Kelley Ponderings

While I was on my walk this morning, I noticed two kinds of houses in my neighborhood. Some houses looked attractive. They made feel comfortable and think, “I could be happy living here.” Other houses were off-putting. Their appearance made me feel uncomfortable and think, “I’d be pretty depressed if I lived there.”

After awhile, I noticed what the difference was between the two types of houses. The off-putting homes had weeds in the yard. Sometimes there were many large weeds  that took over the yard. Other times, just a few weeds poked up here and there. The nice homes were weed free. The homes themselves were not constructed any differently, but someone was pulling every weed.

Immediately, I thought, “I’ve seen this same difference in Christians.” The Christians I enjoy being around (and the ones God uses to attract new believers) are weed-free. Not only are they saved, they daily make sure there are no weeds in their spiritual yards.

Unfortunately, I know a few Christians who have “weeds” in their lives. For instance I know a few Christians who constantly express bitterness against big business or the government. I am not a big defender of either, but a bitter person makes others feel uncomfortable.

I know a few men who regularly speak disrespectfully of their wives. They give them derogatory nick-names and joke about how incompetent they are. I know women (and a few men) whose favorite pastime is gossip.

The New Testament speaks consistently against bitterness, disrespect of spouses, and gossip. I know that these sins will not keep us out of heaven, but that is not the point. The point is that they are unattractive to others.

If I feel uncomfortable around Christian brothers and sisters who are careless about the weeds in their lives, how do pre-believers feel around them? No, I do not think those Christians with “little habits” of greed, bitterness, gossip, etc, will be kept out of heaven. I do wonder if those weeds will keep others from choosing heaven.

“Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?”

These words haunted me as I drove my car this morning. I was listening to a Selah song, which is an adaptation of Charles Wesley’s Depth of Mercy. God used Wesley’s words and Selah’s vocals to break through my hardened heart and drew me into a time of deep mourning for my sins.

Fortunately, God did not leave me there. The next song on the playlist was “Glory to His Name” which bold proclaims

“Down at the cross where my Savior died,
Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Glory to His Name!”

My mourning turned into rejoicing when I heard the words of forgiveness. What a message we have – what a transformation we offer! From despair to hope; from mourning to rejoicing; from sin to salvation!!!

Walter Brueggemann wrote that Old Testament prophets used the basic rhythm of mourning to promise to nudge God’s people out of sin and into grace. When we think about “prophetic” ministry, we usually think about the ministry of mourning – bemoaning sin and its acceptance by God’s people. However, the prophets also held out the promise of what God does for sinners who repent.

My prophet voice this morning came from Selah. My hope comes from Jesus.