In the wake of all the unrest going on around the world in the last couple of days, particularly in the US, I reached out to a dear friend across the pond to know how she was faring and what prayers were on her heart. On my part, my heart was still reeling from the horror of the video clip I had just watched, overwhelmed by grief and with tears streaming down, I could only cry ‘Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus.’ Not too long after, she replied with prayers that were quite perceptive of a broader take on the crisis that was breaking not just both of our hearts, but of countless others. I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pass along some helping of that godly wisdom as the thrust of this blogpost.
The heart of the matter
The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. If we’re going to take seriously (and we ought to) the Bible’s description of the human heart as “deceitful above all things…” (Jeremiah 17:9), then we must take stock of how our hearts are doing, in order for us to tow the path of genuine repentance. And by genuine repentance, the Bible does not mean turning from one sin while safeguarding another. D.A Carson likens the absurdity of partial repentance to that of partial pregnancy, asserting that “loyalty to God in selective areas is no longer loyalty, but treason.”
To kickstart that oh-so-needful heart check, we need not look far at all, the Psalmist has done us much favour:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV)
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!”
There’s not much left of a self-righteous finger-wag at the other end of the Psalmist’s prayer, I would imagine, and fittingly may we say, “There, but for the grace of God, go I”.
A glorious spectacle
Christ’s body, the Church, is described as “a pillar and ground of the truth” 1 Timothy 3:15. In other words, the Church ought to be a visible representation of the truth, in both words and deeds. It is through the Church that the manifold wisdom of God is on display before a watching world.
The world is crying out for justice, and rightly so! Whilst we acknowledge that no human legal system could administer true justice the way the cross of Christ does, might it be a wake-up call for the Church to assess her own failings in this regard? Are there undetected biases and indifference to the plight of fellow image bearers? Are our ears tuned in to these conversations? Are we pushing through the awkward to foster unity, and not necessarily uniformity? Are we willing to sacrifice cultural preferences on the altar of Christ-centered community?
These call for individual and corporate repentance alongside prayers for the preservation of the Church’s testimony, that we may not be ashamed on the day of unveiling. But rather that “he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:26 -27 (ESV)
Mourning with those who mourn
Springing across the pond yet again, any way you slice it, great evil and injustice was done. One charged with the responsibility to protect lives, gruesomely and unnecessarily snuffed that very life out of another. Everything in us ought to cry out, not just for justice, but for mercy from the righteous judge of all the earth who will do right. In the meantime, we mourn with those who mourn, earnestly praying that they may know the comfort and nearness of the one who has promised “never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (ESV).
As we mourn at both personal and corporate levels, first our sins, and also the loss of a reality that our hearts yearn for, let us do so with trust in Jesus’ promise that “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” May he sanctify to us this moment of deep distress. Amen
Thanks for reading!
Sike Osinuga