November 2022
Nougat 19
Having participated in a South African wine tour, and currently living in Geneva, it is not uncommon to see vines loaded with green and purple grapes, begging to be picked. Those, of course, are off-limits. Today’s Holy Nougat
“For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings.” Zechariah 8:12 NLT
It’s as though we are offered a glimpse of Heaven, or the Promised Land. Seeds of Peace, abundant grapes – mark you, there no mention of milk and honey – and even inheritances. That sounds like a slice of Heaven to me.
And then the reality of human greed and cruelty come rushing in, and I can’t help but wonder … is this promise true, was God joking, or worse yet – are we busy claiming promises unintended for us and living in a Fool’s Paradise? I answer the question myself – kinda.
This is a very specific Word to both Judah and Israel. Appropriating it may be along the lines of dreams and aspirations, especially when it doesn’t seem to be an apocalyptic vision. And, in that sense, we are probably living with vain Hope. What’s worse is, my inner cynicism says, ‘and even if it was for our era – Hmmn. We’d still try to negate the blessings outpoured and pollute the land, air and seas, like we’re doing now.’ My mind continues to ruminate and I think ,’aah! But that’s what we are doing now. We even have the temerity to blame our mess on the Climate! It’s a Climate Crisis; not human greed. But then, that’s a whole bunch of that all over. We recognize the roots and try to turn things around.’
The challenge with those two cynical schools of thought comes when we box God in, assuming that God’s grace is at all dependent on us.
It. Is. Not!
God’s grace exists because, but in spite of us. Grace abounds when we choose Self over all else. And having opted to bless us with Freedom of Choice, God’s caveat is Grace. The intentional overlooking of our (humanity’s) mess, by providing the One Great Sacrificial Lamb, and the Cleaner-Upper/Advocate, Who carves a remnant from our greedy selves.
That’s where human and Godly Hope walk together for me! For in God’s merciful and abundant grace, there’s always that Remnant. The ones who see the B-I-G picture. The ones who say But, If God … counting the blessings, anticipating fresh grace. Not squandering the mercy by remaining stuck on human failure and greed (and we’ve got lots of that); but choosing to repent of such actions and live in God’s purpose. Ready to negotiate like Abraham did – if necessary, to make the difference now.
Some call us crazy – and maybe we are – some think we’re living in a Fool’s Paradise; but we recognize that while the changes must be initiated by us humans, change of the dimensions we need can only come with God’s help. Our Advocate. So we look back – But If God did it before; we can hold on to the promises today. Whether for the Jews or all. Can you see the B-I-G picture?
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May all we seek be found in Christ