For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed — a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
Martin Luther writes: “Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that “the just shall live by his faith.” Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise.”
“In the monastery Luther had come to the end of himself. He had despaired of salvation by his own hand. But by the grace of God he did not give up his longing and his hope. He directed his attention to the one place he hoped to find help — the Bible… God prepared Luther to see the true meaning of Christ and accept it, by stirring up a deep and powerful longing in his heart for consolation and redemption that could come only from Christ.
And this is what God does again and again. He may be doing it for you this Advent season — graciously and tenderly frustrating you with life that is not centered on Christ and filling you with longings and desires that can’t find their satisfaction in what this world offers, but only in the God-man. What a Christmas gift that would be! Let all your frustrations with this world throw you onto the Word of God. It will become sweet — like walking into paradise.”
John Piper in The Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014) 58-59.
I’ve been working diligently to get a number of projects completed by today as my wife and I are flying to Sydney, Australia this evening to serve Christian Super, CMASC, and CMA Australia. We’ve have a full schedule and will be down under from 6-18 December 2017.
Consequently, a few times in the last week I have been both frustrated and filled. I’ve been frustrated with circumstances that have hindered progress on my work. After pondering the situation and the need for faith in every corner of everyday life, I’ve been driven back to the Word and filled. God drove me to Luke 10:38-42.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Often, like Martha, I try to do too much. I can be “distracted by all the preparations” as Luke put it. For example, I agreed to lecture at Colorado Christian University today only hours before departing for the airport. That may not have been the best idea when they gave me four date options! Perhaps you can relate.
Pause to ponder with me. Do this to receive a generous Christmas gift from God. Abandon the frustration of trying to do too much. Instead, sit at the feet of Jesus in the Word of God like Mary and be filled. Find life and peace that Luther discovered 500 years ago, and that I discovered this week. It awaits you this Advent.