It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord. ~Proverbs 19:2-3
I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled with the measure of all the fullness of God. ~Ephesians 3:16-19
This proverb always reminds me of a funny incident that took place back when we lived in Maine. The Appalachian Trail ends in Maine. For those of you who may not know, the Appalachian Trail is a walking trail from Georgia to Maine that mostly runs through the Appalachian mountain range, designed to go from peak to peak as much as possible. It can take anywhere from three to six months to complete, depending on your physical condition and how often you stop along the way to restock supplies.
The trail tries to avoid populated areas. This is especially true for the last hundred miles at the north end, in Maine, known as, “The Hundred Mile Wilderness.” At the beginning point of that section, there is a billboard sized park trail sign full of warnings. Hikers are advised that this is their last chance to stock up, because, they are warned, on this last leg of their journey, they will not have access to civilization again until they are done. There is no way to get off the trail and find a store.
Well…that’s really not quite true. One of the members of my church in Maine had actually grown up near the trail and he knew of woods roads, logging roads and 2 tracks, little local secrets, that make the hundred miles wilderness accessible by car. “Through hikers” as they are called, don’t have a car. It’s still too far to walk to a store. So those routes are not marked on the trail, and not mentioned in the trail guide books. Thus, through hikers, with their huge 60 lb. back packs would stare at us and our little lunch packs and think we’re crazy for being out there so unprepared. (Who’s crazy? They carried all that for some 2000 miles!)
Every Summer, Dan and I would knock off about eight to ten miles of the trail, as day hikers, thanks to Dan’s knowledge. One summer, Dan wanted to do about a six-mile hike that was pretty flat, comparatively speaking. We decided to bring our families along for the day. When we arrived at the spot, our family struck out on what looked like the right way. We were exuberant. It was a great day, no clouds, warm, but not too hot.
We started hiking and then Dan called out, “I think that’s the wrong path!” He was right. Sheepishly, we walked back to the beginning of the path and followed Dan this time. I think that this proverb flitted through our minds even then. “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.” For a more serious example of this proverb, we need look no further than Paul.
Paul was certainly zealous. If you are willing to kill for your religion, as Paul demonstrated that he was, he is someone who takes his beliefs very seriously, yet, he was wrong. It took Jesus, acting like our friend Dan, to stop Paul and set him on the correct path.
Our little mishap of an adventure on the trail, was really just something to laugh about. Unfortunately, there are many experiences and decisions in life, such as in Paul’s case, that aren’t remedied so easily. I’m thinking of how many people who have married thinking that it would feel this way forever! How many alarming medical diagnoses have been met with the words, “I’ll do whatever it takes!”
In our former denomination, while studying church vitality, when Churches first hear that there is a process that they can go through that may help their church survive and thrive, almost everyone is on board! No one wants to see a ministry die. At the beginning of every adventure, including the adventure of recovery, there is a lot of well-wishing and positive feelings. Everyone wants success. This is pretty typical. There is a lot of zeal to go forward. It is in the nitty gritty of the doing that more knowledge is gained than anyone ever asked for.
It is after the start that the hard work of continuing begins. It is when the suffering begins that the temptation also begins to look for the quick fix, the way out, the listening to excuses not to continue. “A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.” When life doesn’t come as easy as we had assumed, or hoped, it’s common to start second guessing ourselves. “Did God really say?” Or, “God must not have wanted this.” We make the hardness God’s fault and assume His disapproval instead of seeing that it may be God’s discipline to prepare us for the new way.
We become discouraged or angry with God because He has stopped, “blessing” us, the way we like to be blessed. We have this misguided thinking that, if God approves, it will all be smooth sailing from beginning to end. That kind of thinking is wrong! God knows that the hardship may be just what is needed to make us strong. That is certainly true in Paul’s case. He thought that God was blessing his zeal because doors were opening so quickly for him to move forward, but when he had his about face, life got hard. He was no longer supported by the majority. No more rewards and affirmations from his former associates. He used to cause suffering. As a Christian he suffered! He also learned the truth about God.
When a person becomes a follower of Christ, they do so because they fall in love with Him. It feels so wonderful to be forgiven, to be unconditionally loved, to learn that you have value and purpose! We enter into the life of faith with a great deal of zeal and good intentions. Then, the process of growth begins. We learn more about the God who loves us and that continues to be wonderful and amazing, but our love is also put to the test over and over again as we continue to live and grow.
Paul had experienced this love and forgiveness himself. He had begun with zeal that was leading him in the wrong direction, then, he met Jesus and, just like we heard our friend Dan call out to us, calling us back to change, Jesus redirected Paul’s life in a new direction for Christ, but that didn’t mean an easy life. In fact, When God came to Ananias and told him to go lay hands on Paul, He also told Ananias: “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and before their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much He must suffer for My Name.” (Acts 9:15)
There is no record of Ananias sharing this prophesy with Saul, (Paul), himself, but Paul certainly did suffer as a disciple of Christ. Yet, through it all, God’s amazing love continued to fill Paul with the zeal he needed to push on. So, Paul now writes to the Ephesians about that amazing love, it’s depth, length, height and width, to encourage His readers to stay the course, as he was doing, and not give up, even though the road may be a tough one to follow.
It's not always true that the hard way is God’s way either. There are hard headed individuals who will plow their way through obstacles by sheer determination. But that doesn’t make their way the right way. Our family could have continued on that wrong path, off the A Trail. That path would have probably ended up somewhere, but we wouldn’t have been with Dan. The key here is, “without knowledge.” Again, this requires a close, dependent, companionable relationship, in tandem with God. He is the dispenser of knowledge.
Think of it as your trail mix for life. Staying close to Him is real food that will sustain you. He will help you know if anything that you experience is discipline or correction, blessing or temptation. You will gain zeal for His way, knowledge for His path and your days of folly and anger against Him will be long gone, into the past, forever.
Prayer: Father, You have promised to guide me and have sent Holy Spirit to do it. Thank You! Jesus you showed me that suffering is the normal result of walking by love in this sinful world that hates the light. You have all together promised and assured me that this hard way is good for my soul. So, I accept it and will walk with You even through the valley of the shadow of death, knowing that death is only a shadow, and life with You goes on forever! Praise and glory to You oh Lord! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: But You Love Me Anyway
Comments
Post a Comment