Immovable

The contradictions surrounding the identity of Jesus were nothing strange.

The ringing of changes has brought confusion and adjustment to all new dispensations.

When America moved beyond the articles of confederation into a constitutional dispensation, things started off well and so full of promise.

Yet, within a few decades the constitution faced its fiercest trial as brother turned against brother and civil war tore the nation apart.

It was a confusing contradiction of the brightest aspirations of the constitution.

It seems that nations need to make a shift from idealism to realism, before something like a constitution can gain real traction in the society that it defines.

The French faced some agonizing challenges as they moved towards democracy, with the king clinging to the status quo, whilst condescending to the people.

The English Civil War saw similar tensions between royalists and parliamentarians, but Cromwell’s excesses further undermined the gains and revived the royalists after his death.  

When biblical Israel cast off the shackles of slavery and emerged from Egypt, they came to rely on a daily provision of God, called manna, meaning “what is it?”

Men handled the Bread of Life in the same way. Speculating about who He was consigned Jesus to another “what is it?” or should I say, “who is this?”

Jesus slept as the storms raged around Him, but when He calmed the winds and waves they said, “what manner of man is this?”

Once Israel entered the promised land and started to enjoy the fruits of freedom, they stumbled through another brother-to-brother breakdown.

Over the next 200 years they faced many ups and downs, before opting for a monarchy. Instability reigned again, leading to a civil war and secession of the northern tribes.

The kings slowly led them all to ruin. All the ideals that drove them across the river into the Promised Land, reduced to a whimper as they stumbled into exile.

Only after a total breakdown did they get what they had, enough to fight for their inheritance and their place in the greater plan of God.

My own nation lays claim to the most progressive constitution in the world, but its leaders reflect the child-like naivety of a nation with little idea of what they actually have.

Yet, as it faces trial after trial, its constitution is gaining stature.

The ruling elite believe they will be around until Jesus returns and that they have a divine right to rule, in defiance of the constitutional.

It is foolish, yet in many ways, to be expected.

We have a lot of growing up to do. Yet, as we do, the political toddlers of today will fade away, but the constitution, having been tried by fire, will outlast us all.

That is because a constitution is supposed to be enduring and was meant to rise above us all. That is the critical assumption of all constitutional law. Indeed, if it doesn’t endure, it was never worth much at all – it has to be tried by fire to prove its worth.

Christianity entered a covenantal dispensation when Jesus defeated sin and displaced the works of the law with the outworking of grace.  

For centuries it was another “what is it?” The great hymn describes our dilemma so well, “… by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed”. That describes the struggle of every generation that has wrestled with what it is we have and how to live in it.

“Who is this Jesus?”

The hymnist’s answer is, “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. She is His new creation, by water and the word. From heaven He came and sought her, to be His holy bride, and with His blood He bought her and for her life He died”.

Jesus is often ‘what is it’ manna, because we have unrealistic expectations of a knight in shining armor and the belief that He’ll get us home by Christmas.

The right answer to our speculations is that He is the light that clarifies our confusions and brings perspective to our struggles, until we rise above it all.

Its tough talk this, but real. We feel so urgently that God should intervene and show His hand, but sadly, for most of us, there is no quick way out.

Joseph in prison, Abraham in his desert, Jacob in his hell or Moses in his wilderness, all battled to come to terms with it all, expecting God to show up and end it.

They reached the turning point when they came to terms with who He is.

Thus Jacob returned to Bethel. Moses found his burning bush. Abraham reached his hilltop and Joseph left his prison.

Yet Moses grasped the essence of it all when he asked God, “who shall I say sent me?” and God replied, “I am who I am”.

Job wrestled for 39 chapters to reach a similar conclusion.

The key to our door, the way out of our dilemmas, lies in accepting, with deep faith, that no matter how things seem, “He is, who He is”. That is the datum line of sound reason and principle and the point of departure for a real world faith.

Solomon said it well: "The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom".

A society that builds on the foundation of a sound constitution, will endure. Every life that, having plumbed the depths to reach the bedrock of our faith, will also find that a life anchored in that rock, will never be moved.  

(c) Peter Missing: bethelstone@gmail.com