Stephen
Terry, Director
Christ
in the Crucible
Commentary
for the September 24, 2022, Sabbath School Lesson
"You, however, know all about
my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
persecutions, sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch,
Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from
all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse,
deceiving and being deceived." 2 Timothy 3:10-13, NIV
Children can be cruel. They will
seize upon the slightest deformity, the difference in a name, or the clothing
another child wears and heckle them incessantly over it. I am ashamed to say
that I was no better than some at this, especially during my teen years. We
grew up poor and I compensated for the low self-esteem that caused by belittling
others I thought to be worse off than me. While this doubtless made them
miserable, it fed my childish ego until I found myself with a fat lip after I
picked on the wrong person. What made it worse, they decided to turn the tables
and become my incessant tormentor. Since school attendance is mandatory, there
is no escape from these scenarios. I deserved my comeuppance, but many of those
set upon by other children did not.
The popular animated television
series, "The Simpsons," often focuses on these dysfunctional schoolyard
relationships. Bart Simpson, picks on his friend Milhouse and others who are
weaker than he is, often to gain the approval of other children stronger than him,
preferring to inflict pain on others rather than feel the pain of being
assaulted himself. He becomes a proxy bully to his friends. In the program,
they are clueless to what is going on and continue to remain friends with Bart
despite the abuse. One gets the feeling that they understand if they were in
Bart's shoes, they would do the same. They are resigned to the idea that
physical strength is more important than intelligence at that age. Unfortunately,
this is bad for the bully, too. Some grow to adulthood thinking that their
physical strength is all they need to get through life. We may read about these
grown children in the morning news, arrested for assault, domestic violence, or
theft as they try to continue to "steal lunch money" in the form of
shoplifting, burglary or robbery.
My fat lip gave me plenty to
think about as I dealt with the challenges of my teen years. Fortunately,
through a local church youth group, Christ began to speak into my life. I learned
memory verses like "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is
thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on
his head, and the Lord will reward you." (Proverbs 25:21-22) In my childish
anger over my lot in life and a desire to get back at those who had better
chances, more opportunities, than I had, putting burning coals on their heads
seemed like justice. But I must admit that I was struggling with the do good to
them to make that happen part. Eventually, I learned some of what Jesus said
about dealing with violence, "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If
anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also."
(Matthew 5:39) I admit that part is hard for me. My uncle once told me that for
generations, the Terry family has struggled with temper. It has been so bad at
times that one of my ancestors was one of the few divorces in the early colonies.
I have fared better with two wives who have been willing to live with me. I'm
sure Christ's influence in my life had something to do with that. But it has
not been without struggle, and difficulties continue to present themselves as
evidence that growth continues to be desirable and possible even at my advanced
age. This tells me that God sees in me far more than I see in myself. Knowing that
keeps me moving forward, and through the years, I have learned to take his hand
and hold it firmly even when I cannot see the path ahead.
One of the most important
lessons I have learned is the need to turn any present anxieties and the future
over to God. This is especially true when temper begins to rise. He has said, "It
is mine to avenge; I will repay." (Deuteronomy 32:35) In other words, God has
it all in hand. I do not need to deal with it. I can just walk away assured it
will be resolved. Does this mean that God is my enforcer? No. I take it to mean
that God is better able to deal with it positively. Where I might be tempted to
desire someone's destruction for the slight they intended for me, God is able
to reach into their life and give them a future and a hope beyond anything I
might envision for them. When that happens, they do die to what they were and
become something new, just as I did. God's vengeance is to slay what was by replacing
it with something better. He has done this repeatedly for those whom society
had no desire to redeem. And he doesn't do this once, and if you fail later,
abandon you. He does it repeatedly for each person willing to come to him.
The Apostle Peter struggled to
grow under Jesus' mentoring. But Jesus never gave up and sent Peter away. He
continued to patiently nurture the apostle's nascent faith, and when Jesus had
been crucified and rose from the grave, he continued to urge Peter to "Feed my
sheep." (John 21:17) The same Peter, who cut off the high priest's servant's
ear in a bid to defend Jesus from assault despite all that he had been taught
about turning the other cheek, was now to lay aside such weapons and the temper
that encouraged their use and become a vessel for pouring out the love of God
for others. His change was powerfully displayed when he was reputed to have met
Christ when fleeing Rome and being urged to return to minister in that city, he
was ultimately crucified there. While there is no specific archeological evidence
to support this, several of the ante Nicene church fathers refer to Peter in
Rome, and Constantine built the Vatican over the spot where he was suspected to
have been martyred despite the immense difficulty of constructing it at that
location, being uneven ground.
Why is the influence of Jesus so
powerful? Why did it have the power to change my life? Why were so many in the
early church so willing to be martyred for their faith like Peter? This is especially
puzzling when we consider modern Christians who consider it a major offense to
the faith if the music being played at church is not what they prefer. When
they refuse to participate in or support the modern church, it is hard to see
them willingly crucified upside down for their faith as Peter was reputed to
have done. They are likely not the reason Jesus' influence endures. Instead, it
is his life of poverty and struggle that speaks to us in our own struggles. He
endured despite the challenges, and not once did he complain about his poverty
or the hardships of an itinerant lifestyle. And unlike some ascetics, he also
did not seek poverty and hardship to prove how saintly he was. They were not
the essence of who he was, but how he dealt with them was.
He encouraged those who listened
to his Sermon on the Mount to cease worrying about those material things that
we all are inclined to chase after and trust God to provide for us. He said
this not because we are more worthy for blessing than anyone else. He said it because
God is love and provides for the needs even of those who are evil. God cares
for us because of who he is, not who we are. The same flower that bursts forth
in all its colorful glory for the saint, also does so for the sinner. Nature
does not willingly abandon the great underlying principle of unconditional love
that produces such beauty. Neither should we.
When we are faced with struggle,
many see it as a test of our faith. But what if we saw it instead as an
opportunity to glorify God's love in the world? Is it possible to ask ourselves
when faced with challenge, "How can we turn this into God's compassionate and
loving glory?" At this point, some may be ready to charge into the fray and
right what is wrong in the world to prove God's righteousness. He does not ask
us to do that. Instead, he asks of us the hardest thing we could possibly have
to do in the face of ominous evil. "The Lord will fight for you; you need only
to be still." (Exodus 14:14)