Perfect Word
“Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.”
Today’s Text: Joshua 8:24-35 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
The covenant of God—the word of God along with its blessings and curses—is not just for the salvation of a particular individual. The covenant of God, captured in the word of God and embodied in the Son of God, is given for the divine welfare of communities, and it is for all generations, and it is for all peoples on the earth.
The sinfulness of human hearts leans us toward individualism, parochialism, and ultimately exclusivity. The tendency of sinful human hearts is to try to “protect” the culture of the communities to which we belong.
In a way, that sense of “protectionism” is good when it is our desire to protect the faith of our communities—Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Him crucified, resurrected, and returning.
But most of the time, our “protectionism” is driven by socio-cultural factors that have nothing to do with faith in Jesus Christ. In the most extreme cases, such “protectionism” will lead to communities of people sharing very similar socio-cultural demographic data points—race, age, and socioeconomic status, in particular.
That is not church—at least not the way our Lord intends for church to be.
But our “protectionism” goes way deeper than obvious socio-cultural factors. It seems to me that people are scared to death of social awkwardness and discomfort. I don’t know why. People act as if other people who are the slightest bit “off” (in our own estimation) are akin to Jeffrey Dahmer or a martian.
I don’t know how other people feel about their lives, but I feel that I have been deeply hurt throughout my life. I have been discriminated against for my name, shamed for things completely beyond my control, disrespected for holding positions that are not popular, snubbed for not being Korean enough, snubbed for not being American enough, snubbed for not being “popular” enough.
And yet, I am always willing to give a brother or a sister the benefit of doubt. I think of Jesus’s words on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke, 23:34). Jesus was referring to His disciples as much as He was referring to the Pharisees, I think.
None of us really know what we are doing. Only God does. And even that attitude I have toward myself makes me an object of scorn. And I understand why that is the case. It is because I know that about myself, and I know that about everyone else too.
The greatest (the only?) hope for a community is the word of God—the covenant of God in Christ Jesus—and to trust that word more than we trust ourselves.
Our human tendency is always to segregate and exclude. Jesus’s tendency is always to unite and to invite.
It’s not easy. People are broken. We are all broken. But the word of God still says -
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus …
— Philippians 2:3-5
It’s hard. But with the Holy Spirit in me, I will make every effort to do so.
Father, Your word is perfect, yet it challenges me so much. I find myself falling short of Your word every day. But help me to trust in You. Help me to trust in Your word. Help me to surrender to Your Spirit. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
