“Giving Thanks in the mourning”
The residents of Lane County, on the Oregon coast, woke up one morning to a devastating find. A forty-five foot, eight ton pacific grey whale had died and washed up on the beach near the town of Florence. It had been a while since such a large whale had washed up on the beach along this stretch of Oregon coastline. No one could remember the last time this had happened or what had been done the last time it had happened to remove the remains.
The removal task fell upon the Oregon Highway Department because they had jurisdiction over caring for and maintaining the area. They researched various ways to remove the massive remains including moving it in sections, which was too expensive, and burying it, which posed the problem of tempting the area scavengers to dig up the whale and create an even bigger mess. Finally the department came up with a plan. They decided to place explosive charges, 1000 lbs. of dynamite, in strategic places that would virtually disintegrate the whale into very small pieces. The highway department thought that this action would also provide food for the seagulls and many of the indigenous crabs that inhabited the beaches. Indeed the seagulls could be observed hovering overhead all day as the engineers set and placed the charges. The engineer in charge of the operation, George Thornton, was confident that this solution would take care of the problem. The dynamite had been placed on the leeward side of the big creature so that most of the remains would be blown out to sea.
Well, the moment was at hand. Spectators and highway personnel were moved back ¼ mile away for safety. At the sound of the blast a huge cloud of sand and fire rocket upwards. Then you hear the amazed spectators shouting "Yayy!" and "Whee!" (Pause) Then, suddenly, the crowd’s tone changes. You hear a new sound like "splud" repeating over and over. You hear a woman’s voice shouting "Here come pieces of...MY GOD!" Something smears the camera lens. The excitement of the entire situation suddenly gave way to a run for survival as huge chunks of whale blubber fell everywhere. "One piece caved in the roof of a car parked more than a quarter of a mile away. Remaining on the beach were several sectors the size of condominium units. There was no sign of the seagulls, who had no doubt permanently relocated to Brazil.
Later an eye witness observer wrote: “I was there that day, on the dunes, over looking the beach. We were between the whale and parking lot. Parts flew everywhere, with some flying over our heads and one gigantic piece landed on a car. The owner said "What am I going to tell my insurance man?" He sure had a sick look on his face. Everything was very oily.”
It seems to me that even the best intensions the actions we take can go a-rye. We can experience unwanted results coming from the best made plans.
Why do things that are planned out so meticulously sometimes fail? Nothing is perfect in this world and nothing ever will be, until the world is redeemed fully by our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of time. None of us will ever reach the pinnacle of perfection until we are perfected by Christ. But, little miscalculations and omissions are not the point of Paul’s writing in Romans Chapter seven.
Paul is trying to illustrate the war of the will. In this passage Paul is describing the deep struggles that take place in the mature Christian and he is also speaking of the teachings that lead them into maturity, which is God’s Law. Spiritual formation begins in a person with awareness. As Christian’s begin to study and follow God they become aware that God has laws to obey. It is through the Law that we understand the expectations that God has for us in our relationship with Him and with each other. As our understanding deepens pressure builds up within believers as they attempt to measure up to these expectations. God gives us ways to cope as we continue on in our life journey.
Some Christians get stuck on the ascent to maturity. Has this ever happened to you? When this happens they often become frustrated and walk away from the call to move closer to Christ. Mike Yaconnelli addresses this situation in his book, “Messy Spirituality”. He writes: "I would like to add two words to our vocabulary of spiritual growth: stuck and unstuck. Most Christians consider being stuck a sign of failure or burnout, an indication that a person isn’t working hard enough on their spiritual life...The hidden assumption is, ’If you are stuck in your spiritual life, you aren’t doing something right, because dedicated Christians should never be stuck.’ Nothing could be more untrue. Actually, getting stuck is the prerequisite to getting unstuck. Getting stuck is a great moment, a summons, a call from within, the glorious music of disaffection and dissatisfaction with our place in life."
As we grow in understanding of the commands of God, we experience deep struggles of the heart, mind and conscience. You see my friends, the more clearly and completely we see God’s holiness and goodness, the more we recognize and grieve over our sinfulness. As I look at my own walk with the Lord I see that no matter how hard I try, or how good my intentions, I just can’t seem to get it A L L right. Even with the best of intentions, like George Thornton, our actions can turn into disasters. Worldly problems and sin keep hanging on to us in our lives. Sin continues to try to infect everything we do and think.
Johnny Cash once recorded an album called American Recordings. On the album cover is a picture of two dogs. One dog is black with a white stripe. The other dog is white with a black stripe. The two dogs are meant to say something about Johnny Cash.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Cash explains what the two dogs mean. Cash says, “Their names are Sin and Redemption. Sin is the black one with the white stripe; Redemption is the white one with the black stripe. That’s kind of the theme of that album, and for me, too. When I was really bad, I was not all bad. When I was trying to be good, I could never be all good. There would be that black streak going through.” No one is all bad. No one is all good. We are all sinners who need to be redeemed. We all need Jesus.
Do you worry about the sin that infects your life? Good! “The Christian depicted in Romans Chapter 7 has a deep awareness of their sin and an equally deep desire to please the Lord in all things. Only a mature Christian could be so characterized” (MacArthur).
My friends, there is a war going on, not only in Iraq and in other parts of our world, but within every human heart. When we receive Christ as our savior we are cleansed from all unrighteousness, but we are not totally spiritual because we live within the flesh that is tempted by sin. John MacArthur writes, “It was not Paul’s conscience that was bothering him because of some unforgiven sin of selfish reluctance to follow the Lord. It was his inner being, recreated in the likeness of Christ and indwelt by His Spirit, which could now see something of the true holiness, goodness, and glory of God’s Law. This new creation sees the glaring contrast to his preconversion self-satisfaction in thinking himself blameless before God’s law. Paul now realized how wretchedly short of God’s perfect law he lived, even as a Spirit-indwelt believer and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
That spirit of humble contrition is a mark of every spiritual disciple of Christ who cries out, “Lord, I can’t be all you want me to be; I am unable to fulfill your perfect, holy, and glorious law.” In great frustration and sorrow the spiritual disciple painfully confesses with Paul, ‘For what I do is not the good I want to do’.” (MacArthur).
Here is an important revelation about our actions and thoughts. It is the choices that we make that determine whether this negative condition of the soul gains momentum like a snow ball rolling downhill or looses its influence like the dying winds of a passing storm. God has given us all the gift of free will. We can choose to resist sin or we can succumb to the temptation to sin and overlook God’s commands. Choosing to resist the temptation of sin honors the great things that our Lord and Master has done for us.
In the movie, “The Lord of the Rings; Two Towers” there is a scene that illustrates the struggle we all have between good and evil. Sméagol is a hobbit that has been transformed into a deformed wrecked creature because of his lust for the ring. In this scene he refers to the ring as his “precious”. He has been obsessed with possession of the ring most of his life, but now the time has come for him to step up to trusting his Master. As Sméagol chooses to resist his selfish desires he soon finds out that they subside and he can overcome them. His desire to honor his master’s love and care for him wins the moment. He celebrates the choice he made. If he had chose against his master it would have just brought him sorrow and pain.
The oppression of guilt always follows sin. However, this pain is sometimes numbed by the repetition of certain sins. After a while we loose our sensitivity to the guilt and suffering our sin causes and we accept it as part of who we are. That is not good. It happens to me and I would guess that it happens to you too.
In a book called All Thumbs Guide to VCR’s which is a repair guide for amateurs, author Gene Williams begins with a warning. He writes: “Getting a jolt form the incoming 120 volts ac (120 Vac) is more that just unpleasant; it can be fatal. Studies have shown that it takes very little current to kill. Even a small amount of current can paralyze your muscles, and you won’t be able to let go. Just a fraction more and your heart muscle can become paralyzed.”
Williams knows that the naïve amateur repairman doesn’t have sufficient respect for the lethal power of electricity. The amateur knows that a shock hurts but he thinks he can always let go of the wire. It is the paralyzing power of even a small amount of electricity that makes it so dangerous. So it is with sin. People dabble with sin because they don’t fear its power to paralyze the muscles of the soul. Then it’s too late. Even when people know a sinful behavior is hurting them and they want to quit, they can’t let go. Sin is never safe!
What hope do we have as we struggle to free ourselves from sin? (Hard pause) I believe that we can not free ourselves on our own. Sin’s deceptive mirage is to strong and crafty for us to avoid alone.
In this life, Christians are somewhat like an unskilled artist who beholds a beautiful scene that he wants to paint. But his lack of talent prevents him from doing the scene justice. The fault is not with the scene, or the canvas, the brushes, or the paint but the painter. That is why we need to ask the master painter, Jesus Christ, to place His hand over ours in order to paint the strokes that, independent of Him, we could never produce. Jesus said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5). The only way we can live victoriously is to walk by Christ’s own Spirit and in His power, in order not to “carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
We need our Master to help us, to lead us, to guide us so that we can rid ourselves of the dead weight of our sin. In the concluding verses of our scripture reading for today Paul cries out in utter anguish and frustration, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
As Paul taught and wrote he would make his points by describing illustrations with visual images of his day. It was reported that near Tarsus, where Paul was born, a certain ancient tribe sentenced convicted murderers to have the one whom they had slain, tightly strapped upon their backs until the convicted murderer became infected by the victims deceased body and consequently succumb to the infection and die. Perhaps Paul had this in mind when he expressed his yearning to be rescued from this body of death.
Paul concludes by declaring his overwhelming appreciation to God by writing: Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!
What does giving thanks to God – through Jesus Christ mean for us today?
Sméagol, the hobbit, showed his appreciation for his master’s care by offering gifts of food and directional assistance so that together they were able to finish their quest. Giving thanks is more than holding thankfulness in your heart. We are to give honor and glory to God by carrying out His desires. To honor Christ is to take care of the poor, feed the hungry, visit the sick and the ones in prison and to provide clothing for those who are in need, to stand with others when they can’t stand alone.
When is the last time you did that?
When is the last time you have received that?
Have you experienced the love of our savior through someone in your life?
We are created in the likeness of God. Our words can be powerful, they can heal and mend and create wonderful things. I would like to ask you to join me this Thanksgiving in giving words of thanks to one person who has stood with you in the past. You will find thank you cards at the exit doors as you leave the sanctuary today. Would you take one of those cards and write it to the person who has stood with you in your times of need? Your in encouragement will create something wonderful this holiday season.
When we fall short of doing all we hope to do for God, and when we wage war day after day to be obedient, and even when our actions that possess good intentions blow destructive blubber into the air, we can rest in the assurance that when all is said and done Jesus has come to save us from sin and death and ourselves. We can live each day giving thanks to God, even in the mourning, suffering, trials and mistakes, for and through Jesus Christ or Lord.
Beginning in the next Chapter Paul writes; “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
Praise be to God! Amen.
