the woods

This post is a combination of church Sunday and what I have been reading in Isaiah. I've been in Isaiah 41, and church on Sunday concerned Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. It was nice that before the message got going the pastor basically said "ok, the lesson everyone gives on this is that we should use scripture to combat temptation, and that's true, but there's more here than that so we're not going to go there." I like that. As I grew up it seemed that each and every passage had an attached application. You didn't deviate from that, you stored the head knowledge, checked it off the list, memorized it if you were extra special, and you moved on. I like that this wasn't enough here.

I read this at the end of Isaiah 41:

"21 Set forth your case, says the Lord;

bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

22 Let them bring them, and tell us

what is to happen.

Tell us the former things, what they are,

that we may consider them,

that we may know their outcome;

or declare to us the things to come.

23 Tell us what is to come hereafter,

that we may know that you are gods;

do good, or do harm,

that we may be dismayed and terrified.

Or that we may both be dismayed and see

24 Behold, you are nothing,

and your work is less than nothing;

an abomination is he who chooses you."

I immediately began to look at myself. I have doubts about myself. Am I letting go of the kingdom purpose that drew me here and making my life about myself and my desires instead of serving God? So this was a good time. I asked this question: "If I have an idol to challenge with these words that God challenged literal idols with here, what is it?" Have I replaced God with something? It was an honest question. When I thought I was going to land a high end job, For a time I caved in to materialism and earthly models of success. In my mind I was buying Jeeps (multiple ones), garages, barns, building cabins, fencing land, buying cattle, building pavilions and running water and electric to them... I was spending my imaginary money with incredible passion, and little thought for the kingdom. Those days are past though. That job didn't happen. Every good job I applied for didn't happen. Instead I have a job that if we're incredibly tight, will just meet our needs. I'm not complaining. I'm happy. But suffice to say that materialism won't be an issue anytime soon. All that to state that I was honestly wondering. My thought process basically said, "You're not seeking material things anymore, but I also don't feel like my passion is on the kingdom, so where is it?" The answer seemed a little strange at first, but now makes a ton of sense. The earth. Literally. Dirt. Trees. Fields. A pond. Deer and turkeys. Trails. Fire pits. Hunting spots. Camping spots. Etc...

I was thinking all this as I read and reread this passage. Verse 23 snagged me and laid the whole issue bare. "Do good, or do harm". This is a challenge issued to an idol. The assumption is that a chunk of formed stone or wood is incapable of doing good or bad. It just sits there. But as I read it the idea of the woods and the land that I reside on now as an idol sprang up at this challenge. Immediately I thought: "But that IS good". Bang. I saw myself laid bare in an instant. I admitted that in my mind the great outdoors have value, even goodness, apart from God. I immediately thought it was good. I immediately thought that it passed God's idol test. 

I believe my love for hunting and hiking and camping and rafting and basically everything else I do is God-given. I know he wired me that way. But none of that is good. It's all part of a broken system. Within this broken system God has by his grace placed me to advance his kingdom. I am his emissary. So all that cool stuff I love is a means of which I have natural talents and abilities to serve that purpose. Doing that ... is GOOD. But I fall into the dark trap of idolatry if I think that these things have positive value without the presence of God. In his hand and for his purpose, they are an awesome and powerful tool, one that I think needs to be wielded to reintroduce a generation of people to the reality of God. However, as a alternative source of joy, they are a miserable substitute. What a trap. As I stewed through this, the sermon began and the message was about the temptation of Jesus. Our pastor is focusing on Jesus' desire to identify with us in our temptation. With that in mind I launched into Luke 4 with the sermon:

"5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."

Now I know it's not exact, but for the first time I saw this and it made sense. Personal sense. I never saw the temptations of Jesus and meaning much to me. I've never been tempted to turn stones into food (it's a darn good thing I can't). I've never been tempted to jump off a cliff to see if angels catch me. And I never really identified with this one from verses 5-7 either. I didn't understand how this temptation linked me to Jesus. But as I read this I understood a little. Now I know it's not exact. I know Satan wasn't offering Jesus the Ponderosa here, and I know that I'm probably in danger of reading too much into this that isn't there. But I felt like maybe, just maybe, Jesus really did understand what it was like to have the same feelings and temptations as me. 

God I don't know what all this means, but I do know that there is only one good thing worth living for. Help me to keep that front and center.