, can understand.  The Psalms his people sang in the Old Testament used all these things, and John does, too, in his highly figurative Revelation.  Mr. Dalton was simply using a time- and God-honored way of writing poetry.  Sometimes we get so picky that if it were up to us half the Bible might be thrown out.  Be careful what you are showing about your Biblical knowledge, or lack thereof, and enjoy this beautiful melody and thoroughly scriptural song.
 
Dene Ward

One spring morning a few years ago I sat on the carport snapping beans.  The humidity was still low, the bugs were few, and a cool breeze ruffled my curls and made the morning comfortable.  The minute I set myself up in a lawn chair, a blue plastic five gallon bucket at the ready for tips and tails, and a pink hospital tub full of early pole beans in my lap, the dogs came running, looking for a handout.
            “These are green beans,” I told them, “not treats.”  Yet they sat watching me expectantly, one dog parked next to either knee, ears at attention, tails swishing sparkly grains of sand across the rough concrete.  Occasionally Magdi’s big brown eyes strayed from my face to my hands and she licked her chops.
            “Okay,” I told her, “but you’ll be sorry,” and I handed her a long, flat, raw bean.  I could hardly believe it as she crunched away, swallowed, and begged for another.  So I rifled through the tub and found one too big and tough for human consumption.  Down the hatch it went.
            Chloe, who was then just over a year old, bumped my knee with her nose.  “Me too,” her equally big brown eyes said, so I gave her a bean.  Instantly she spat it out.  “Yuk!” was written all over her furry face.
            “Told ya,” I smugly commented.
            Yet Magdi continued to down the culls as I found them, relishing every bite.  Chloe watched Magdi, then looked at the bean she had rejected.  She sniffed it and her ears drooped a bit.  She looked at Magdi again, who was happily chomping a bug-bitten throwaway.  Chloe looked at her bean and licked it.  She looked at Magdi again, then gingerly picked up her own bean and began to chew.  She managed to choke the thing down, then sat up and looked at me with that familiar expectant gaze.
            “You’re kidding,” I said to her, but handed her another bean.  This one went down more easily.  Luckily I had a large supply of fresh-picked beans and Keith had not been too careful in his picking so I had plenty of bad ones to share.  By the time I finished Magdi had long since had her fill, but Chloe was scouring the carport like a fuzzy, red-headed vacuum cleaner, scarfing up even the tips and tails that had missed the trash bucket.
            Chloe was no longer a puppy, but she was still learning from her older mentor.  The simple “peer pressure” of seeing someone she respected eating something she didn’t even like influenced her to do the same thing.
            It’s time to look around and see whom you might be influencing.  Just because there are no toddlers in the house doesn’t mean you don’t need to be careful.  Whatever your age, there is someone younger watching how you handle the universal experiences of life so they will know what to do when their turn comes.
            And to the other side of the equation—why do you do the things you do?  Are you as strong as you think you are when the world presses you to act in certain ways?  Are you doing things you don’t even enjoy just to fit in?  Stop watching how others react.  Stop making decisions based on something besides right and wrong.  If you don’t, you may find yourself licking a rough concrete slab, eating a pile of tough, bug-bitten green beans just because everyone else is doing it.
 
Be careful to observe all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.  When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow after them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I may also do the same.’ You shall not worship your God in that way…Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do.  You shall not add to it nor take from it, Deut 12:28-32.
 
Dene Ward

Why do we follow the pattern?  The way God set up the church as a spiritual rendition of the Old Temple should make it obvious.  If you change any one of those things, it loses its significance.  We would no longer fulfill the real meaning behind each carefully planned (from before the beginning) detail.  Is that really important?  God thought so.
            And see that you make them after their pattern, which has been shown you in the mount. Exod 25:40.  God made that statement to Moses immediately after giving him the detailed instructions for building the tabernacle and its furnishings.  The Hebrew writer sees its importance and repeats it in Heb 8:5:  They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”  In fact, this is so important that Stephen even included the reference in his sermon, the one that got him killed (Acts 7:44)!
            If it was important then, and every part of it has a parallel in the church today, why wouldn’t it still be important?  In fact, you find Paul saying several different times something akin to this:  That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 1Cor 4:17.  We are supposed to be doing the same things in every congregation of God’s people all over the globe.  Am I really going to tell God I don’t see the importance of following things He designed so carefully in such intricate detail?  The only reason I even have the opportunity to complain is because God was gracious enough to let me in here to start with.
            The Greek word for “pattern” is used 15 times in the New Testament.  Two of the words it is sometimes translated by are “example” and “ensample,” defined as “a model for imitation.”  Everything from “You have us as an example” to “Your baptism is a form (pattern) of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection” (Phil 3:17; 2 Thes 3:9; Rom 6:17).  The Bible is full of patterns!  To deny their importance is ignorance or obstinacy.  And if you have followed this all the way through, ignorance is now no excuse.
 
Show yourself in all respects to be a model (pattern) of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, Titus 2:7.
 
Dene Ward
 

These make more sense when you read them in order.  Scroll down for parts 1 and 2.
            So let’s take a closer look at the old Temple itself.  We have already seen the altar and the laver, both outside the Temple proper.  Now we move into the first room, the Holy Place.
            On one side wall stood the table of shewbread, one loaf for each tribe, Ex 25:23, 30.  Do we have anything to do with “bread” in the church?  That one is easy—the Lord’s Supper.  1 Cor 10: 16,17 tells us that because we are all members of the one body, we partake of the one bread.
            Across from the shewbread stood the lampstands.  Pay close attention to these verses:
            Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the LORD commanded Moses. Num 8:1-3
            What could lampstands have to do with the church?  Do you see anything in the church that matches it?  Yes, you do.
            Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. Rev 1:12-13,20.
            The lampstands are the churches.  Do you realize what that means when Jesus threatens to take them away?  He is saying that if they do not repent they are no longer worthy to be called his churches.  Paul tells us that we are supposed to be shining “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” as “lights in the world.”  Our actions can glorify His name or debase it.  We won’t get to keep that “lampstand”—our identity as a church—if we are not careful how we behave. 
            At the back of the Holy Place stood another altar, the altar of incense.  Ex 30:1.  Where is the incense today?  And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Rev 5:8
            How about music in the Temple worship?  Look through 2 Chronicles 29 and you will see that God authorized through Gad the Seer, not just singing, but also many kinds of specific instruments in the Temple.  When God wanted instrumental music He knew exactly how to command it.  Now look at all the other parallels we have seen.  Everything literal becomes spiritual:  bloody sacrifices become living sacrifices, incense becomes prayers.  What do all these musical instruments become in the first century church?  The ultimate spiritual instrument:  addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, Eph 5:19.  A capella singing now makes the greatest sense.
            Then we come to the veil, the curtain that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.  “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it…And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.  Exod 26:31, 33.
            Here is one place where the pattern does not hold.  That veil no longer exists either literally or figuratively.  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. Matt 27:50-51. 
           But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent  not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, Heb 9:11-12.  When the veil tore, Jesus went through it giving us access to God that those Old Testament people did not have.    Notice:  the pattern does not hold here because GOD changed it, not man.  The veil was torn “from top to bottom.”  That veil is no longer needed.
          And there is yet another parallel with a difference.  The high priest went into the Most Holy Place once a year “with blood not his own,” Heb 9:25.  Instead he carried animal blood, blood which was insufficient for lasting forgiveness.  Jesus entered that Holy Place—Heaven itself—“once for all” with “his own blood,” Heb 9:12.
          Every aspect of the old temple, every piece of furniture and every action that took place in it, has a parallel in the church.  Do you still think God doesn’t think patterns matter?  If you are still not convinced, meet with me one more time, tomorrow.
 
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. Eph 3:8-12
 
Dene Ward
 

Please read these articles in order.  If you missed part 1, scroll down and begin there.
         Aside from patterns, people have a lot of trouble with prophetic language.  That’s why you hear about the thousand year kingdom.  They simply don’t do the work, looking through the scriptures for the obvious fulfillments—the patterns! 
            But you have come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel. Heb 12:22-24.
            Could there be any plainer passage to prove that Mount Zion equals the heavenly Jerusalem equals the church?  “Zion” and “Mt Zion” is used over and over in the prophets, speaking of the restored kingdom, and in almost every instance includes an obvious reference to the Messiah in the context.
            So what was literal Mt Zion?  It was the Temple Mount, the place where Abraham offered Isaac, and later the same range on which God offered His Son as the lamb promised to Abraham on that dreadful day so long ago.  So now you have another equal sign:  Hebrews says Zion in the prophets equals the church, not a literal mountain, but a spiritual kingdom and spiritual Temple.
            Now start considering everything you know about the literal Temple in the Old Testament.  It was the place where God dwelt.  He had promised in the Law (e.g. Deut 12:5) that He would choose a place for His name to dwell.  When Solomon built the Temple, he offered a prayer asking God to dwell in that Temple.  God sent his presence in answer to that prayer, 1 Kings 9:3.  What about the church?
            So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Eph 2:19-22.  The church is now the Temple, the dwelling place of God.
            Who served in the literal Temple?  Priests offered sacrifices there, Ex 29:44,45.  Who serves in the figurative Temple, the church?  No, we don’t have a clergy of backwards collars.  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1Pet 2:9.  We are all priests in this Temple, and we offer sacrifices too.  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Rom 12:1.
            The priests in the Old Testament Temple had to wash themselves in the laver before serving, Ex 30:18-20.  We, too, must be washed before we can serve in God’s new Temple, Mt Zion.  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Heb 10:22.  Isn’t baptism the obvious reference?
            We have already answered a few questions, haven’t we?  Now we understand why we must keep the church pure, why we cannot tolerate sin among us.  We are the place where God dwells, and He will leave this place as surely as He left that literal Temple when His people no longer obeyed His instructions.  And we also know one reason for baptism—to cleanse us for service in His temple as priests.  We also know that we offer ourselves as sacrifices, not just on Sunday, but every day of our lives.  Just as those priests gave their lives to serving God, we give ours.  It is our vocation, not our hobby, not our own little social club, but a holy calling.
            And this is only the beginning.
 
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Eph 4:1-3
 
Dene Ward

My mother made most of my clothes growing up, and also made things as difficult as sport coats and dress slacks for Daddy.  I did my best to follow in her footsteps, but am not nearly the seamstress she is.  I do, however, remember buying patterns and making maternity clothes for myself and baby clothes for the boys.  Lucky for them, they received a lot of gifts so I didn’t have to do that very long!  Then my sewing machine died and everyone got off easy instead of having to wear my crooked seams and gathered sleeves—which weren’t supposed to be gathered.  I guess I could blame it on my vision, but really, even if I could see better, I would still have crooked seams and gathered sleeves.
            However, one thing I remember well was that if I didn’t follow the pattern, nothing turned out right.  The seams didn’t match, the zippers didn’t fit in where they were supposed to, and forget about making the stripes and plaids meet—it was simply impossible. 
          A lot of people follow patterns—architects, electricians, plumbers, masons.  If they don’t follow the blueprints (patterns) their customers are very unhappy.  So what is the big deal about needing to follow a pattern in the church?  Why does every generation think it’s not only impossible but unnecessary?  Maybe because we haven’t told them why we follow the pattern, maybe because we don’t know why either.
            So we get questions like these:  Is it really necessary to follow the examples set in the New Testament?  How do we know which examples to follow?  A lot of people go haywire and forget common sense, throwing out ridiculous scenarios to try to circumvent the need to do what God has plainly shown us He wants to be done.
            So for the next few days we will examine a few things about patterns in the church, things I bet you never knew were there.  But they aren’t really that difficult to see if you have the mind to see them instead of one that wants to see what it wants instead.  Set aside your preconceived notions, and your ill-conceived ones too, and join me for the next three days.
 
Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 2Tim 1:13
 
Dene Ward

A long, long time ago as I sat in the car with my two little boys, waiting for their father to lock up the house before we left that morning, one of them, whose name will remain unmentioned, said, "I can't wait to be the Daddy.  Then I will get to do whatever I want!"  Teaching moment, I instantly thought, and proceeded to use it.
            "You know, Daddies really don't get to do whatever they want."
            "They don't?" he asked in a skeptical little voice.
            "Well, for example, when the weather turns cold in the middle of the night and we all curl up under the blankets in our beds staying warm, who gets up in the cold, shivers while he builds a fire in the wood stove, then stays up the half hour it takes to get it going and finally turned down before he can go back to bed?"
            "Daddy," he said a bit reluctantly, but I could tell he still hadn't gotten my point.
            "And who, when it's pouring down rain at church time, drops us off under the cover, then parks the car and runs through the rain getting all wet and cold?"
            "Daddy," not quite so loudly and with a slightly bowed head. 
            "And who is the one who never gets a Saturday off to watch cartoons like you do, but works to chop more wood so we can stay warm and works in the garden so we can eat?"
            An even softer, "Daddy."  He had finally gotten it, but just to make sure--
            "Daddies have to do whatever is the best thing to take care of their families, whether it's what they want to do or not."  Silence reigned in the car until Keith finally got in, and I never heard another thing about wanting to be the Daddy.
            What he was too young to understand was perhaps the most important thing.  When you are the head, the buck stops with you. 
            President Harry Truman was famous for having a sign on his desk that read, "The buck stops here."  He was referring to the old phrase about "passing the buck," which meant passing on the responsibility.  He knew that as President, he couldn't do that—he was the highest in the chain of command so he was responsible, no matter what happened or who else goofed.  In the home, it works the same way.  If the Father is the head of the house, he is also responsible for everything that goes on in that house.  A lot of men want to "pass the buck," blaming the mother, the schools, the church, society in general.  But God says, "Fathers…bring them up…"  The father may delegate a lot of the responsibility to the mother, but it is still up to him to make sure the job is being done and to help however he can.  He is the one God will call to account because he is the head—the buck stops with him in the home.  In the same way, in the church, the buck stops with the elders.  They will answer for every soul under their headship (Heb 13:17).
            Anyone who thinks headship is about getting to do whatever you want has the same problem as a six year old boy I used to know.  Too much self-centeredness and not enough maturity, even if you are forty years old or more.  That little boy eventually figured it out.  I sure hope those others do before the buck stops with them on Judgment Day.
 
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Heb 12:5-11).
 
Dene Ward

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” 2Sam 12:13.
            I imagine you recognize the above scripture.  David’s statement immediately follows Nathan’s indictment, “Thou art the man.”  But do you know what immediately follows David’s confession?
            Because God through Nathan declares that David’s punishment will be the death of his child, David immediately begins a week long vigil asking God to spare his son.  “Who knows,” he says, “whether the Lord will be gracious to me that the child may live?”
            How many times have you found yourself sorrowing over a sin in your life, even after a heartfelt repentance, but then felt it presumptuous to even ask God for the smallest thing in your prayers that same day?  How many times have you said, “Not now.  I need to show some real fruit of repentance before I ask God for anything at all.”   How many times have you thought, “Surely He won’t listen to me yet?”  Or even worse, “How can God forgive me?”
            David knew better than that.  He not only recognized his sin and his utter unworthiness (Psalms 32 and 51), he recognized the riches of God’s grace.  We may sing about “Amazing Grace,” but David knew about it.  Maybe it takes just as much faith to believe about grace as it does to believe in God.  I know this:  if you deny that God will forgive you and answer your prayers, you may as well deny Him.
 
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:4-7

Dene Ward