“Let thy child’s first lesson be obedience, and the second will be what thou wilt.” -Benjamin Franklin

The principle is simple: teach a child how to listen and obey authority, and once this lesson is learned, the parent is free to move forward with more advanced lessons.

A parallel with God

We ought to see how it is with earthly children, and recognize that it is the same way with ourselves as children of God. Our Heavenly Father is trying to teach us to trust and obey Him, and from there move on to many other exciting things that are in His will. Yet it is crucial that we learn obedience: for it is the key to usefulness in the Christian life.

So often we are looking ahead—at all the plans and possible callings that God may have for us in the future—and yet we are failing at the most basic tests and proofs of obedience. God is looking at our everyday life, and our private conduct, and judging and weighing the actions and attitudes of our heart for obedience. If we cannot even follow the simplest and most straightforward of commands—such as “love thy neighbor as thyself”—then how can we ever expect God to entrust us with even greater callings?

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” -Luke 16:10-11

“Men hate those to whom they have to lie.” -Victor Hugo

If men hate those to whom they have to lie, then who in this sinful world would be more hated than God? For man’s deeds are so often evil that in order to save face he must hide what he has done, both from his own conscience, and from God.

“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” -John 3:19-20

Yet the Bible tells us that to be at peace with God, and to be at peace with ourselves, we ought to both confess our own wrongdoings, and turn from them. In so doing, we have no need to be deceptive before God, and we are able to keep things honest; and it is in this honesty that love can flourish.

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” -Proverbs 28:13

“Great souls suffer in silence.” -Friedrich Schiller

That is to say, those who are noble or virtuous do not complain or grumble about their sufferings, but suffer in silence. Yea, many times perhaps we may never even see or be aware of the suffering that happens inwardly on some people.

Solomon also said similar things:

“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.” -Proverbs 29:11

“A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame.” -Proverbs 12:16

And perhaps the greatest example we have of silent suffering is in the person of Jesus Christ. Who, when He was condemned to death, did not speak a word against the ordeal, but endured it as a truly “great soul.”

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” -Isaiah 53:7

“Oblivion is the rule, and fame the exception, of humanity.” -Antoine de Rivarol

In general, we think that because we are great at the present moment, we will continue to be considered great throughout all time. We are short-sighted, and don’t consider the layers of leveled kingdoms, and forgotten empires that have been washed away by the seas of time. In nearly all instances, no matter how great or noble we think we may be, after our earthly passing, all will pass away and be forgotten, and our earthly memorial will go into oblivion.

And in the Bible, even king Solomon recognized this, and was not ignorant of the futility of his work. Such things weighed heavily upon his mind, and he wrote of his despair when considering such poor prospects:

“For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool. Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.” -Ecclesiastes 2:16-19

But Scripture also teaches of a way that we can be preserved forever—though not for our own glory or fame, but for God’s. For in looking at the ever-changing conditions on planet earth, with its ever-shifting kingdoms and powers, and its bloody revolutions and wars, we can sometimes overlook one thing that is changeless and perfect: God.

Only the One who has created all things, and has existed before the beginning of all things—yea, created the very concept of a beginning, and an end—only the everlasting God can be truly changeless.

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” -Psalm 90:2-4

Yet through the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have offered to us everlasting life, salvation, and the privilege to spend eternity with God—the unchangeable One—in heaven with Him. It was for this very purpose that man was created, that we might be a pleasure unto God for all time. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

We need but to relinquish our current life, our selfish ambitions, and lay them at the foot of the cross, and looking with hope and faith unto God, come into the golden glory of a life everlasting, lived forever unto the glory of God.

“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” -Daniel 12:2-3

I thought it fitting to quote some excerpts from Martin Luther’s letter “Concerning Christian Liberty,” which has been translated from the original German into English. Luther has done such an amazing job of describing redemption, and the exchanged life with Christ in marvelous language, that it bears repeating some 500 years after the fact.

Concerning Christ as husband to His church:

In this is displayed the delightful sight, not only of communion, but of a prosperous warfare, of victory, salvation, and redemption. For, since Christ is God and man, and is such a Person as neither has sinned, nor dies, nor is condemned, nay, cannot sin, die, or be condemned, and since His righteousness, life, and salvation are invincible, eternal, and almighty,—when I say, such a Person, by the wedding-ring of faith, takes a share in the sins, death, and hell of His wife, nay, makes them His own, and deals with them no otherwise than as if they were His, and as if He Himself had sinned; and when He suffers, dies, and descends to hell, that He may overcome all things, and since sin, death, and hell cannot swallow Him up, they must needs be swallowed up by Him in stupendous conflict. For His righteousness rises above the sins of all men; His life is more powerful than all death; His salvation is more unconquerable than all hell.

Thus the believing soul, by the pledge of its faith in Christ, becomes free from all sin, fearless of death, safe from hell, and endowed with the eternal righteousness, life, and salvation of its Husband Christ. Thus He presents to Himself a glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word; that is, by faith in the word of life, righteousness, and salvation. Thus He betrothes her unto Himself “in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies” (Hosea ii. 19, 20).

Who then can value highly enough these royal nuptials? Who can comprehend the riches of the glory of this grace? Christ, that rich and pious Husband, takes as a wife a needy and impious harlot, redeeming her from all her evils and supplying her with all His good things. It is impossible now that her sins should destroy her, since they have been laid upon Christ and swallowed up in Him, and since she has in her Husband Christ a righteousness which she may claim as her own, and which she can set up with confidence against all her sins, against death and hell, saying, “If I have sinned, my Christ, in whom I believe, has not sinned; all mine is His, and all His is mine,” as it is written, “My beloved is mine, and I am His” (Cant. ii. 16). This is what Paul says: “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” victory over sin and death, as he says, “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor. xv. 56, 57).

And concerning the various religions of only “good works,” which has ensnared many in false religions, Luther compares it to a formidable beast, a leviathan:

Now this leviathan, this perverted notion about works, is invincible when sincere faith is wanting. For those sanctified doers of works cannot but hold it till faith, which destroys it, comes and reigns in the heart. Nature cannot expel it by her own power; nay, cannot even see it for what it is, but considers it as a most holy will. And when custom steps in besides, and strengthens this pravity of nature, as has happened by means of impious teachers, then the evil is incurable, and leads astray multitudes to irreparable ruin. Therefore, though it is good to preach and write about penitence, confession, and satisfaction, yet if we stop there, and do not go on to teach faith, such teaching is without doubt deceitful and devilish. For Christ, speaking by His servant John, not only said, “Repent ye,” but added, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. iii. 2).

For not one word of God only, but both, should be preached; new and old things should be brought out of the treasury, as well the voice of the law as the word of grace. The voice of the law should be brought forward, that men may be terrified and brought to a knowledge of their sins, and thence be converted to penitence and to a better manner of life. But we must not stop here; that would be to wound only and not to bind up, to strike and not to heal, to kill and not to make alive, to bring down to hell and not to bring back, to humble and not to exalt. Therefore the word of grace and of the promised remission of sin must also be preached, in order to teach and set up faith, since without that word contrition, penitence, and all other duties, are performed and taught in vain.

You can read the full text of this work here.

“The judge is condemned, when the criminal is acquitted.” -Publilius Syrus

The quote above describes perfectly why it was necessary for God to send His Son to earth to make a payment for man’s sins. God is perfectly just, and if He were to simply let off the worst of sinners, and allow everyone open passage into heaven, His lack of justice would mar His character. “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:15).

Since we all have sin, we all are undeserving of God’s communion and fellowship, and fall short of heaven. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And taking this one step further, because God is just, He must punish this sin: to do otherwise would deny His nature, and be abominable.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” -Romans 6:23

Notice that the first part of the verse above describes God’s justice, (the wages of sin is death), and the second part describes His mercy, (the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord). In order for God to be merciful to us, He still must have His justice satisfied in some way, or rather, in some one: that person is Jesus Christ.

In God’s innocent and sinless Son, God poured out His wrath and punishments for sin upon Jesus Christ, and in so doing, satisfied the demands for justice, and yet made a way for all people to be reconciled to God through mercy.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” -Isaiah 53:4-6

“Entertainment is the devil’s substitute for joy.” -Leonard Ravenhill

Consider the passing “happiness” that entertainment imparts: it is only for a brief moment, and has no personal bearing on your own life.

Now consider joy, as only God can give: it is lasting, and endures through hardships, and has a direct and personal bearing upon one’s life.

Entertainment is to be merely tickled: a superficial smile and laugh may overcome us for a time, but it is not from within.

Joy is from God, and wells up from within. If we know that we are the children of God, then nothing can remove or uproot this truth from our hearts. We are joyful because of our identity in Jesus Christ.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” -Romans 8:14-18