What Do You Know For Certain?
Psalm 110:1-4
1The LORD says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
2The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
3Your troops will be willing on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.
4The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
Job 19:23-27
23“Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 26And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
1 Timothy 3:14-16
14Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
Meditation:
Students of the human race have long noted that there is a mighty fine line between confidence and conceit on the one hand and humility and paralyzing fear on the other. Some of us are so full of ourselves that we believe we’re bullet proof and that there’s nothing we can’t do. Some of us are so self-deprecating that we believe our lives are utterly without consequence in this world. Both of these ways of seeing and behaving are problematic. Our 3 passages today present us with an opportunity to wrestle with this dilemma for a little while.
What do you know “for certain” or think you know “for sure”?
In my school days, I lived in the Niagara peninsula along a coastal plain along the south shore of Lake Ontario. Several creeks drained that plain into the lake, but before they actually reached the lake, these creeks formed very large pools of water. In the winter, both these pools of water and the great lake froze over creating tremendously compelling playgrounds. We could play hockey, sail ice-boats, fish, and engage in various competitive activities.
One of the more challenging of these competitions involved chopping a hole through the ice and jumping in: not recommended for the faint of heart. Another of these risky challenges involved driving vehicles out on to the lake as far as you dared or were able. Participating in this challenge entailed an accounting for more than a few life-threatening risk factors: ice thickness, cracks, water temperature, distance back to shore if you need to run, weight of wet clothing etc.
The question of what you “know for certain” loomed a little larger than merely contemplating whether or not the sun will rise tomorrow morning. The “ice-run” on Lake Ontario is no longer permitted, but back in the day there were always people willing to get in a vehicle and drive out on the lake for as far as they were certain the ice would hold them up. They had to be “certain” or they wouldn’t bother. Because of their certainty that the ice would in fact hold, they acted with a degree of courage or bravery bordering on the fool-hardy.
So what do you “know for certain”? What behaviors or activities are you willing to bet your life on today? David is certain “troops will be willing on the day of battle” to come to his aid like “dew from the morning’s womb” no doubt about it. The battle will ensue and the Lord will be victorious and we are going to share in that victory: that’s for sure.
Likewise, Job is utterly convinced that “his redeemer lives” and that he will see him “stand on the earth”. Because Job knows this “for certain” he will not curse God, nor surrender his righteousness. In spite of the fact that he has lost his children, his wealth and health and comfort from his companions, he knows that he will “see God”. Therefore he has hope and a future.
Finally we have the apostle Paul, reminding Timothy about something that is, beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs”, namely this: Jesus (the god/man) appeared in the flesh, not a phantom. He was vindicated by the Holy Spirit, which means the gospel testimony of Jesus is true. He was seen by angels, (our guardians) in this world. He was preached among the nations and is so to this very day. He was believed on in the world and continues to be so by an ever increasing universal church, the body of Christ. He was “taken up in glory”. Paul knew these things “for sure” and therefore he could carry out his life’s work even in the face of death.
What do you “know for certain”? Are you prepared to stake your life on it today if you had to? No one is asking any of us to drive out onto a frozen lake these days, but we are expected to let nothing stop us from bearing faithful witness to the hope that is ours in Christ.