Prophet
Jeremiah
"The noose is drawn tighter and
more painfully, reminding Jeremiah that he is a prisoner. He is a prisoner and
he has to follow. His path is prescribed. It is the path of the man whom God
will not let go, who will never be rid of God.... This path will lead right
down into the deepest situation of human powerlessness. The follower becomes a
laughingstock, scorned and taken for a fool.... That is exactly what became of
this man Jeremiah, because he could not get away from God."
These were the words of Dietrich
Bonhoeffer in a sermon he presented. Many who are familiar with the life of
Bonhoeffer will recognize the resonance these words held with him in
particular. But indeed, do they not ring true with all who follow Christ?
We were in a foreign kingdom,
serving a foreign king, and happy to be doing so. We rejoiced in our depravity,
in our debauchery, we found solace in feeding the hedonistic urges of our
flesh. We had no idea of the existence of another kingdom until the King was in
the throne room, His foot on our master's throat. We were taken captive by Him,
and led behind His chariot.
For some of us, the path started off
easily. A wide road and well-trodden, we indeed were servants, but glad to be
so. The chains that united us with our King chafed us occasionally, but we
adjusted how we walked and were made stronger for it. The sun shone brightly,
the air fresh and clear, and the earth was kind.
But all of us have descended into
valleys of despair. These valleys may be the persecution of the world, the
death of a loved one, or the feeling of powerlessness to change a situation. We
feel our feet begin to slip as the cool, green earth turns suddenly to warm
mud, and the stench of a bog reaches our noses. The chariot rolls on, seemingly
floating on it's broad wheels, but we stumble and slip. The chains bite into
our flesh as we struggle for days, feeling the burning pains of exhaustion in
our legs. We slip and are dragged, our faces in the filth, dirt, and mud. We
feel as if we are drowning. When we catch our breaths, our voices cry out in
complaint.
The decision is made inside our
minds. We will escape. We will leave this King and live on our own. We will be
our own sovereign, and be enslaved no more. At this thought, however, our heart
is shattered and weakness overcomes us. We cannot leave this King, He is ours,
and He has made us His. We are hurt by the chains, but would rather endure this
journey than return to the posh court we have left. We have been changed by
this Lord, and He holds us, not only as prisoners, but as His friends.
The darkness, the clouds, the smell,
they can continue for days, weeks, months, and years. We are enduring, not because
we chose this path, but because this is the path He has chosen for us. The pain
does not subside, but continues with every step. With every beat of our heart,
we are in agony, yet we are not destroyed. We are inflamed, but not decimated.
We are enduring. Our voices are hoarse from crying out, but we will not desert
the chariot.
Soon, we will ascend. Out of the pit
into the consummate kingdom, where we will serve the king in freedom forever.
It will be better, more joyful, and more brilliant than we ever could have imagined, and the wounds from the
valley will be treated by the hands of the King Himself. Then, there, if we
still do not understand, He will remember our complaints, and we will ask him
again, why?
He will answer by showing the scars
on His own hands and feet, showing He walked the path before us. We will
realize that it is through many trials we must enter the Kingdom of God. In our
shame for the petulance of our questions, we will bow our heads and we will
realize what the chariot did. While we had to walk through that dark land, it
was not dragging us, but it was holding us. With our hands fastened to our
Lord, we would not be lost, we would not stumble without regaining our feet,
and we would persevere until the very end.
"May he at
the last bind us to His triumphal carriage so that, although in bonds
oppressed, we may participate in His victory!"*
*Both Bonhoeffer
quotes are from the book Bonhoeffer:
Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric
Metaxas
thanks for writing this.
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