T H E O P H I L U S

²⁵ I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
²⁶ And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
²⁷ I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
²⁸ “If you say, ‘How we will hound him,
since the root of the trouble lies in him,’
²⁹ you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,
and then you will know that there is judgment.”

Last summer I had the privilege of spending time teaching English to children in Saint Marc, Haiti with a team of college students from our church. Amongst the class of eight year old children that I taught was one boy named Marco. He was a loud and slightly rowdy kid who always seemed to look for attention. And although he seemed witty enough to make all his classmates laugh, he persistently cheated for every single assignment and test for the first few days. I held him behind after class and spoke with him and asked him why he insisted on cheating. Embarrassed, he shyly replied in Creole, “paske mwen pa kapab fè li otreman” , meaning, “Because I can’t do it otherwise.” There was a deep fear of being perceived as incompetent and failing. The test scores meant more to him than his learning. This was not just the one boy, but it turned out most of the class had been cheating just as he did. So for the next two weeks I tried to find baby steps for them to learn simple words, and put two words side by side, and then three, and so on until they could assemble small phrases. You could see the smiles on their faces when they got it right – when they discovered they were capable. It was at the end of these two weeks that the boy Marco approached me saying “Thank you my teacher, Pastor James.” I was very taken aback by his gratitude. It was merely two weeks, but I had a sense that instilling even the slightest faith and encouragement in them went a long way. A little redemption would break their fears of failure and that somehow it taught them that it wasn’t so hard after all.

As I reflect on such a memory, we can think about how God is also seeking to redeem us and work his will out in our lives. To break not only our deepest of sins, but also to shape us in the midst of our most difficult and troubling moments. His redemptive plan is constantly being worked out in our lives.

When times are at its worst with us, God is always at His best.

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
– Psalm 18:2

Amos speaks as he does in chapters 17 and 19 to his friends and is insulted by their insinuating suggestion that he was a hypocrite, and so is the reason for his misfortune. He feels that way because he believes God is so much more than just an Angry being. Amos believed in God’s great plan for redemption. A God who not only forgives, but has a plan that much exceeds what we have here on earth. He was certainly assured of God’s redemption of his life after it was all over. But what he does cry to God for is that he would see justice before he passes away for all the wrong done to him and his family.

Amos had no idea of the dialogue between God and Satan that took place before all the tragedy. But there is one thing that Amos gets right in this passage. God is truly on his side, and he truly believes there will be redemption for him. The enemy did not stand a chance against God. He recalls and remembers all the promises of old. He reminds himself that God is not dead, but is alive and hearing his pleas. Hence he states in verse 25 he states: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.”

Long for God more than Justice itself. God is our Justice.

No matter how weak we are, and no matter how much we have lost in our lives, God’s plan for salvation and redemption still stand true for both you and I. This does not change. His plan of salvation never fails for those who trust and follow Him. To remember this and to walk in this truth means to trust in His plan. Too often we want to see his plan work out immediately or in our own way. Our relationship is merely a hotline for what we want or need or so hotly desire for the sake of our satisfaction. But when all is lost and taken away from us; when all of what we expected of life has failed or disappointed us, long for God more than justice itself. Long to meet him, to see his face. For it is not the important matter of when or how God will bring justice and redemption, but rather believing and trusting that he certainly will. God is our justice, and he never contradicts himself.

Christ not only died for us on the cross so that our sins would be forgiven. But he rose again from the dead so that we would be redeemed. Even then, when we could have called that the greatest story and called it an ending, he did not die again but rose to heaven as a sign of eternal life for us. His story is still being written. His redemptive work is still in progress. Therefore remember that even when we feel everything is lost, he has yet to begin his work in us.

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.
– Isaiah 30:18

Photo by: Lukas Budimaier, https://unsplash.com/lukasbudimaier