Ripe for the Harvest

More than two years ago, a series of tsunamis struck the shore of the Indian Ocean, and claimed 200,000+ lives in one day. In other posts I refer to this event, because it acted as a sort of catalyst in my life. The day it happened, I went to work and heard the news from my coworkers, who were completely unaffected. They expressed no greif or remorse for the dead, and were uniformly concerned with going about their business. I felt shaken to my very core with the weight of that news. And thought how strange the detachment of those around me was. I remembered September 11th 2001, and how devistating the news of that day was for me. As it happened, those I was with at school were appropriately frozen in their horror, paying complete attention to the events as they unfolded on live television. There was a solemn weight that fell upon my classmates and I during that time. But a few hours later, business as usual started to set back in. People began to put it out of their minds, they began to detach from the suffering, and even make a nervous joke or two. In my afternoon class, someone was even celebrating a birthday. I sat in silence in the corner, and when someone came over and asked me why I looked so sad, at 1:15pm, on September 11th 2001, I got up and left school for the day.

It's not natural for people to be as detached from the suffering of others as most of us are. Jesus said that in the last days the love of many will have grown cold. Apathy is the numbing sensation that comes before the death of a soul. And don't get me wrong, Christians are just as guilty of apathy as any heathen could be. We are called to love one another. We are called to uplift one another. We are called to make peace, to overcome the world as Christ did before us, and to be willing to sacrifice our very lives for the sake of Christ.

That is a very courageous, kinetic and responsible calling for us to claim as Christians, and yet there are millions of Christians who think that they are called to sit back, wait and watch while the world goes to hell because they've got a first-class ticket to heaven before the real fireworks begin.

The seed that has produced that bad fruit of apathy within the church is called "Pre-tribulation rapture", which says that God's people will not have to suffer through the great tribulation, but will instead be whisked away, alive and well, into the clouds with Christ, free from harm and trial.

Let's take a look at what scripture has to say about that:

Revelation 6:9-11

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

That passage takes place in Revelation

• after all four horsemen of the apocalypse have ridden out,
  
• well into the tribulation period,
  
• and is concerning the dead in Christ (not the living)

Also, even then the dead in Christ are told to wait a little longer before judgment!! Why?
we'll get to that in a moment.

This fundamentalist rapture doctrine has been capitalized on by many, most recently by Tim Lehey in his "Left Behind" series. Christians love the rapture, because it's the easy way out. It persuades believers to hold on to their church, forget about being the light of the world, basically to abandon their posts as Christian soldiers. It soothes and assures them that they will not taste of death, It encourages the sheep to settle for condemning and decrying the failures of this world from a safe and comfortable distance, on a perch of self-righteousness. For they believe the Lord himself will swoop them up and out of this world free from harm, giving them front row seats upon a cloud, so they may bear witness to his wrath being poured upon a wicked planet...that's just selfish, wishful thinking. Christ gave his life and spilled his blood for us, so we belong to God now, and He has a different plan for us. A better plan:

Matt 13:23-30, 36-43

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field. But while people were asleep, his enemy planted weeds in the wheat field and went away. When the wheat came up and formed kernels, weeds appeared. "The owner's workers came to him and asked, 'Sir, didn't you plant good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?' "He told them, 'An enemy did this.' "His workers asked him, 'Do you want us to pull out the weeds?' "He replied, 'No. If you pull out the weeds, you may pull out the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. When the grain is cut, I will tell the workers to gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned. But I'll have them bring the wheat into my barn.

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Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

What does that parable tell us?

1. The wicked will be gathered out first
2. after they are "taken" the righteous will be left to "shine as the sun"
   
3. We cannot draw ourselves out from the world by our own power, and we cannot root out the evil from this world. To attempt that would be a sin. (Sorry, pro-war christians)
   
4. God, who is Love, hears us as we cry out to Him, and is very much aware of our pain, the oppression of our spirits; the way that we are entangled with and choked by the roots of these weeds.
5. But he has not proclaimed the day of judgement yet because we are not yet ripe

So....what does it mean to be "ripe"? Should we drop what we are doing and begin shouting from the rooftops a decree of condemnation? Perhaps begin by preaching on the street corner "Repent! The Kingdom of God is at Hand!" If we act as if we were ripe, would that make us ripe? Or should we simply drop out of society, lock ourselves in a closet, our rooms, or in a church and pray fervently for the swift return of an avenging Christ?

Though this world is dark and wicked we must have faith that God can and will use the circumstances of our place in life to shed his light, further his glory, and to refine and perfect us in the image of Christ. There is no escape from the tribulation of this planet. There will be no easy way out of this world. No rapture for us, no escape from the fire. To get through the narrow road of Glory, we must pass through the fire. we must be eager to do good, and to suffer on behalf of righteousness. We must also be faithful in that which is least, so that we can be entrusted with more. We must not quickly seat ourselves in the place of honor among our peers, but rather be ready to humble ourselves, so that we then may be honored. Only then shall we "shine as the sun"

(1 Peter)

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler....For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Our time on this planet, then, is an opportunity to invest of our selves. Every choice, every moment we can choose to act in love, and therefore aspire to become proper representatives of Christ, growing closer to his likeness, and faithfully building the foundation of our renewed lives on the amazing grace that we have received. My friends, the one and only hope we have is in truly believing that God knows all have sinned and fallen short of his standard, but yet despite our shortcomings he loves us. "For God demonstrates his own love for us in this: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" What tremendous Love! God knows us better than we know ourselves. He is not fooled by our failures, or shortcomings. He knows we are incapable of reaching the purity that is required of us without help. But he has given us his help already. It takes humility to acknowledge our imperfections; courage to work towards the transformation we are offered; faith to believe that it is possible for us to journey from this present darkness, to the light of God's love and truth. But by taking these steps, any one of us will realize the real power of the blood of Christ. Conversely, by hiding under grace as if it were an insurance policy that covers personal recklessness, willfulness, rebellion to righteousness and lack of repentance, we fool only ourselves into believing that we have faith. True faith always leaves a significant impact in the life of the believer. You can't love Jesus without obeying his commands.

By understanding the wickedness of our own innate selves, and God's love and forgiveness for us, we should gratefully and willingly offer forgiveness to others as well. (See the parable of the Unforgiving Servant) We shouldn't be quick to tear down your brothers, sisters and neighbors for breaking the law (as all people have done, do, and will continue to). We should uplift one another, and rebuke to correct, not to condemn. The law is the condemnation of all, but the spirit is the source of all life and liberty. We are saved by spirit, so if we condemn by law, our salvation is nullified. For, "If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker....Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law."

That means out with the old, and in with the new! "Do not conform to the patterns of this world" (which include fear, personal ambition, pride, instant gratification, self-preservation, rebellion against authority, and an aversion to appearing foolish) "But be transformed by the renewing of your mind!!"

The sooner we realize that all goodness within us is by the grace of God, the brighter and more consistently we will shine, and the quicker we will ripen. Spiritual elitism is the antithesis of holiness. Do not be like the fundamentalists who are afraid to stain their own robes of self-proclaimed righteousness, those who are not willing to "associate with sinners", who abstain from most outside interaction, and wall themselves off from this "wicked world" as though it were habitated by lepors. The truth is that we are all diseased and damned by the judgement of God's law. A.W. Tozier said that even the holiest of apostles is still an unprofitable servant, saved and sustained by the grace of God. Some people think that if they can somehow stay untouched by the dirt of our shared human condition that they will be seen as worthy of God's grace. But Grace is a gift offered to all those who believe they can receive it freely. It is always a testement to God's love, never to our worth. For "there are none worthy, no not one" and to consider that we could be good enough to hold claim to grace is to dismiss the power and the price of Christ's own blood. We can never overcome sin by our own effort, and we can never conqour sin by hiding from this sin-infested world.

In the early days of the church a fierce debate ensued between Jewish and Gentile believers. Jewish believers had a sense of superiority and entitlement to God's grace (being his chosen people), and they were put off by the idea that "unclean" people could also share in the blessing of redemption bought with the blood of Christ. The jews had been entrusted with the law, and even though they were no longer under law when they became baptised in Christ, they still felt compelled to uphold the traditions of that law, at least in part. The apostle Paul actually rebuked Peter for that behavior (Galations 2:11-21)

...we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified

Nowadays we have many examples of the same exact "in the world but not associated with it" mindset that the Jewish believers had. For instance, the abundance of private christian schools and Universities, segregating children of good Christian Americans from the rest of our nation's children. It is true that churches across the nation have regular times of fellowship, amongst themselves (which is necessary). However, where can the unbeliever bear witness to members of this vast network of "christians" stepping out into the every-day world and uplifting Christ by the example of their transformed lives?

What we do bear witness to is a massive political mobilization within the church for high-profile causes like keeping the ten commandments in American courthouses, boycotting Disney for their support of gays and lesbians, working adamantly in many ways at increasing morality into the realm of American law. Last year we had an explosive campaign of Christians mobilized to intervene on behalf of Terri Shaivo, and yet I am willing to bet money that less than ten percent of the protestors who showed up for that event ever visit the sick, go to nursing homes or orphanages to give of their time; to care and give warmth to some of the many many people who are able to accept and respond to love and human contact. It is by our Love for Christ, and for our neighbors that we will be known. It is in learning and clinging on to that Love that we will be "transformed by the renewing of our minds". And it is that distinction of heart, that will determine our allegiance on the day of judgement.

Remember, no one knows the day or the hour of judgement. Not even the Son, only the Father. And so we should live each day as though it were the last, and strive daily to venture further into the grace and wonder of our wonderful new identity in Christ. Let your light shine. Not the light of your knowledge, or the burning heat of condemnation, but let the light of your Love in Christ. Let it shine, shine, shine! For the light of truth and the grace that covers us is needed now more than ever. We are living in a significant time, surrounded by false prophecy and an intolerant, unloving portrayal of Christ (Jim Phelp's "God Hates America" campaign, for instance, and his advice that it's "too late to pray").

God will judge us all according to our actions. Rest assured of that. All those who say "Lord Lord" but do not obey God's commands will be turned away at the gate. And they will weep, gnash their teeth, and suffer for eternity. But as for you, fellow travellor, for anyone who has ears to hear this, I implore you: Love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself.