“Better is the end of a Thing”... the Wayfarer 2/7/14

2/7/14

“Better is the end of a Thing”

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in Spirit.”

(Ecclesiastes 7:8)

I return today to a subject most dear to me, a virtue for which I strive constantly, and have addressed somewhat briefly in the past as to its importance in our lives, as men residing alongside other men, but more importantly as Christians residing among a decidedly ungodly world that requires of us the utmost ability to exercise that virtue.

Patience is a requirement that is difficult, not only for me, but for all men to attain, without which any professed attempt to serve our God is futile.

The patience of spirit that I speak of is a byproduct of the love we have to give one another demanded by Christ.

Were it not for the patience of our God, none could survive to attain the promised grace and redemption given through His Son, whose own patience, though pressed to the limits, was evident in His ministry and in the manner of death of physical body which He chose to accept.

As noted before, the prime example of patience that we were given, other than Christ Himself, was Job, and the trials he endured to prove his faith.

Job’s friend, Elihu made a statement that though wrongly thought out, is most pertinent to the patience required of God, and of us as well, if we are to walk in that promised redemption, grace and love:

“Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.

Who hath given him a charge over the earth? Or who hath disposed the whole world?

If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;

All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.

If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.

Shall even he that hateth right govern? And wilt thou condemn him that is most just?

Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? And to princes, Ye are ungodly?

How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? For they all are the work of his hands.

In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.

There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.

He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.

Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.

He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;

Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways:

So that the cause of the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.

When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:

That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.

Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:

That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.”

(Job 34:12-32)

Though Elihu was wrongheaded in assuming that Job had sinned, and that this had to be the reason for his plight, several points he made need clarification, as those points remain pertinent to us as well, and especially in reference to our need to have patience.

God IS incapable of doing wickedness, and deserves the honor and glorification He asks of us.

God’s Judgment cannot be perverted, as it must always be just, whether that justification is clearly apparent to us or not.

Over the course of time, we must reap what is sown, either good or bad, and this applies to all men, despite the station of life held, or power given them for a time.

All men eventually return to the dust from which we are sprung through Adam, but all men have a soul that will face the judgment of our God for lives lived, things done and left undone.

Comprehending and understanding the fact that our life here is temporary and that God is eternal, and righteous, we have no right to question the why of His plan, even when it seems to be adverse to what we think our lives should be.

What Elihu failed to grasp, was, that he too was incapable of seeing God’s reasoning behind the trials that Job faced, and he tried to ascribe those trials to some sin committed.

When he asked whether we should tell a king that he is wicked, or a prince that he is ungodly, was his way of saying that respect to those given trust over our governance is a requirement, and that their judgment is also not apparent to us.

Here I find, again, a wrongheadedness, because our appointed leaders are intended to be subservient to God, and when they refuse to recognize that subservience, and refuse to admit the Omniscience of God and the reasoning behind the laws and commandments given us by God, and attempt to override them in contradiction to God's will, it is then a requirement that we speak up and question the ability and authority given them.

The remainder of the passage quoted, is in reference to the omnipotence of God, and is apparent to all but the most dense and greedy, in the fact delivered in the statement made.

The final two verses quoted, is where I would direct your attention for the need for patience when dealing with the evident iniquity of those about us that, in fact, have been given charge over us despite their refusal to recognize and honor God.

Their fate is sealed, not through our judgment, but through that of God himself, who they must, and will, face and give an accounting to.

The 31^st verse offers them the chance for repentance through redemption, if they accept the chastisement of God, but, only, if they then truly repent and follow His direction that is given to all.

The 32d verse falls to us, as Jesus himself, gave us the commission to teach the whole world what Jesus taught in total, to include following the commandments given by his Father.

Much patience on our part is required to fulfill this commission given, because it is NOT a popular message to those who seek to ignore the totality of the message, and would only take, that warm fuzzy given, without accepting the requirements that must first be met.

They ignore the need for individual compliance, and preach only collective salvation.

Salvation is not collective, because not all accept the requirement of reoentance, choosing instead the collective opinions and laws given by man that deny the very possibility of that salvation, by denying the laws and teachings given by the Father... who gave them to us, and whose Son told us that they would never pass away... that he didn’t come to replace the law, but to fulfill it through his blood sacrifice... which opened the door to us and gave us direct access to God through Him, instead of the many ceremonies and offerings of blood that was inadequate to God for that salvation... because of man’s continuance to violate those laws, then seek redemption through sacrifices given through the old priesthood, which itself became corrupted, because the priests were only human.

James gave guidance regarding the patience required while we wait for the conclusion of the things that will trouble the world, and all mankind, until the return of our Lord:

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

(James 1:2-4)

And again, in the 5^th chapter where he tells us:

“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Behold the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of the sabaoth.

Ye have lived in pleasure and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter,

Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord, Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient: stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

Take my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of mercy:

(James 1:1-11)

All those who fail to recognize the true treasure to be had, and instead amass the things of this world in preparation of the last days, will be called to account for those actions, and meet with the wrath and condemnation given by God himself.

Patient waiting is required despite the afflictions, real or perceived by those of us instead seeking only the promised treasure of eternal life as given by Jesus.

Endurance is a part of that required patience, as is the realization that God will accomplish his purposes in His own time, and not in accordance with any schedule of our own.

Some things prayed for, are only given, after ardent prayer, and work as demanded of our Lord, once more shown through the writings of James who told us also:

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.”

(James 1:22-24)

Hearing the word preached on Sunday and forgetting the lesson given as the world calls you back to it on Monday is a waste of hearing.

It is a waste of time to attend and pretend righteousness with those gathered, then, devote yourself through the remainder of your time to the profit to be made at the expense of others, instead of following Christ’s teachings.

I would close with the same verse that I opened this with:

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

(Ecclesiastes &:8)

It is not the past that counts. What was begun will eventually come to fruition, with the proper effort and patience. What counts is keeping your eyes on the prize that lies at the end of that labor given, and that patience expended while working toward that goal.

Those who would call themselves Christian must begin at the beginning by remembering Christ’s admonition to
 

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Then once having remembered that admonition, they must follow through and be doers of the word, not merely hearers.

This is the beginning, and grants redemption through that repentance, but it is far from the end which requires patience, repetition of that repentance for each failure, and patience to endure when all may seem to be against you because of your faith.

Wait with that patience, be the doers we are asked to be, so that we are effective in gleaning hearers who hear us only through our actions. And perhaps, if we are patient, and we are truly following our Lord, the things prayed for will come to fruition within the confines of His schedule and His will, reaping still more souls that in turn are doers as well.

I close once more in prayer for your, and my own patience, and endurance as both are needed more than ever in the world we face today.

I remain still, your servant, and His, simple sinner he chose to save by grace through my faith in Him, and the soldier called to action, still on the battlefield, in need of that patience and endurance until He removes me from that field of battle.

2 Timothy 1:12
12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen.
the Wayfarer