The sadness of this statement in 2 Chronicles jumped out at me this morning and wouldn’t let go. As I get older, I find myself saying goodbye to more and more family members, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. It’s simply the way of things, though it wasn’t originally intended to be. But sin has a way of changing things, doesn’t it?

            It certainly did with Jehoram. This king was the son and grandson of godly men, both of whom ruled from the “city of David.” Sadly, unlike his father and grandfather, Jehoram chose not to be a godly man, and he ruled accordingly, eventually dying a painful death at a relatively young age. Most tragic of all was that no one mourned his passing.

            All of us mourn when a loved one leaves this world—yes, even those of us who are strong believers and lose someone who is also a strong believer. We know that person has gone to be with the Lord and is so much happier than he/she ever was on this earth. And yet…our heart hurts. We miss them, though we know we will see them again one day. Those without that knowing mourn even more, for indeed they don’t have the hope of being reunited with the one who has passed from their sight.

            But can there be anything sadder than living in such a way that when you die there is no one left behind who regrets seeing you go? King Jehoram had plenty of money. He inherited a rich kingdom and wanted for nothing in the material realm. He could do or have nearly anything he wished for, and yet…

            Quite obviously this rich man was a pauper when it came to relationships. Not only did he not serve God or have relationship with Him, but he also had no meaningful or close relationships with other people. What a perspective-setter this is! Are we in close relationship with God and other people? When we pass from this earth into the presence of the Father, will there be at least one person left behind who will miss us and long for the day we will be reunited in heaven?

            Then, beloved, unlike Jehoram, we are rich indeed. Whatever we face on this earth in the way of pain or sickness, tragedy or loss, poverty or disaster, our lives can still be considered a success because we have cultivated that which really matters. May the sad life of Jehoram speak to your heart today about the things that truly matter, and may his pitiful epitaph inspire you to cherish your relationships at every step of your earthly journey. For all too soon it will be over, and it will be time to move on. Though we as Christians eagerly anticipate that time, wouldn’t it also be nice to know that we will be missed and that someone will be looking forward to the day when we will be united once again? 

 

Adoro el Libro de Isaías. ¡Qué corazón de poeta tuvo ese profeta! Aunque el mensaje del libro es de Dios, como son todos libros de la Biblia, es el estilo de la escritura de Isaías que vemos resplandecer.  Cuando una escritora como lo soy yo misma (con una pasión para la poesía), aprecio eso.

Pero por mucho que me guste la escritura, ese no es mi ministerio. Cuándo personas se dan cuenta de lo que hago, ellos a menudo me  preguntan cómo descubrí mi ministerio, y como pueden ellos descubrir e identificar el suyo propio. Yo rápidamente les digo que su ministerio es exactamente el mismo que el mío, y que ellos lo descubrirán como yo lo hice—en las Escrituras. Segundo Corintios 5:18-19 lo coloca de esta manera  para nosotros: “Y todo esto proviene de Dios, quien nos reconcilió conmigo mismo por Cristo, y nos dio el ministerio de la reconciliación; que Dios estaba en Cristo reconciliado consigo al mundo, no tomándoles en cuenta a los hombres sus pecados, y nos encargó a nosotros la palabra de la reconciliación” (énfasis agregado).

Nuestro ministerio no es de  escritores ni de conferencistas, maestros,   predicadores ni de líderes de alabanza. Debemos de ser “reconciliadores” — “reparadores” y “restauradores,” como Isaías lo dijo. Jesús hizo lo que fue necesario para realizar reconciliación entre Dios y el hombre, pero Su obra ya fue hecha y Él ahora ha regresado al Padre, dejando la terminación del ministerio de reconciliación a nosotros, la Iglesia, los que ya han aceptado la reconciliación con Dios.

¡Qué  responsabilidad tan impresionante! Aunque ese ministerio de reconciliación se manifestara en forma distinta en cada una de nuestras vidas—algunos de nosotros somos llamados a escribir, algunos a enseñar, algunos a  predicar, algunos a cantar, algunos a saludar a los visitantes en la puerta de la iglesia, algunos a visitar al enfermo o al que está muriéndose o al que está encarcelado—todos tenemos el mismo ministerio. Y ninguno de nosotros lo puede lograr por su propio esfuerzo. Dios lo ha diseñado de tal forma que para que cumplamos con nuestro llamado, nosotros primero debemos depender de Él, pero también del uno al otro. Yo no puedo efectivamente ministrar la  reconciliación a otros aparte de usted—y usted no lo puede hacer aparte de mí.

Somos un equipo, mis queridos amigos, y Dios es el Líder del Equipo. El nos ha dado el ministerio de la  reconciliación—llamándonos a la relación restaurada con Dios y con Sus pueblo—y Él requiere que nosotros nos paremos hombro a hombro con nuestros compañeros de equipo a medida que nosotros Lo seguimos, dirigiendo a los demás  al corazón del Padre. ¡Es un honor ministrar  con usted, mi amado amigo.

 

            I love the Book of Isaiah. What a poet’s heart that prophet had! Though the book’s message is from God, as are all books of the Bible, it is Isaiah’s writing style that we see shining through. As a writer myself (with a passion for poetry!), I appreciate that.

            But as much as I love writing, that’s not my ministry. When people realize what I do, they often ask how I discovered my ministry, as they are trying to discover and identify their own. I quickly tell them that their ministry is exactly the same as mine, and that they will discover it as I did—in the Scriptures. Second Corinthians 5:18-19 lays it out for us: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (emphasis added).

            Our ministry is not to be writers or speakers, teachers or preachers or worship leaders. We are to be “reconcilers”—“repairers” and “restorers,” as Isaiah put it. Jesus did what was necessary to effect reconciliation between God and man, but His work is done and He has now returned to the Father, leaving the completion of the ministry of reconciliation to us, the Church, those who have already accepted reconciliation to God.

            What an awesome responsibility! Though that ministry of reconciliation will read out differently in each of our lives—some of us are called to write, some to teach, some to preach, some to sing, some to greet visitors at the church door, some to visit the sick or dying or imprisoned—we all have the same ministry. And not a one of us can accomplish it in our own strength. God has designed it so that in order to fulfill our calling, we must first depend on Him, but also on one another. I can’t effectively minister reconciliation to others apart from you—and you can’t do it apart from me.

            We’re a team, folks, and God is the Team Leader. He has given us the ministry of reconciliation—calling others to restored relationship with God and with His people—and He requires that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our teammates as we follow Him, leading others to the Father’s heart.

            It is an honor to minister with you, beloved!

9/11—un día notorio que la inmensa mayoría de nosotros nunca olvidará. Muy similar a los que estuvieron vivos el domingo, 7 de diciembre de 1941, cuándo Puerto Harbor fue bombardeado, nosotros recordamos a donde estábamos esa mañana en septiembre cuando oímos las noticias que nuestro amado país estaba bajo un ataque. Cuando las horas pasaron, nos dimos cuenta de la extensión de pérdida humana, y sentimos un gran sufrimiento, como  todavía lo hacemos en la memoria de esa horrible experiencia.

Ocho años después, nosotros todavía sentimos ese gran dolor, aunque el dolor ha disminuido con el tiempo, como sucede después de la mayoría de las tragedias. Pero las lecciones de ese día se quedan. Aunque Dios ha prometido mantenernos en “perfecta paz” si enfocamos nuestros corazones y nuestras mentes en Él y en Su fidelidad, Él no ha prometido que nosotros no pasemos por tiempos difíciles. Vivimos en un mundo roto, lleno de promesas rotas y corazones rotos. Pero también vivimos en un mundo que es, en gran parte, dominado por el temor—ya sea un temor conocido, o desconocido.

A pesar de que hayamos recogido los pedazos de ese acontecimiento y seguimos para adelante con nuestras vidas desde ese horrendo día en septiembre 2001, no podemos negar que nunca más seremos exactamente lo mismo como lo que éramos antes que esos aviones llenos de personas inocentes se estrellaron contra los edificios, trayendo con ellos la muerte y la destrucción a un nivel monumental. Y es así como debe ser. Necesitamos aprender de tales acontecimientos que dividen las líneas de las aguas y nunca regresar a la complacencia que ayudó y permitió que sucedieran en primer lugar. Pero aún cuando tomamos una permanente postura de vigilancia contra futuros ataques, nosotros debemos tomar también una postura de vigilancia contra no permitir el temor de que un futuro ataque nos paralice de andar en la libertad y la alegría que es inherente al caminar con nuestro Salvador Resucitado.

          Jesucristo derrotó la muerte. Él no anduvo alrededor de ella ni sobre ella, ni la evitó en ninguna manera. Él la enfrentó directamente—y salió triunfante al otro lado, dejando una tumba vacía como testimonio de Su gran victoria. Ese es el Amor Perfecto, mis queridos amigos—un amor perfecto que vence a la muerte y nos promete que un día nos llevará por esa experiencia inevitable también.

Cuando recordamos con derecho y honramos a los que se murieron en 9/11, mantengamos también nuestros corazones y nuestro enfoque en Él quien es más grande que cualquier tragedia que pueda venir contra nosotros.  Porque como lo declara el libro de Romanos 8:31 “Si Dios es por nosotros, ¿Quién contra nosotros?”

         ¡Que todos nosotros podamos caminar en el gozo y la libertad del Amor Perfecto que arroja todo temor!  

 

            Tomorrow is 9/11—an infamous day that the vast majority of us will never forget. Much like those who were alive on Sunday, December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, we remember where we were that morning in September when we heard the news that our beloved country was under attack. As the hours passed, we soon learned the extent of human loss, and we grieved, as we still do at the memory of that horrific occurrence.

            Eight years later, we still grieve, though the pain has diminished with time, as it does in the aftermath of most tragedies. But the lessons of that day remain. Though God has promised to keep us in “perfect peace” if we will focus our hearts and minds on Him and His faithfulness, He has not promised that we will not experience difficult times. We live in a broken world, full of broken promises and broken hearts. We also live in a world that is, to a large extent, driven by fear—whether it be fear of the known, or the unknown.

            Despite the fact that we have picked up the pieces and moved on with our lives since that horrifying day in September 2001, we cannot deny that we will never be quite the same as we were before those planes full of innocent people were flown into buildings, bringing death and destruction on a monumental level. And that’s as it should be. We need to learn from such watershed events and never return to the complacency that helped allow them to happen in the first place. But even as we take a permanent stance of vigilance against future attacks, we must take a stance of vigilance against allowing fear of the future to paralyze us from walking in the freedom and joy that is inherent in walking with our Resurrected Savior.

            Jesus Christ defeated death. He didn’t go around it or over it, or avoid it in any way. He met it head-on—and came through triumphant on the other side, leaving an empty tomb as testimony of His great victory. That is Perfect Love, folks—a perfect love that overcomes death and promises to one day carry us through that inevitable experience as well.

            As we rightfully remember and honor those who died on 9/11, may we also keep our hearts and minds focused on the One who is greater than any tragedy that comes our way. For as Romans 8:31 declares, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

            May you all walk in the joy and freedom of the Perfect Love that casts out all fear!