The Best is Yet to Come

Hey Y’all,

What would we do if God ever decided to show up in our midst? We are so used to living like deists, saying that we believe he exists but acting like he left us in control while the world winds down around us, that we really think this is as good as it gets. I went and did a bad, bad thing last Sunday. I… and I can’t believe I did this, I spoke about God actually doing something. I said he could change our communities. I went so far as to say that he was more powerful than racism and drug runners.

I understand now why we prefer to be deists because a god that doesn’t do anything doesn’t get your hopes up. There is no chance to be disappointed if you don’t expect anything. I can’t believe I had the nerve to expect God to do something; to expect God’s word to be true and to actually unfold in my community. Was I insane? What if I was wrong? What if God didn’t mean what he said in his word? What if he just wants evil to get worse and worse and worse while the church rolls over and plays dead? What if the wicked are more powerful than God? Then put a bullet in my head please.

I know you don’t hear people ask these kind of questions these days. That’s because we’re deists. God is through doing stuff in our eyes. He is never going to save 3000 people in one day again. Righteousness is never going to be strong enough to defeat evil. The one world government is going to take over and rule the planet because God has left the building and he isn’t coming back to do anything until the curtain falls.

Why did I even bother to open my hopeful mouth? Why did I try to give people hope in a powerful God that intends on actually ruling and reigning over his creation? Why did I try to tell my congregation that God expects us to take dominion over every area of life for his glory? Why did I tell them that the wicked are destined to be defeated?

Why?

Because it’s true. Because it’s time to shake off the lies that we are steeped in and listen to the truth for a change. It’s time to believe in the God of scripture and the promises of scripture. It is time to press on in our lives and in our communities and begin to exalt Jesus as the king that he really is – King of all things; that includes drug runners, political powers that be, racists, and all around sinners like me. He is king of all.

I wish that I would start living like I believe that. More often than not when he answers the prayers I pray so diligently I say: “You must have done something wrong Lord. It wasn’t supposed to hurt like this. It wasn’t supposed to cause me pain. You were just supposed to change them. I didn’t want to be involved. “ But I am involved in the lives of others and their change affects me. My change affects them. We are a body not just lone rangers trying to tough it out all by ourselves. NO ONE IS MEANT TO DO THIS ALONE. (sorry about they internet yelling there).

The truth is God moving in the world is messy. It’s disrupts our happy shiny pretend lives. You know the ones where we think life is smooth sailing and everything is always going to be peachy keen because God is so good? Well he is good but he has this tendency to be anything but peachy keen. He has a tendency to show us our hearts by ripping them out and holding them in front of us so that we and anybody else that happens to be close by can see them in all the gory detail.

I understand that God wants the best for me but his idea of best and my idea of best are worlds apart. I want the best food, the best car, the best house, the best wife, the best children. He simply wants the best heart with the best obedience. Yuk.

He will win the battle you are having with him you know. You don’t stand a chance because he is ruthless. He will do everything that needs to be done to get you where you need to be. He knows where all the weak spots in your armor of self are and he is not afraid or ashamed to go there and wreak havoc until you begin to change.

Since he’s God I don’t know why he doesn’t just wiggle his nose or blink his eye and change us. Wait… yes I do because we wouldn’t appreciate us. If he did it all for us we wouldn’t grow up. If we didn’t have to work through the process of growing up we would never grow up. Trust me as one who refused to grow up as long as he was bailed out of jams: it’s true. I know men older than I who still refuse to grow up. Instead what they do is get bitter and mean and more and more self-righteous. They are frustrated because they want to be free to do what they want but they don’t want to take the risk involved in being free. So they settle for being crotchety old men with no self respect, an over inflated sense of self worth, and a chip on their shoulder they would just love for you to try and knock off.

That’s what happens when we refuse to repent, refuse to grow up: our hearts get harder.
But for those of us who are willing to grow up, to change, to take the risk of actually living life there is hope. God promises us good things even if they cost us blood, sweat and tears to get. I know we are surrounded by cheap imitations that look good on the outside but are really just lead painted covered knock offs made in china. It’s time we began to see with a new set of eyes, discerning eyes that can tell the difference between the real and the fake, eyes that won’t let pity be confused with love. It’s time that we take those eyes and begin to look at the condition of our families and our communities. It’s time we looked at the mess that is around us with those eyes and begin to act accordingly, walking in truth, changing the way things are as we cross paths with unrighteousness.

I believe the wicked will fall in my lifetime. I believe that my community will be humbled in my lifetime. I believe that righteousness will once again reign on the streets of Portland, TN. As Michael Buble sings (yes Michael Buble) The best is yet to come baby won’t it be fine. You think you’ve seen the sun but you ain’t seen it shine. Wait til you’ve seen that sunshiney day You aint’ seen nothing yet.

I look forward to seeing the Son shine brighter than the light of noon in my heart, in my family, in my community. I think God’s going to be pretty busy the next 50 years.

Grace and Peace,
Brad