There is a popular TV show called “Survivor.” It’s been on TV now for over 20 seasons. It’s syndicated all over the world. The show thrives on showing how individuals adapt to group dynamics and societal rules changes through horrendous conditions in the hope of receiving the big prize at the end. The show is particularly interesting because I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a contestant cry on the show or demonstrate widespread weakness. After all, the contestants have volunteered for this abuse and there is a reason behind the madness so all that happens on the show is just part of game.
If you’re new to faith evangelical church, you may be asking yourself, “Why is the pastor talking about the TV show survivor?” Well, television offers us a modern day story from which to teach truth about the Christian faith. It is in many ways the modern day way of teaching by the use of story – very much like Jesus did with parables.
One of the most well known Survivor’s from the bible was Jeremiah. If he were on the show today, you would either love him because you know his background or you would hate his conviction. Jeremiah was the ultimate survivor. He was the pastor kid of a pastor kid. He was a prophet at 18. He was biblical theologian long before the world knew what that was. He focused his teachings on the Pentateuch (the first five books of the bible) and Hosea and the Psalms. He lived in a very rough time for people in general, but even tougher for those in Judah. The year was around 650 b.c. and the world was in a flux with the balance of power in the world shifting from the Assyrians and the Egyptians to the Babylonians. The former Judah king was a follower of our God and he tried to use his power to clean up the false theology that was evident everywhere. However, he passed away fighting the Egyptians. After his death, the country quickly fell apart. Jeremiah was left to fend for himself. As you can imagine, it is tough to be the lone person convinced the whole team of Jews should do something different than they were doing.
In today’s reading, we have a dialog between God and Jeremiah that sounds like any of us when life doesn’t go the way we expect it too or we don’t get what we want. Listen to these statements from Jeremiah 12: 1-4 (read the text)
You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? 2 You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. 3 Yet you know me, O LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! 4 How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, "He will not see what happens to us." (NIV)
Does any of this sound familiar to you? It does to me. I’ve realized I’m a whiner sometimes. I’ve also noticed I have a tendency to whine more when I feel overburden, stressed or just plan busy. I know part of it for the attention…Oh see how hard I work… but it’s also because I think the world is not working the way I think it should. I want somebody to stop the madness that I see, hear and feel is all around me. This is where Jeremiah’s at. He’s saying to God, “You need to take these evil folks out so all will be right in the world. They’ll believe in you more if you do as I say.
However, God has another idea about what should be happening and why. As such, God offers Jeremiah a simple riddle, a statement of understanding and then a statement of hope for everyone.
God says in verses 5 and 6:
If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? 6 Your brothers, your own family-- even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. (NIV)
God is reminding Jeremiah, it’s not about the evil people in the world. It’s not about what you want. Our purpose in life is our lot in life. Wherever you find yourself being called to serve, it is your role to follow through no matter what the cost. Don’t listen to those around you or to your family friends. It is God that matters.
Following God has a cost and a huge reward. Jesus said in Matt 19:29, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my names sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” The point is following him may mean you will lose all you have but you will gain so much more. In particular you will be following in his footsteps. In one of our forgotten God discussions, a person admitted that asking for the Holy Spirit to come in and guide your life can be scary because drawing closer to God can require walking through tough times. Times we never would have chosen for ourselves but in retrospect, times that build our faith because we can look back in amazement of what He did for us.
God reminds Jeremiah that he knows how he feels at that moment. He says in verses 7-13, “I’ve been there. I know what it’s like when those you care about don’t listen.” In many ways, the dialog reminds me of a discussion between people in a recovery program or a parent to a child when the person speaking and the person listening really understand each other and the dilemma to be faced. I was talking to member this week and they were telling me about talking to an old friend who just went through the same experience they did 10 years before. The shared experience made them feel someone knew them.
For us as Christians, we share this same kind of bond with God through our belief in Jesus Christ and His actions as he walked among us. He understands what we are going through. There’s no need to whine about our lives. Jesus walked it once and He is present to walk with us. Phillips Brook once said, “The purpose of life is the building of character through truth and you don’t build character by being a spectator.” Wiersbe Commentary
God walks with each of us by way of the Holy Spirit. He is there to guide, to encourage and to remind us that while life can be hard, it can doesn’t have to be drudgery but trudge. The difference is in drudgery, we walk without hope. When we trudge, we walk with purpose.
Now, I’m not saying that it’s easy. There will be plenty who will give up. There will be plenty who turn back. There will be some tempted to take a short cut by doing anything to get out of walking their path. Jeremiah knows that. God also knows that. It is why later in verses 12:14-16, God offers a huge promise for all those who wonder if they are saved or not because they wandered away from the faith. And Paul reiterates this again in
Romans 11:23 which states:
And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. (NIV)
The point is this: the Lord allows the overcoming of his people for three reasons: First, so in the end, those who see the reactions of believers in bad times may be inspired to turn to the Lord and seek forgiveness themselves. Just as Jesus was a witness to the world through his suffering, we can be a witness to ours. Second, God allows our overcoming as a way to draw closer to him in this life to remind us of our reliance on him and the hope of future with him. With that in mind, there is NEVER a reason to whine, only to rejoice in what Jesus did for us when He suffered, died and rose again.
