Nicknamed

Posted on by Betsy

Do you have a nickname? I go by Betsy, but that is not my real name. Born Elizabeth Ann, my mother nicknamed me Betsy for several reasons. First, it is a common derivative of Elizabeth, along with Liz, Beth, Eliza, etc. It was also the name of Betsy Palmer, an actress she admired. But the selling point was that my sister, who is four years older, had developed an imaginary friend whom she called Betsy. Parental wisdom suggested that naming me for her friend would ease the transition of a new baby in the house. Unfortunately, it did not.

The name and names of God is a fascinating subject. By understanding the origin of these names, we tap into the different aspects of God’s character. God is our Elohim, our Strength and Power. God is YWYH, the great “I AM.” He is Yeshua and Emmanuel, God with us in the form of Jesus. He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Who Provides.

Who is God to you?

In today’s psalm, David wrote that God’s name is “majestic.” Think about that for a moment. Merriam-Webster defines majestic as “an impressive largeness proportionate to scale, without sacrifice of dignity or good taste.” It’s the reference to largeness and scale that piques my attention. David described God’s glory as being higher than the heavens and reminded us that the moon and stars were set in place by God. With the vastness of these images firmly planted in our minds, David then writes “what are human beings that you pay attention to them?” (verse 4). What, indeed?

That God would create the universes and still be mindful of us is nothing short of miraculous.

Psalm 8 (Common English Bible)
Lord, our Lord, how majestic
    is your name throughout the earth!
    You made your glory higher than heaven!
2 From the mouths of nursing babies
    you have laid a strong foundation
    because of your foes,
    in order to stop vengeful enemies.
3 When I look up at your skies,
    at what your fingers made—
    the moon and the stars
    that you set firmly in place—
4         what are human beings
            that you think about them;
        what are human beings
            that you pay attention to them?

God’s care and consideration of human beings comes with the responsibility of caring for all of his handiwork. Indeed, the beasts of the field as well as the field itself are under our supervision. As we look at our policies and practices concerning the meat processing industry, the effects of pollution on our waters, and the increasing threat of climate change due to carbon emission, how well are we doing with the stewardship of God’s gift?
5 You’ve made them only slightly less than divine,
    crowning them with glory and grandeur.
6 You’ve let them rule over your handiwork,
    putting everything under their feet—
7         all sheep and all cattle,
        the wild animals too,
8         the birds in the sky,
        the fish of the ocean,
        everything that travels the pathways of the sea.

Our challenge today is to make one small change that could have a majestic effect on God’s creation. Can you choose paper over plastic bags, or better yet, carry canvas bags for your groceries? Can you refuse a plastic straw? Can you commit to eating a vegetarian meal once a week? Can you bike to work tomorrow instead of drive? How about getting into a carpool so that fewer cars are on the road?

God trusts us with the majesty of creation. May we be worthy of that trust.
9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!

Majesty in Flight by Michelle Robertson

The Mind of Christ

Posted on by Betsy

Contact lenses are a wonderful thing … when they work. They free us up from wearing/losing/finding our glasses, they often work better than glasses, and they are able to bring our eyes up to 20/20 vision. From hard to soft to disposable, there are a lot of choices.

Wish you had blue eyes? Buy them! Need trifocals? We can do that! Have a condition known as “mono vision,” where one eye sees distance well and the other reads well? Lenses of different strengths can balance that out. Just don’t fall asleep with them in or you will wake up thinking that someone put Vaseline on your eyeballs. And don’t wear them on a long airplane ride … the dry air turns them into see-through hockey pucks.

Do you ever wish you could apply 20/20 vision to your spiritual, emotional, or relational vision? In times of confusion, emotional manipulation, distraction, or when you realize you are in a cloud of deception, wouldn’t it be lovely to pop in clarifying contacts and be able to actually see things for what they are?

Fortunately for us, we can access the mind of Christ.

2 Corinthians (NIV)

10 The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,“Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

Using Christ as a lens through which we see the world brings a wonderful clarity which we could never achieve on our own. The triune nature of God allows us to receive the Holy Spirit in real time. God’s active, alive, and attentive Spirit stays in tune with our spirits and is ready to lead, guide, direct, and correct our vision no matter what we are doing.

We just need to remember to apply it. Like lenses that sit in the box in the medicine cabinet, all the clarifying power of God through the Holy Spirit is useless until we intentionally look for it and look through it. Discernment comes through prayer, Scripture reading, talking with friends and mentors, and sitting quietly in the presence of God and listening.

So open your eyes. Open your mind. Open your heart and invite the Holy Spirit in to show you what is truth. We have received the Spirit of God so that we may understand what God has freely given us. We have the mind of Christ, if we just look for it. The Spirit of God never fogs over or dries out.

You can always count on God’s perfect 20/20 vision for your life.

Open Your Eyes by Kathy Schumacher

The One Who Knows

Posted on by Betsy

Think for a moment about every relationship you have. Your parents, siblings, extended family, spouse, children, friends … who in this group would you say knows you the best? If you have a good relationship with your parents, you may have said one of them. If you are blessed by a good marriage, perhaps you named your spouse. For some of us, it’s a sibling who has known us all our lives. I took a walk with an old friend last week and told her I was relieved to have just submitted a completed assignment to the Cokesbury Publishing House, where I am an Adult Bible Study writer. She looked at me and said, “Yes, and when is it due? How many months early did you finish it?” I was tickled that she knows me so well. I like to get writing assignments wrapped up and off my desk early so that I can move on to the next thing. It blessed me to have a friend who has listened to me so carefully. I felt known.

And she was right. It’s not due until October.

No matter how strong your earthly relationships are, there is One who knows you better than anyone else. Psalm 33: 15 makes this clear: “God is the one who made all their hearts, the one who knows everything they do.” This unattributed psalm makes the case that God is both interested and observant in every aspect of our lives. God made all the hearts of humanity and watches over all who honor the Lord. Kings and warrior horses cannot save us: only God can deliver us from death.

God knows everything we do. How does that make you feel today, to be so fully known by the Creator of the Universe? Does it fill you with awe or shame?

Psalm 33 (Common English Bible)

The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees every human being.
14 From his dwelling place God observes
    all who live on earth.
15 God is the one who made all their hearts,
    the one who knows everything they do.

16 Kings aren’t saved by the strength of their armies;
    warriors aren’t rescued by how much power they have.
17 A warhorse is a bad bet for victory;
    it can’t save despite its great strength.
18 But look here: the Lord’s eyes watch all who honor him,
    all who wait for his faithful love,
19     to deliver their lives from death
    and keep them alive during a famine.

20 We put our hope in the Lord.
    He is our help and our shield.
21 Our heart rejoices in God
    because we trust his holy name.
22 Lord, let your faithful love surround us
    because we wait for you.

The sheer beauty of this last portion needs to be read again. We do, indeed, put our hope in the Lord who is our help and our shield! No matter what you are going through today, God’s faithful love goes through it with you. Do you trust that? Do you feel that faithful love surrounding you today?

We wait for God … and God never disappoints.

Getting To Know You by Michelle Robertson

The Backbone

Posted on by Betsy

Let’s talk about your backbone today. Your spine contains over 120 muscles, around 220 individual ligaments, and 100 joints. The spinal cord that runs inside your backbone weighs around 35 grams. The length of the spinal column in the average man is 70cm, and in the average woman it’s 60cm. This system of muscle, bone, ligament and joints supports your entire body. It holds up your head and powers your hips and legs to move. Can you imagine what your body would be without your backbone? I’m thinking jellyfish.

If you’ve ever had any kind of back issues, you know how important good back strength is to your overall health. My husband pulled a back muscle trying to load our 100 lb. Labrador retriever into the car, and he was down for the count for days. I have had lower back spasms that have landed me on the couch for hours. Have you ever struggled with this? It is amazing how much we need and use our backs.

Our Scripture today talks about the church being the backbone and support of the truth. This is a profound statement. We indeed are the church of the living God. Paul encouraged Timothy in this passage, after Timothy had been sent to the church in Ephesus to sort out their struggle with an assault of false teaching. Ever the thoughtful mentor, Paul sought to equip Timothy in his leadership of this church. Remember that “church” in this context is not a place of worship with four walls, but a gathering of like-minded people.

1 Timothy 3:14-16 (Common English Bible)

14 I hope to come to you quickly. But I’m writing these things to you so that15 if I’m delayed, you’ll know how you should behave in God’s household. It is the church of the living God and the backbone and support of the truth.16 Without question, the mystery of godliness is great: he was revealed as a human, declared righteous by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached throughout the nations, believed in around the world, and taken up in glory.

Paul reminded Timothy that the church is the recipient of the truth of the incarnation. When God chose to reveal himself in Jesus as a human, which was declared righteous by the Holy Spirit, the truth became known. Angels confirmed the revelation and thus the church at Ephesus was challenged to continue to preach Christ as the Son of God throughout the nations. They were responsible for taking the Good News to the known world.

Think about your own “backbone.” Do you stand up for truth? Are you strong in your commitment to be the church of the living God? Do you declare the mystery of godliness to the world?

Jesus calls each one of us to stand up, straight and tall, for the Truth that he came to bring. May we never shirk this responsibility.

Stand Tall (Cape Henry Lighthouse) by Kathy Schumacher

First to Worst

Posted on by Betsy

I am a huge fan of the Broadway musical “Hamilton.” I was blessed to see it on Broadway several years ago and have watched the televised version on Disney+ several times. (Use the closed captioning if you want to understand the story line better!) The lyrics, the tempo, the precision, and the fact that the genius Lin-Manuel Miranda got us all to like American History are just a few reasons why I love this play.

To remember the tremendous fall from grace of Aaron Burr was part of the appeal. A large supporter of the American Revolution, Burr (and Hamilton) joined the continental army in order to contribute to the war against the British. After the war, Burr became jealous of Hamilton’s increasing power in government and his support from George Washington. Hamilton endorsed Jefferson over Burr in the presidential election of 1800. Burr lost, but became Jefferson’s vice president ,and before his term was completed, he shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel over the publication of a letter Hamilton had written that demeaned Burr’s character. Burr was charged with murder and treason, and never served in political office again.

This story came to mind today when I read Psalm 89. It is quite long, and tells a first-to-worst story in its own way. Ethan the Ezrahite wrote this maskil detailing the fall of the house of David. We aren’t sure what calamity befell his kingdom; it could have been Absolam’s rebellion, the spiritual decline of Israel during and after Solomon’s reign … since we aren’t sure of the date of his writing, we don’t know.

Notice the high praise that soon turns into despair.

Psalm 89 (Common English Bible)

I will sing of the Lord’s loyal love forever.
    I will proclaim your faithfulness
    with my own mouth
    from one generation to the next.
2 That’s why I say,
    “Your loyal love is rightly built—forever!
    You establish your faithfulness in heaven.”
3 You said,[c] “I made a covenant with my chosen one;
    I promised my servant David:
4     ‘I will establish your offspring forever;
    I will build up your throne from one generation to the next.’” Selah

And now comes the fall. Ethan perceives that God is abandoning Israel and has rejected the covenant with David’s lineage. We know that is not the case, as Jesus came from the house of David, securing his line for all of eternity. But Jerusalem struggled with its apostasy and rejection of God, and there was hell to pay for it.

But you, God, have rejected and despised him.
    You’ve become infuriated with your anointed one.
39     You’ve canceled the covenant with your servant.
    You’ve thrown his crown in the dirt.
40     You’ve broken through all his walls.
    You’ve made his strongholds a pile of ruins.
41 All those who pass by plunder him.
    He’s nothing but a joke to his neighbors.

Where now are your loving acts
    from long ago, my Lord—
    the same ones you promised to David
    by your own faithfulness?

Have you ever experienced a personal “fall from grace?” Have you been tempted to think that God has abandoned you? Have you felt God’s punishment for your sin? Take heart. Because of the gift of the forgiveness of the cross, you can never be forgotten.

Ethan ended his psalm in a wonderful way. Even though he was sure God had rejected Israel, he still blessed the Lord.

52 Bless the Lord forever!
    Amen and Amen!

May we do the same when we feel abandoned. Remember that if you’re feeling far away from God, it’s probably you who moved.

The Fall by Michelle Robertson

The Eyes of the Heart

Posted on by Betsy

A contemporary praise song leads with the phrase “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see you.” This wording invites us to ponder what it means to have eyes in our hearts. Not to be taken literally by any means, it does seem to imply a way of perceiving and knowing God in a way that relies more on our emotional quotient, our “EQ'” than our intelligence quotient, than our “IQ.” It invites us to consider not what we know, but what we feel. Do you feel God moving in your soul? What emotions are experienced when you see God revealed in marvelous ways? What does your heart tell you?

John Wesley experienced a dramatic revelation of God when he was listening to someone teach one day. Take note of that: he was listening. He wasn’t preaching, attending to the sick, observing the wonderful works of God in nature, converting the prisoners: He was listening. He had grown quite discouraged in his ministry and was contemplating leaving. A friend advised him to “preach faith, and then when you find it, preach it some more.” He dragged his weary spirit to a meeting in Aldersgate and then it happened. The speaker read from Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to Romans when suddenly he felt his “heart strangely warmed.” Wesley wrote in his journal: “While he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me for the law of sin and death.”

God had opened the eyes of his heart, and a movement that would eventually become The United Methodist Church was born.

Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus employs this same beautiful language.

Ephesians 1 (Common English Bible)

17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that makes God known to you. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, 19 and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers.

This church was struggling mightily with many corrosive issues that threatened to undo them. This group of former gentiles had little structure or understanding of God’s plan for salvation. The rulers of the present day were evil and not to be followed. Paul desired that they open the eyes of their heart to the power of God at work in Christ; a power far greater than any earthy ruler or authority. He wanted them to open the eyes of their hearts to the place that Christ’s body, the church, had in leading the world.

This power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength. 20 God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, 21 far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future. 22 God put everything under Christ’s feet and made him head of everything in the church, 23 which is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills everything in every way.

Is God dealing with you today? What issues are you facing? Have you lost sight of God’s power to redeem and sustain you?

Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord. We need to see you.

The Energy of God’s Strength by Kathy Schumacher

To Know You

Posted on by Betsy

Think about the most complex dish you have ever eaten in a restaurant that you absolutely loved. I recently visited a water-side restaurant called Narcoosee’s, located at the Grand Floridian Resort in Walt Disney World, where I ate a plate of food that I am still thinking about. It had so many layers of flavor! It featured plancha-seared scallops that were served over smooth and creamy Parisian gnocchi, surrounded by bright English peas that burst with flavor when you bit in to them. Scattered around this mound of heaven were bits of Tasso ham that provided salty goodness, and dots of truffled Meyer lemon cream sauce that made me want to lick the plate. I didn’t because that would be rude, but boy was I tempted!! Every bite was a new revelation.

I thought about that dish when I read today’s Scripture. Okay, stay with me for a minute! This Scripture to me reads like a wonderfully layered entree that just keeps getting better with every forkful.

Jesus offered this one last prayer just before he is taken away by the authorities to be arrested, tried, and hung on a cross. What was in his mind in those last hours?

Actually, it was us.

John 17 (Common English Bible)

When Jesus finished saying these things, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son can glorify you. 2 You gave him authority over everyone so that he could give eternal life to everyone you gave him. 

So the first layer of this offering is a bold statement about glory. Notice that Jesus looks “up to heaven,” assuring us that he was not downcast at the prospect of losing his life. He acknowledged several things in this first bite: He knew his time had come. He asked God to glorify him so that his sacrifice would bring glory to God. He reminded God that authority was given to him so that we, his followers, could have eternal life. That’s a mouthful right there.

3 This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent. 

But the meat of this dish is found in this startling layer: Eternal life is defined by knowing God. Savor that for a moment! Does that mean that eternal life begins now, on earth, as we study, pray, worship, and learn who God is? John would certainly say so:

1 John 5 (Common English Bible)

11 And this is the testimony: God gave eternal life to us, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have God’s Son does not have life.

Not “will give.” Not “will have.” But eternal life is ours in the present if we believe in the Son. It is incumbent on us to spend these earthly days striving to know God better.

4 I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I shared with you before the world was created.

We finish this off with the delightful morsel in verse 5. Here, Jesus confirms his pre-existence with God at the beginning of the world. Here we see the declaration of the Father/Son relationship and confirm that the Word, Jesus, was with God and the Word indeed was God from the very beginning of time. There are so many beautiful layers of theology in this one brief passage!

Take a moment to read through this prayer again and try to digest it. Jesus is eternal life. Jesus is the glorification of the plan of salvation that he and his father had all along. Are you living out your present eternal life in a way that will prepare you for what is to come? Are you sharing this knowledge with others? Do you fully know God?

May we all relish the gift that Jesus gave, and invite others to the table to relish it, too.

Eternal Life by Mary Anne Mong

Safe Place

Posted on by Betsy

I had a conversation with a young friend recently about the Scripture that tells us to pray for our enemies. We have all struggled with that, I am sure. I once was challenged by this Scripture to pray for someone who had deeply hurt me. To be honest, praying for her was about the last thing I wanted to do. Vent, whine, complain, or stick a hot poker in my right eye, yes. But praying for her was an act of obedience that was very challenging for me. Boy, that was tough! At first my prayers sounded more like, “Lord, please don’t let me see her today. Amen.” But I knew more was expected of me than that anemic, pitiful, faith-deprived plea, so I began to pray that she would be blessed. Eventually I prayed in earnest for her well-being, her family, and her marriage. Before I knew it, I really meant it.

You see, prayer didn’t really change her. It changed me.

In our passage from Psalm 9 today, David praised God for his wonderful acts. I love how he thanked God “will all his heart.” I was reminded of my last trip to Israel where I watched Israeli Jews praying at the Wailing Wall. Jewish prayers are a whole-body experience! They bowed up and down from the waist, hands clasped around their phylacteries, heads bobbing, and saying their prayers out loud. You could see that they meant it with their whole heart.

David gave God all the glory for bringing justice to the world. God ruled from his throne and dealt with the nations who were tearing down Israels’s cities and bringing wickedness and evil to Zion.

Psalm 9:1-12
I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will talk about all your wonderful acts.
2 I will celebrate and rejoice in you;
    I will sing praises to your name, Most High.

3 When my enemies turn and retreat,
    they fall down and die right in front of you
4     because you have established justice
        for me and my claim,
    because you rule from the throne,
        establishing justice rightly.

5 You’ve denounced the nations,
    destroyed the wicked.
    You’ve erased their names for all time.
6 Every enemy is wiped out,
    like something ruined forever.
You’ve torn down their cities—
    even the memory of them is dead.

God’s rule is everlasting, and those who try to destroy God’s people will be dealt with in the end. Our God is a place of safety for us when we are oppressed by our enemies. When I was praying for my enemy, I was putting myself directly that place of safety at God’s feet. When times are difficult, we know that we are not abandoned by the one who will judge all people fairly. Having a “heart for the Lord” made David able to see God’s mighty acts even in the bloodshed around him. As you pray for your enemies, can you see what God is doing?

7 But the Lord rules forever!
    He assumes his throne
    for the sake of justice.
8 He will establish justice in the world rightly;
    he will judge all people fairly.
9 The Lord is a safe place for the oppressed—
    a safe place in difficult times.
10 Those who know your name trust you
    because you have not abandoned
    any who seek you, Lord.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, who lives in Zion!
    Proclaim his mighty acts among all people!
12 Because the one who avenges bloodshed
    remembers those who suffer;
    the Lord hasn’t forgotten their cries for help.

Sometimes we are called to simply pray for our enemies and walk away. Sometimes were are called to stand aside and watch what God does. In both cases, we are assured that God never forgets our cries for help and will always be found by those who seek the Lord.

Are you dealing with an enemy right now? Is God waiting for you to step away so that you can kneel and spend your time in prayer? Do you trust God the way David did, knowing that God establishes justice rightly?

Remember to sing praises while you wait.

Mystic Morning by Michelle Robertson

Casting Crowns

Posted on by Betsy

One of my all-time favorite moments during a Children’s Sermon in worship came when I asked the children what they thought heaven was like. A little three-year-old boy sat thoughtfully by my side as the other children yelled out answers that included clouds, gold roads, blue skies, and the like. Finally he raised his chubby little hand and waited for me to call on him. “Well, Alex, what do you think heaven is like?” I asked. “Miss Betsy, I think heaven is a place where you don’t have to worry about going tee-tee in your pants.”

Oh, my goodness.

Yes, indeed, little person! Heaven is exactly like that. A place of no worries, no tears, no troubles … and certainly no potty-training.

Our Scripture today gives us a startling and heavy-laden vision of heaven from John, as he wrote from exile on the Island of Patmos. Like Jesus’ parables, John’s visions were highly symbolic, reminding us that we will never completely understand what heaven is like until we get there. But one thing is sure: The reality of heaven will far surpass everyone’s idea or vision of it. We can’t possibly imagine what that Glory will be like.

Revelation 4 (Common English Bible)

6 Something like a glass sea, like crystal, was in front of the throne.

In the center, by the throne, were four living creatures encircling the throne. These creatures were covered with eyes on the front and on the back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion. The second living creature was like an ox. The third living creature had a face like a human being. And the fourth living creature was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and each was covered all around and on the inside with eyes. They never rest day or night, but keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is coming.”

John’s four creatures are reminiscent of Ezekiel’s visions of cherubim. (See Ezekiel 1:4-14.) They lived to worship a holy and mighty Lord, and their worship continued day and night. The symbols of lion, ox, human, and eagle might mean anything from representing an arrangement of four gathered tribes of Israel around the throne, to the four Gospels, to Jesus himself, but we should focus on the non-stop worship they offered. This is a reminder to us that worship should be practiced every day, not just on Sunday. What practice of worship do you incorporate into your daily routine?

9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one seated on the throne, who lives forever and always, 10 the twenty-four elders fall before the one seated on the throne. They worship the one who lives forever and always. They throw down their crowns before the throne and say,

11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
        to receive glory and honor and power,
            because you created all things.
                It is by your will that they existed and were created.”

And just as we can’t fathom the meaning of the four creatures, we couldn’t possibly ascertain what these twenty-four elders are meant to represent. So, let’s focus on their casting their crowns before the throne. Surely this humble act of obeisance was their way of rendering honor to the true King on the throne, who was worthy to receive all honor, glory, and power as the One who created all things. This is a challenge to us to be sure we too are willing to cast our crowns before God, relying on him for everything and removing any obstacle that might prevent us from true worship.

Are there things that get in your way from honoring God night and day? Do you try to act out of your own power rather than defer to God’s will? Are you holding on to your crown too tightly?

May God give us a taste of heaven on earth and help us learn how to worship in ways that please him.

Glory by Michelle Robertson

God Laughs

Posted on by Betsy

Do you remember Diocletian?

Probably not. Diocletian was a Roman Emperor from 284-305 AD. He was born in humble circumstances and joined the Roman army, quickly rising through the ranks. He became an army commander in the northern Balkan province and was part of the imperial bodyguard for the Roman emperor Carus. Upon Carus’ death, the troops proclaimed Diocletian the new emperor.

Soon after his election, he began the Great Persecution of Christians, burning churches and sacred texts, stripping Christians of their rights, and enslaving and slaughtering hundreds of them. He fancied himself a god, and since the Christians and Jews of Rome refused to bow down to him, he systematically eliminated them. He celebrated his successful persecution with two monuments to himself which proclaimed that he had “everywhere abolished the superstition of Christ” and “extinguished the name of Christians who brought the republic to ruin.”

And yet, here we are. Unless you are a history scholar, you are much more likely to remember the name Christians and the name Christ over the name Diocletian. God laughs at such foolishness of the earth’s rulers, who think that by their schemes they can control the world.

Psalm 2 (Common English Bible)

2 Why do the nations rant?
    Why do the peoples rave uselessly?
2 The earth’s rulers take their stand;
    the leaders scheme together
    against the Lord and
    against his anointed one.
3         “Come!” they say.
        “We will tear off their ropes
        and throw off their chains!”
4 The one who rules in heaven laughs;
    my Lord makes fun of them.
5 But then God speaks to them angrily;
    then he terrifies them with his fury:
6         “I hereby appoint my king on Zion,
        my holy mountain!”

7 I will announce the Lord’s decision:
    He said to me, “You are my son,
        today I have become your father.
8 Just ask me,
    and I will make the nations your possession;
    the far corners of the earth will be your property.
9 You will smash them with an iron rod;
    you will shatter them like a pottery jar.”

David wrote this psalm with prophetic illusions to the coming anointed one, who God will claim as his son. Only this anointed One will possess the nations from the far corners of the earth. Psalm 2 is referenced in Hebrews as proof of Christ’s divinity:

Hebrews 1:5 (Common English Bible)

5 After all, when did God ever say to any of the angels: You are my Son.
        Today I have become your Father? Or, even, I will be his Father,
        and he will be my Son?

God laughs, but then acts with mercy, offering the kings of earth a warning. If they serve his son reverently and with trembling, they will be truly happy. God will not suffer the arrogance of rulers who try to put themselves on the throne in his place. Like Diocletian, they will all simply die and be forgotten.

10 So kings, wise up!
    Be warned, you rulers of the earth!
11 Serve the Lord reverently—
    trembling, 12 kiss his feet
        or else he will become angry,
        and your way will be destroyed
    because his anger ignites in an instant.

We may not be kings of the earth, but the same warning applies to us when subvert his authority in our lives and attempt to take matters into our own hands. God will not suffer us putting anything else on his throne, whether it be our distractions, our worship of secular things, our apostasy, or our neglect in worshipping him and him alone. And he certainly will not accept it if we worship the kings of earth. But take heart: if you make God your refuge, you will find happiness.

But all who take refuge in the Lord are truly happy!

God laughs, but God loves. God laughs, but God forgives. God laughs, but God protects those who love him and serve him. Thanks be to God.

Serve the Lord with Gladness by Kathy Schumacher