Psalm 102

Psalm 102

B.

           To say that nothing is certain is certainly reasonable to presume, but I think it is more reasonable to presume that this is just a human projection of the futility we feel in a world that operates beyond our control.  And, though we have a certain influence upon it, we certainly have no ability to foresee the certainty of the moments advancing upon us from beyond those that we are presently experiencing.  We would rather believe that, since we do not have control, no one is in control.  Things are the way they are, and who can tell what they might soon be—or so we would like to think.  For some reason, in a world where men require hope to sustain their lives, the assurance of the absence of hope is itself a kind of hope.  But, there is constancy in the world, and in all the chaos and corruption, it gives us a hint at purity.  Beyond all that we see and all that we believe, some things are certain in spite of our uncertainty.  All men desire happiness; rejection gives birth to heartache and pain produces suffering; resistance and endurance build strength; and the chief desire among men for which we will sacrifice all the rest, is to be loved.

            To perceive these things, the common desires and frustrations of men, is to see among us the remnants of a common understanding that all men pursue what is good though we may not be able to define what is good.  It is what causes us to grieve when we suffer and to celebrate when we are victorious.  Goodness defines our pain with its absence and our joy with its presence.  It hides itself and we are discouraged and confused.  It reveals itself and we are inspired and relieved.  The human experience is defined in every way by the mediation of our lives with the expression of what we believe to be good.  Our hearts will not let go of it.  It exists beneath all the heartache and the failure.  It shimmers in the laughter and the overcoming.  No matter how much misery exists in the world, it is impossible to extinguish the awareness of an enduring goodness that exists even though we might not touch it.  It is the only unity left among men.  And, as our days pass like smoke, and our bones burn like a furnace, though our hearts whither and are struck down, as long as there is a goodness to attach to the motion of our lives, we will never yield, though our strength is broken. 

            If we are able to see that, though men have turned from it and will continue to do so, goodness never dies, then I believe it creates a picture of the grace that prevails by the hand of God in His kingdom through Jesus Christ.  For, if in our sin, we are unified in the common notion of a good that exists though it may elude us, how much more can we be assured of a goodness that prevails over us now that Jesus Christ has been enthroned forever at the right hand of God.  Goodness is God’s nature, and being created by God, we cannot separate from our dependence upon it.  But, for those in Christ, instead of fighting to grasp at the good that we seek, this good now fights for us, and He will not allow us to be ashamed. 

           It is my deep concern for Christians that they may be aware of the complete, inexhaustible, and unrestrained grace of God that wars for them and upholds them in all circumstances—tragedy, heartache, loneliness, poverty—for He regards the prayer of the destitute.  If we, who are evil, do not withhold good gifts from those we love, how much more will our Father in heaven give good things to those who depend on Him for them.   The good we desire is the good that we will have, because His love is certain.  He will continuously strive with us to conform us to His goodness and His strength, patience, and grace will never fail.  We will not only have what we desire, but we will know goodness, so that we may give it to others and rejoice in the mercy and grace of Almighty God.  The suffering and the oppression will not last.  The sin that ensnares you will not conquer you.  For He who laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens will change them like a robe.  Though we perish, He has promised to do the same for those who believe in a God whose years have no end, and so, His goodness will outlast it all.  Do not be confounded by the workings of this temporal world.  For the God who is God over us is God over that, too, and He is working all things for the good of those who love Him.  So, fear not, and love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, in spite of all you see, in spite of all you feel, in spite of all that comes down upon you.  For He who saves us, saved us in spite of all we had forsaken, and will save us from all that we must now endure.