Read Online Depression: Looking Up from the Stubborn Darkness by Edward T. Welch - Free Book Online
Authors: Edward T. Welch
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a creature with a royal purpose.” For this, you need to listen to others who have gone this way before. They urge you to continue and point the way.
F EAR G OD AND K EEP H IS C OMMANDMENTS
When you observe life and listen to wise people, you will quickly find that it is not about us , which hurts our pride but is a welcome relief. We simply can’t invest our hopes, dreams, and love in the self because it was never intended to carry such freight. For that matter, there is nothing created that was intended to sustain such hopes. Creation is to be enjoyed, but we don’t put our trust in it. The only alternative is God himself.
The Teacher in the book of Ecclesiastes tries to save us time in our search for meaning and purpose. He tells us that he tried to make life about himself and it didn’t work. He tried learning, laughter, great projects, unbridled sexual pleasure, money, music, and children. None of them, when they were elevated to his life’s purpose, led to anything but despair. He could not find his purpose in the created world.
After briefly envying an ordinary life of honest toil, good friends, food, moderate drink, and doing right, he comes to his answer—his purpose.
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Eccles. 12:13)
Don’t be put off by the word “fear” in “fear God.” It is a more expansive word in Scripture than our idea of being afraid of someone. It includes awe, honor, reverence, and worship. And, yes, there is a certain way that it is appropriate to fear God, but not because of potential condemnation. If you have put your trust in Christ, condemnation will not fall on you. We fear God because he is God. He is not tame and domesticated like we sometimes make him out to be.
The fear of God is how we respond to the fact that God is greater than we are—different from us—in all things. His beauty isgreater. His wisdom is greater. His love is greater. And, yes, his anger is greater. Simply put, he is God and we are not.
In an era when it is stylish to soften the character of God, “fear” is a wonderful antidote. There are times when, knowing who God is and what he has done, our knees should be knocking. Martin Luther, for example, was persuaded that we should be terror-stricken by the sufferings of Christ because those sufferings reveal that our sin is so serious and deserves such serious judgment. Of course, he didn’t stop there. He also was persuaded that we should be trembling at the knowledge of God’s love, which is greater than anything we have ever known or given. 2
Fearing God and keeping his commandments brings a certain simplicity to life. He is the Creator; we are the creatures. We belong to him. When he directs us, we follow. We come before him and say, “And how do you want me to live today?” The psalmist goes so far as to say that his affliction was valuable because it taught him more about keeping God’s commandments, which was his delight (Ps. 119:71).
There are, of course, many commands to be found in Scripture. No one can keep them all in mind. But we can easily remember the summary of God’s law: love one another. What does that have to do with purpose and meaning? Every command in Scripture is a purpose statement. We are servants of the exalted king. When he speaks to us and tells us what to do, that becomes our purpose. Our purpose is to live for his purposes.
Sadly, this doesn’t enthuse many of us. It is too simple, and we are too American to think that serving someone above us can be a good thing. We think that living for our purposes is more satisfying. But you know better. Ecclesiastes makes sense to you. You have tried other purposes, and they were found wanting. You have also been forewarned that we are on terrain where spiritual warfare rages,so you have to walk very carefully. We can be easily deceived about those things that are most important.
Stop
F EAR G OD AND K EEP H IS C OMMANDMENTS
When you observe life and listen to wise people, you will quickly find that it is not about us , which hurts our pride but is a welcome relief. We simply can’t invest our hopes, dreams, and love in the self because it was never intended to carry such freight. For that matter, there is nothing created that was intended to sustain such hopes. Creation is to be enjoyed, but we don’t put our trust in it. The only alternative is God himself.
The Teacher in the book of Ecclesiastes tries to save us time in our search for meaning and purpose. He tells us that he tried to make life about himself and it didn’t work. He tried learning, laughter, great projects, unbridled sexual pleasure, money, music, and children. None of them, when they were elevated to his life’s purpose, led to anything but despair. He could not find his purpose in the created world.
After briefly envying an ordinary life of honest toil, good friends, food, moderate drink, and doing right, he comes to his answer—his purpose.
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Eccles. 12:13)
Don’t be put off by the word “fear” in “fear God.” It is a more expansive word in Scripture than our idea of being afraid of someone. It includes awe, honor, reverence, and worship. And, yes, there is a certain way that it is appropriate to fear God, but not because of potential condemnation. If you have put your trust in Christ, condemnation will not fall on you. We fear God because he is God. He is not tame and domesticated like we sometimes make him out to be.
The fear of God is how we respond to the fact that God is greater than we are—different from us—in all things. His beauty isgreater. His wisdom is greater. His love is greater. And, yes, his anger is greater. Simply put, he is God and we are not.
In an era when it is stylish to soften the character of God, “fear” is a wonderful antidote. There are times when, knowing who God is and what he has done, our knees should be knocking. Martin Luther, for example, was persuaded that we should be terror-stricken by the sufferings of Christ because those sufferings reveal that our sin is so serious and deserves such serious judgment. Of course, he didn’t stop there. He also was persuaded that we should be trembling at the knowledge of God’s love, which is greater than anything we have ever known or given. 2
Fearing God and keeping his commandments brings a certain simplicity to life. He is the Creator; we are the creatures. We belong to him. When he directs us, we follow. We come before him and say, “And how do you want me to live today?” The psalmist goes so far as to say that his affliction was valuable because it taught him more about keeping God’s commandments, which was his delight (Ps. 119:71).
There are, of course, many commands to be found in Scripture. No one can keep them all in mind. But we can easily remember the summary of God’s law: love one another. What does that have to do with purpose and meaning? Every command in Scripture is a purpose statement. We are servants of the exalted king. When he speaks to us and tells us what to do, that becomes our purpose. Our purpose is to live for his purposes.
Sadly, this doesn’t enthuse many of us. It is too simple, and we are too American to think that serving someone above us can be a good thing. We think that living for our purposes is more satisfying. But you know better. Ecclesiastes makes sense to you. You have tried other purposes, and they were found wanting. You have also been forewarned that we are on terrain where spiritual warfare rages,so you have to walk very carefully. We can be easily deceived about those things that are most important.
Stop
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