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I am a sinful man, O Lord

There is a much-beloved poem that ends with the lines:

‘Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.’

Francis Thompson’s The Hound of Heaven is one of the best poems to describe the pursuit of God on those who are running from the one thing they need, salvation through Christ. While studying in Luke, the story of Peter and the big-ol-catch-of-fish (your subheading may differ) came up. Immediately this poem came to remembrance. In the short passage of Luke, Peter sees who Jesus is, tries to “run”, and is called back to trust and follow Christ. Here is the poem if you haven’t read/heard it:

8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 5:8–10). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The words of Simon Peter, “I am a sinful man, O Lord”, are the words of a person who understands the true condition of their soul. “Depart from me” are the words of a person who understands the pure holiness of Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Religious leaders encountered Jesus, and when their sinfulness was exposed, the sought to kill Jesus by throwing Him off of a cliff. When a demon encountered Jesus, it scoffed at Him knowing that the two could not be in the same place, that evil and holiness could not occupy the same space. And then there is Peter, who, for the first time, understand his sin, his unholiness. Peter realizes that Jesus is different from the other Rabbis of the day. Jesus is God, He is holy in a way that only God could be holy, and this is what causes Peter to tell Jesus to go.

And then there are the words of Jesus, “Do not be afraid”. The reason to fear was that sinfulness in light of holiness equals death. The religious leaders knew that it was either them or Jesus. The demon knew that its fate was hell. Peter had every right to be afraid. He was a sinner. What Jesus did for Peter here is what He does to all of His children. He called Peter, told him not to be afraid, and then gave him a new purpose in life.

Jesus called Peter to change his life, not merely physically, but spiritually. This is what God does. He pursues. He calls. He tells us not to be afraid. He gives us a new purpose in life, one of service to Him. We may continue in our professions, but we continue as servants to Christ. We may even be called to a new vocation, still with the purpose of serving Christ. We saved from our sin. We are freed from the fear of death. We are tasked with proclaiming good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, sight to the blind, and liberty to the oppressed. This is our purpose. May we finish in faith.

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Their Will

He released the man who had been thrown into prison  for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked,  but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

-Luke 23: 25

As we reflect on the life of Christ in more depth this Passion Week, we are reminded of what Christ Jesus came to do. He came to do the will of His Father. Even though the people in the gospel of Luke witnessed first hand all the miraculous things Jesus did, they still refused to accept Him as the Son of God. Their intentions in crucifying Jesus were based on their false expectations on who Jesus should have been. Their will to have Jesus killed clashed so strongly against that of even the most Gentile leaders because Jesus was not who they wanted Him to be. In our circumstances of oppression, hurt, anger, resentment, doubt, guilt, confusion, sadness, etc., it can be nearly impossible for us to see Jesus for who He is and not what we think He should be. The offer of life eternal is sometimes overwhelming in light of our present day reality and circumstances.

Part of finishing in faith is living daily with the gospel in the front of our minds. We finish in faith when we live God’s will and not our own. When we can say that we are giving ourselves over to Christ instead of ourselves, we are finishing in faith. So let’s do it. Let us continue to finish. Let us die to self and give ourselves over to Christ Jesus, knowing that it is He whom we should serve.

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Hold Fast

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
Hebrews 10:23

Let’s kick this off with this verse from Hebrews. The verse is well known for the second part where we are reminded that “he who promised is faithful”. It is comforting to know that God is faithful towards us. The first half of this verse is the impetus for starting this journal.

We are called to hold fast to the confession of our hope. But just what is the confession of our hope? Or for that matter, what is our hope? Salvation through the redemptive life and death of Jesus Christ should be our hope. Our confession of that should be something that is reflected in our daily living, where we are reminding ourselves of our continual need for salvation. It isn’t that we are working for our salvation, as some have misinterpreted scripture, but rather, having a faith that is lived out by holding fast to our confession. Reminding ourselves to hold fast to our faith is a reminder of our humble state in salvation.

And then there is the first part of the verse, “hold fast”. So let’s do it. Let’s wake up and go to sleep, fighting to hold fast in faith. When life comes to rip the hope out of our hands, hold fast. When circumstances challenge us to question what hope is, hold fast.