And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:76-79)
One
thing I love about winter is the coruscating frost in the warm
morning light like God's very own glitter. It is good of Him to give
us light when days are short and cloudy. I love how the frost covers
everything on the ground, little plants and dead things too, and how
joyously the light dances through the cold wetness, like the
glistening, merry eyes of someone laughing. And in December mornings
as I drive to church with sparkles in my eyes, I think of Christ, our
Sunrise, who brings the forgiveness of our sins and light to those
who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
How
do we write about or even think about these things? God reveals
Himself in nature, but according to Romans 1 it is His eternal power
and divine nature that we see. We don't open our front doors or
wander out in fields and receive specific messages from God. The
final word of God is Christ, a light whom the darkness can't overcome
(John 1:5). In the Scriptures, God has spoken with finality of the
forgiveness of sins in Christ. Yet I don't think it's wrong to see
the beauty of God in creation not just abstractly but symbolically,
viewing the creation as shadows of true things He has already
revealed in the gospel in His Word. God Himself uses creation
metaphorically all throughout the Bible to make the realities of our
sin and salvation in Christ more clear to us. Yet beauties we see now
in creation are not direct messages or even purposeful symbols at
that moment from God Himself. We can see reminders of the gospel in them, but they are not signs from God.
I
guess it is easy for us to, on social media and through creative
outlets, but also just through our daily lives, use creation and even
our own selves as demonstrations of sorts without ending with Christ,
the One we're supposedly pointing toward. The whole point of
figurative language is to take what we can see and use it to see what
we can't see as well. We even devalue metaphors when we get hung up
on the symbols or shadows themselves. Again, I have to wonder, if we
are trying to see Christ and point others to Christ, how is that
done?
Ultimately,
we cannot see Christ unless it is in connection with the law and the
gospel. This is how God reveals His Son, who is the precious goal and
object of our sight. This means that when we spend all of our
energies thinking of His provision of good things, like food or
farmland or family, without turning our eyes to our need before Him
as sinners and His greatest provision of true food and true drink –
Christ's body and blood – we are not honoring Him as we should.
Perhaps we are even turning our hearts and the hearts of others to
idols instead of the true God and Savior. Should we put so much focus
on living our lives before believers and unbelievers as though our
lives were some great portrayal of Christ, or should we focus on
pushing others to Christ through the law and gospel? Showing Christ
through the law and gospel doesn't really have to do with having cute
houses or bringing the best beer to the party. In fact, our nice
families and moral, supposedly happy lives are not how we are to
point others to Christ. Our morality (though we may fail greatly, we
will still fight against sin, bear fruit, and do good works) is not
what attracts others to Christ. It may convict them as they see their
lack of holiness under the law, and this conviction can drive them to
Christ, but when we are pointing others to ourselves and our lives as
the end goal, we are offering them false saviors and helping them to
hope in themselves and earthly things instead of Christ.
Christ
is the Word of God. The gospel is presented to us in words. Words are
so important in sharing the truth, much more important than our lives
lived out before others. This is comforting for me, because I do a
poor job loving others and pointing them to Christ as an example. I
am far too unlike Him. But I can use words and say that I am sinful.
I can go to Christ and be loved by Him in front of others. I can
receive forgiveness and grace from Him in front of others and serve
others as a result of that mercy. I can exhort others to turn to Him
when they have need and sin. Our God is so powerful. He will receive
glory in His people even in our sin, because He will still be there
to save us. And it will be so sweet to stand in heaven with so many
other justified and even glorified sinners who sin no more and see
that He carried us the whole way and that His mercy was so expansive,
enough for so many people.
I
want to learn more and more how to use words like God uses them, how
He uses metaphors and figurative language to point us to Christ, and
how Christ is God's final word. Christ is our end, whom we see
through the law and gospel laid out in Scripture. If earthly things
can help us understand these things more clearly, they are valuable
for us to use, just as God Himself uses them. And it is beautiful to
me, more beautiful than the earthly blessings God gives, that He
loves us and shows us mercy even when we abuse these blessings and
focus on them instead of Him. It's beautiful that when we live the
glory story and point others to ourselves, Christ stands able to save
us and others. We would wrap ourselves in shadows, but our Father
sent Christ, the sun who rises with healing in His wings, to bear
away our sins.
