Do you ever doubt if Jesus’ death was sufficient to atone for your sins? God doesn’t, so you don’t have to either. The resurrection is proof that Jesus did the work that he set out to accomplish at the cross, and that work is sufficient for your need and mine, that God was satisfied with what Jesus accomplished at the cross. God heard Jesus’ cries at the cross and vindicated him, just as he will vindicate everyone who trusts in him.

If you were here last week, you know that the first part of Psalm 22 is anything but happy. Psalm 22 is the cry of a righteous person who is suffering for no fault of their own. It is intense. The psalmist feels abandoned and ignored by God, and taunted and despised by people. It’s a heartbreaking cry for God to listen. After describing his anguish, the psalmist cries out:
But you, O LORD, do not be far off!you my help, come quickly to my aid!Deliver my soul from the sword,my precious life from the power of the dog!Save me from the mouth of the lion!You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!(Psalm 22:19–21)
Why is this psalm in the Bible? For one reason, because this is our experience sometimes. Sometimes we will suffer innocently. Sometimes we will feel abandoned and ignored by God, and taunted and despised by people. Sometimes we’ll cry out to God to pay attention to our cries. This psalm gives language to how you may feel at some point in your life. “Lament is the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God’s goodness” (Mark Vroegop). It’s given because you may one day need the words of this psalmist.
But there’s another reason Psalm 22 is in the Bible. It’s in the Bible because it so accurately describes the suffering of Jesus, the ultimate innocent sufferer. It describes his anguish on the cross, so much so that as he hung on the cross he quoted, verbatim, the words of this psalm (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Not only that, but other details in this psalm show up on the day that Jesus was crucified. Close your eyes and read verses 16 to 18, and you would think the psalmist is describing the crucifixion of Jesus:
For dogs encompass me;a company of evildoers encircles me;they have pierced my hands and feet—I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me;they divide my garments among them,and for my clothing they cast lots.
As one scholar says of this psalm, “More than any other passage of Scripture it penetrates into the actual suffering of our crucified Lord” (Alec Motyer).
But here’s the other reason why I think this psalm is in the Bible. It’s in the Bible because it helps us understand not just the crucifixion of Jesus but the resurrection of Jesus. Written a thousand years before Easter Sunday, this psalm helps us understand what happened on that first Easter when Jesus rose from the dead. We’re not guessing when we say this. Hebrews 2:11-12 applies this second part of this psalm to Jesus.
In other words, if you want to understand all the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus and what it means for us today, you couldn’t do any better than to look at this psalm. It’s a portrait of the death and triumph of our Savior.
In verse 21, something happens:
Save me from the mouth of the lion!You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
In verse 21, the innocent sufferer is rescued from God. The rest of this psalm describes what happened.
It tells us that the resurrection means three things:
First, the resurrection means that Jesus is vindicated (22:22-24)
Read verses 22 to 24. The psalmist says:
I will tell of your name to my brothers;in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:You who fear the LORD, praise him!All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!For he has not despised or abhorredthe affliction of the afflicted,and he has not hidden his face from him,but has heard, when he cried to him.
On the cross, Jesus bore God’s wrath against the sins we committed. He willingly offered his life to make full payment for our sins. How do we know that the payment was sufficient, that God was satisfied with Jesus’ work? Because, as verse 24 says, God didn’t despise or abhor the affliction of Jesus. He hasn’t hidden his face from Jesus. He heard Jesus’ prayer and vindicated him by raising him from the dead.
Jesus’ resurrection is a sign that God heard Jesus’ prayers on the cross and rescued him, that he didn’t despise or abhor what Jesus did on the cross. 1 Timothy 3:16 speaks of his resurrection this way: “He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit…” As one theologian writes:
…Christ’s resurrection says something. It is the announcement of his justification. (Fred Zaspel)
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Put boundaries around your work. Know when to work hard, and when to rest. The world needs healthy pastors who work hard but know how to rest. Nobody gets there by accident. For the sake of the work that’s been entrusted to you, avoid the twin dangers of a poor work ethic and overwork.

Every pastor I know struggles with one of two temptations.
The first temptation is a poor work ethic.
One pastor I knew was paid full-time, but told me that he had found a way to do his job in about four hours, including worship services. He told me that he parked the car in the church parking lot, turned on the lights of his office, and took a bus to watch movies during the day.
That pastor may have been a little extreme, but I’ve met other lazy pastors: ones who are unaccountable with their time and take advantage of the freedom that their role offers in ways that lack integrity.
Pastors should be known as faithful stewards of the resources God gives them, including time. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he spoke of his hard work. “For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:9). He spoke of the value of hard work in ministry (1 Corinthians 15:10; Colossians 4:13; 2 Timothy 2:6). If we’re going to make progress in our ministries, it’s going to require immersing ourselves in the work of ministry (1 Timothy 4:15).
Some pastors struggle with a poor work ethic, and will have to give account to God for not working hard enough in ministry.
The second temptation is overwork.
While some pastors struggle with a poor work ethic, more pastors seem to struggle with overwork. They skip sabbaths and run ragged, working at an unsustainable pace.
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God has revealed himself in Jesus, who is the pinnacle of God’s revelation. If the stakes were high back in Moses’ day, they’re even higher now. One day God will shake not only a place in the Egyptian wilderness but all earth and heaven in judgment, so it’s even more important that we pay attention to Jesus. When God shakes heaven and earth, there’s only one place that will not be shaken according to verse 27. That place is Mount Zion.

Why should God accept you? That is a question that should concern all of us.
When you get to the end of your life and stand before God, why should he look at you and say that you are acceptable? How can we pass the ultimate final exam, the only exam that truly matters, as our lives come under the scrutiny of God? How can we face that day with confidence, knowing that he will give us a passing grade?
There are only two possible answers, and they’re really answers represented by two different mountains. We’re all headed to one of these two mountains, but only one will give us what we’re looking for, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
We’re near the end of a series through the book of Hebrews. The writer is encouraging us to keep following Jesus because he is so much better than anyone or anything else. This chapter is meant to change our lives. The writer of Hebrews wants us to run the race with endurance: to strip off everything that hinders us, to avoid losing what matters most for temporary pleasure, and to keep running the race despite suffering and hardship in our lives. His big goal is to help us cling to Christ and to keep following him to the end.
In this section, he gives us two options for how we can get to the end and know that we’re okay with God. He gives us two mountains. We’re either going to one or the other, so choose carefully. Everything is at stake depending on which mountain you choose.
Mountain One: Sinai (12:18-21)
The writer takes us all the way to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt to the events that took place in Exodus 19 to 20. Israel stayed at Sinai for a total of 11 months, and one of the most important events in the entire Old Testament took place. Moses went up the mountain to be with God. Sinai was covered with a thick cloud, and God himself came to meet with Moses. Think about it: God had rescued them from Egypt, and now he came to meet with them and make them his people.
But meeting with God is no small thing. Because God is so holy, they had to take precautions. God himself was hidden in clouds because his glory would be too great for them to see with their naked eyes. They had to wash their clothes and consecrate themselves in three days of preparation and examination. And even then, they couldn’t get anywhere near Mount Sinai because God is so holy and glorious. We read in Exodus:
And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ (Exodus 19:12-13)
It was terrifying. We read what happened after the three days of preparation:
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:16-20)
Even then, after Moses went up, God told Moses to go down and warn the people again not to come anywhere near the mountain because it was so dangerous to come close to a holy God.
Friends, this is what it’s like to come into God’s presence. It’s dangerous. Astronomers have discovered a sun that they describe as the brightest star ever found in the universe. Not even a welder’s helmet would help you face the light from this giant. The brightness of this star is some 10 million times greater than the light coming from our sun!
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We’re not the first to face this struggle. The judgment of Jesus, the holiness of God, and the resources of the Holy Spirit will help us honor God in this area. We have every reason to strive for holiness, even when our temptations and the surrounding culture are against us.

The Thessalonians lived in a city full of sexual temptation. Visitors arrived by land and sea, and sex and other pleasures were readily available. Greek culture allowed young men to enjoy a variety of sexual pleasures. “We keep mistresses for pleasure, concubines for our day-to-day bodily needs, but we have wives to produce legitimate children and serve as trustworthy guardians of our homes,” wrote Demosthenes, a Greek statesman and orator in nearby Athens.
It’s hard to live faithfully as a Christian in a culture that’s full of sexual temptation, and yet that’s what Paul instructed the Thessalonians to do. We can live in a sexualized culture and honor God with our sexuality.
In fact, the Triune God will help us.
…the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. (1 Thessalonians 4:6-8)

“The Lord is an avenger.” We will stand before Jesus one day and give account for how we’ve lived, including the area of sexuality. No matter how carefully our sexual sins are hidden today, everything will be revealed on that day.

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Our trials are a tool that our loving Father uses to help us grow. Jesus suffered; you will too. But your suffering is purposeful. It’s evidence of his love and it’s designed to help you grow. So keep going. I never would have wanted the trail that we went through. You probably don’t want trials either. But you’re not alone. Your Savior suffered for you. Even in trials, your loving Father is at work, and he will use it for our good. Keep your eye on him. He will bring you safely home.

A few years ago, our family entered one of the most severe trials in our lives. It’s not the first time we suffered, but it was the most intense time of suffering we’ve experienced. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
We would get the kids ready for school. When they were gone, we would sit on the couch, not knowing how we were going to get through another day. Sometimes we’d sit in silence. Sometimes we’d cry. We’d often pray, but our prayers weren’t articulate prayers. Our prayers were sometimes just simple requests for God to help us.
That period lasted about four years. God was good, we learned a lot, but it was brutal.
I’ve learned that we’re not alone. As Ray Ortlund comments on the book of Job:
I used to think that the book of Job is in the Bible because this story of suffering is so extreme, so rare and improbable and unusual. I thought the message of the book is, ‘Look at this worst case scenario. Now, come on. Surely in your comparatively small problems, you can find your way.’ I don’t think that anymore. Now I think that the book of Job is in the Bible because this story is so common.
What should we do when we face troubles like this, when it feels like we’re barely hanging on?
Some of you know what it’s like to experience extreme trials. You know what it’s like to lose a marriage, to stand at the grave of a loved one, to experience chronic illness. What do you do when you face this kind of suffering?
Hebrews is written to a church in which some had experienced intense suffering for their faith. Their particular trial was persecution for the cause of Christ, something that you and I may face too. But what he writes also applies to other kinds of suffering too.
In this passage, the writer tells us three things we can do when we face this kind of suffering.
One: Consider Jesus (12:3-4).
“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (12:3).
You are not alone! God the Son himself knows what it’s like to suffer. As verse 2 says, he endured the cross and despised the shame. Jesus understood what it was like to be betrayed by friends. He knew what it’s like to be unjustly accused. Jesus understood physical pain. But even beyond that, Jesus experienced a kind of pain that you and I never will. He bore the sins of all who those who call him Lord. Jesus experienced an even more intense level of pain than you and I ever will.
In fact, that’s the point verse 4 makes. “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” You’re suffering, but, unlike Jesus, you haven’t shed your own blood in the struggle against sin. If Jesus endured this greater trial, you and I can endure the lesser trial we’re facing.
Consider the suffering of Jesus:
He was despised and rejected by men,a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;and as one from whom men hide their faceshe was despised, and we esteemed him not.Surely he has borne our griefsand carried our sorrows;yet we esteemed him stricken,smitten by God, and afflicted.But he was pierced for our transgressions;he was crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,and with his wounds we are healed.All we like sheep have gone astray;we have turned—every one—to his own way;and the LORD has laid on himthe iniquity of us all.(Isaiah 53:3-6)
Jesus did this for me and for you. Jesus was willing to suffer for our sake. Jesus was willing to suffer the agony of the cross so that anyone who turned to him could be free from the penalty of sin. John Stott wrote:
I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as ‘God on the cross.’ In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of his.
Consider him, so “you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” When suffering, don’t lose heart. Don’t give up. You are not alone. Jesus suffered too. Consider Jesus and his sufferings. Remember his faithfulness and perseverance. Consider his willingness to suffer for you, and your sufferings may become more manageable in light of top his.
But that’s not all.
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How do we avoid making the same mistakes that they did in Moses’ day and Joshua’s day? Since we’re in danger, what do we do about it? What I love about Hebrews is that the writer doesn’t just give one answer. There’s no single solution to this question. There are a few things that we must do, and this passage mentions some of them.

Big Idea: Israel only got a sample of what we get to enjoy, so don’t miss out on Jesus and all that he’s given us.
I feel like I know you well enough to share a fairy advanced Bible reading technique for the Hebrew Scriptures. It goes by the acronym HCTBSS. Sound complicated? Here’s what it means: How could they be so stupid?
Here’s how it works. We read a story in the Old Testament. For instance, we read in Numbers 13 about the time that Israel approached the land that God had promised them from the south. They sent in spies, and 10 of the 12 spies came back and said they couldn’t take the land. They’d just watched God rescue them from slavery from the one of the most powerful empires in the world. They’d watched God perform miracle after miracle to set them free, and now they were terrified of some tall people.
The HCTBSS method of interpreting Scripture is to shake our heads and say, “How could they be so stupid?” We know we would do better. This is such a versatile technique for reading Scripture that we can use it in the New Testament too. For instance, whenever the disciples blow it with Jesus — and there are plenty of examples — we can shake our heads and think, “How could they have been so stupid!” and think that we would have done a lot better.
Today’s passage introduces us to a better technique for reading Scripture, particularly when we read about when people get it wrong. Here’s the technique that this passage teaches us: WITSD. It stands for “We’re in the same danger.” Whenever we’re tempted to read Scripture and think, “How could they be so stupid?” we should actually be thinking, “We’re in the same danger.” We’re not better than the people of Scripture. In fact, we’re just like them. We need to learn from their mistakes because we’re in danger of making the exact same ones ourselves.
I want to show you this from the passage we just read. Here’s what I want to show you: two examples of disobedience, and then how to avoid making the same mistake ourselves.
Two Examples of Disobedience
Here are the two examples of mistakes that people made in the past in Scripture.
The first has to do with Moses.
Moses is a great figure in the Hebrew Scriptures. He led Israel from Egypt to the brink of the Promised Land. He built the tabernacle. God gave the law through Moses. God spoke to Moses face to face (Exodus 33:11). It would be hard to think of many people in the history of redemption who loom larger than Moses.
But how did Israel do under Moses leadership? Not that well. In verses 7 to 11, the writer to the Hebrews quotes Psalm 95:7-11:
Today, if you hear his voice,do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,on the day of testing in the wilderness,where your fathers put me to the testand saw my works for forty years.Therefore I was provoked with that generation,and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;they have not known my ways.’As I swore in my wrath,‘They shall not enter my rest.’ ”
Look at the interpretive technique that the writer uses in the verses that follow:
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12-13)
Do you see what he’s saying? We could make the same mistake! We’re in the same danger that they were.
In fact, the writer argues that we’re in even greater danger. The first part of Hebrews 3 argues that although Israel had a great leader — Moses — we have an even better leader. Verses 1 to 5 argues that Jesus is superior to Moses. Verse 3 says, “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses.” Moses presided over a house, the tabernacle; Jesus not only built that house but everything. Verse 5 says that Moses was a servant in the house, but Jesus is God’s son over that house. As great as Moses was, Jesus is much greater.
And so the stakes are so much higher for us. They rebelled against Moses, but if we make the same mistake, we’re rebelling against somebody even greater than Moses. We’re rebelling against Jesus! We could make the same mistake they did, except against an even greater person: Jesus himself.
Do you see the writer’s urgency here? He’s not holding a dispassionate theological study. He’s highlighting mistakes from the Hebrew Scriptures and trying to get our attention: we’re in the same danger! We could make the same mistake!
The results were catastrophic for Israel. At the end of chapter 3, he says that every one of the rebels died in the wilderness. The wilderness where Israel wandered for 40 years was littered with bodies not just because people die, but because they rebelled against God and missed out on entering the land that God gave them.
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He’s worshipped and served by angels (1:6-7) — Angels have a lot of dignity, but they don’t have as much dignity and honor as Jesus. Verses 6 and 7 describe two things that angels do that make them inferior to Jesus. He quotes Psalm 97:7 and says that angels worship Jesus, and he quotes Psalm 104:4 to say that they serve Jesus. Angels may be great to us, but they’re worshipers and servants to Jesus. He is much greater than them. They are in an inferior position to Jesus. That’s why verses 8 and 9 quote Psalm 45:6-7 and apply them to Jesus. Angels serve and worship; Jesus is served and worshipped.

Big Idea: Jesus is better than angels, so if you’d pay attention to the message of angels, you’d better pay attention to the message of Jesus.
I have a beef with people who say the Old Testament is boring.
Every time I start to read the Old Testament, I’m captured by the story all over again. In the first pages, you’ve got beauty, love, tragedy, judgement, murder, more judgment, a brand new start, grace, and God’s plan to rescue the world. And that’s just the first few pages! The first twelve chapters of Genesis explain so much about the world today, and they’re anything but boring.
But that’s just the start. You’ve got family dysfunction on a major scale, conflicts between world powers, tragic heroes, deliverance, grumbling, wars, repeating cycles of judgment, and more. The Old Testament is fascinating. It’s unrivalled in all literature, and it’s God’s word.
And you have angels. Lots and lots of angels.
Angels are part of God’s creation. We don’t know when they were created — perhaps the same time as the earth, maybe even before. They’re a higher order than humans, but much lower than God. They’re created beings. They’re not omnipresent. They can only be in one place at one time. They don’t know everything. But they’re still spectacular compared to us, which is why humans tend to freak out when they encounter an angel.
They’re spirit beings. We don’t know how many angels there are, but they’re innumerable. Revelation 5:11 talks about angels “numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.” There are good angels and bad angels, and they’re involved with us.
Angels appear to humans throughout Scripture. Angels play a big role in this world and in our lives.
Angels work in the destiny of nations for the good of God’s people. Good angels withstand Satan while the word of God is being preached to the king of Persia (Zech. 3:1). They work in the protection of the righteous and encamp about them that fear the Lord (Ps. 34:7 8), and they deliver God’s people from their enemies (2 Kgs. 6:15–17). Angels deliver Peter from prison and reassure Paul in the great storm at sea (Acts 12:7; 27:23). They are given charge to keep the righteous in all their ways, and are ministering spirits to those who are heirs of salvation (Ps. 91:11; Heb. 1:14). Angels represent individuals before the throne of God (Matt. 18:10; cf. Dan. 12:1), and if heavenly angels are meant in Rev. 2–3, then they are given specific assignments to congregations of the Church. (Edward P. Myers, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible)
This is amazing stuff.
A few years ago, I attended a study group with Tim Mackie, one of the teachers at The Bible Project. The Bible Project was about to release its video series on spiritual beings, and Tim taught a session one night on the topic. We went back to our rooms and our eyes were bulging. We don’t think enough about the reality of the spiritual world, and the ways that angels and demons interact with what’s going on in the world and our lives. It’s amazing.
The Question
So I have a question for you. If an angel appeared to you, would you listen?
Here’s what we know. You’d be terrified if you realized it was an angel. We know that because it’s the pretty consistent reaction of everyone in the Bible who saw an angel and realized it.

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was initially afraid when he encountered the angel Gabriel in the temple (Luke 1:11-20).
The shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem were terrified when an angel appeared to them to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:8-10).
The women who went to Jesus’ tomb after his crucifixion were frightened by the presence of an angel who told them that Jesus had risen (Matthew 28:2-7).
The guards at Jesus’ tomb also experienced fear when an angel appeared and rolled away the stone from the entrance (Matthew 28:3-4).
The apostle John was filled with fear when he saw a powerful angel in a vision on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:17).
The prophet Daniel was overwhelmed with fear when he saw a heavenly being in a vision by the Tigris River (Daniel 10:5-9).

You’d be terrified, but would you listen to an angel sent by God?
I’d like to think so, but you can find examples of people who did and didn’t listen to angels in the Bible. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, had an angel visit him twice, and he listened both times (Matthew 1:20-24, Matthew 2:13-15). In Acts we read:
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. (Acts 8:26-27)
You can see examples of that in Scripture: an angel appears and communicates a message from God, and people respond in obedience.
But you also see the opposite. Angels told Lot to flee Sodom, but they lingered (Genesis 19:15-16). Sarah laughed at a message from angels, although she may not have realized they were angels at the time (Genesis 18:12).
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Ramsey’s book is not one that taught me anything new. Instead, it’s a book that reminds me of a Puritan work. It takes a couple of significant thoughts and turns them over slowly in our minds, teasing out the implications in a way that can change our lives. Ramsey deals first with the limitations of being limited to one time. I liked this section, particularly when he discussed topics such as regret, changing seasons, rushing, and the feeling that time is passing quickly.

I had a sad moment this week.
We had our real estate agent come to our condo to take a look as we begin to think about selling our place. We’ve lived in only a few places since we got married 32 years ago, and by far, this is our favorite. To think of selling this place fills us with some sadness, even though we know it’s time.
Honestly, sometimes I want to be able to inhabit more than one place at a time.
I’m glad I had just read Adam Ramsey’s book Faithfully Present: Embracing the Limits of Where and When God Has You.
Ramsey talks about the two kinds of limitations that all of us face: location and time. We only live in one place out of 4.3 million unique towns and places on Earth. We are currently living in this specific moment among all the past and future moments. Our lives are short, and we will soon be forgotten. We can’t transcend our time and place. God calls us to be faithfully present in our time and place for his glory.
Ramsey’s book is not one that taught me anything new. Instead, it’s a book that reminds me of a Puritan work. It takes a couple of significant thoughts and turns them over slowly in our minds, teasing out the implications in a way that can change our lives. Ramsey deals first with the limitations of being limited to one time. I liked this section, particularly when he discussed topics such as regret, changing seasons, rushing, and the feeling that time is passing quickly.
The second section — place — is also timely for me. I’m leaving one place for another; I live in a body; I can maintain a limited number of relationships.
Ramsey’s book couldn’t have been a better one for me to read.
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Couples who keep those vows, even when those vows feel like a trap, often find that something beautiful happens as they endure the hardship. Things get better. They learn to love each other. God grows beautiful things in what looks like a garden of clay if we stick with it long enough and keep our promises even when we don’t feel like it.

The date was 1990. I was a newly engaged seminary student. Just a few weeks earlier, I’d proposed to Char, and she’d accepted. We were planning our wedding which was going to take place just a few months later.
I sat in the seminary classroom near the back. The subject: marriage counselling. The professor: a Christian counsellor. Notebook open, pen in hand, I couldn’t wait to learn about the journey I was about to begin.
I wasn’t prepared for what he said.
“Marriage is a steel trap,” he said.
I looked up, not sure if I was hearing him correctly.
The professor continued to explain. He’d enjoyed a good first marriage that ended with his wife’s death. Since then, he’d remarried, and found that his second marriage was a lot harder. In the first year of his second marriage, he found himself thinking that he’d made a terrible mistake. He knew divorce was not an option, but he found himself thinking of ways to escape.
But he couldn’t. Marriage was a steel trap. You can get into it, but it doesn’t easily let you go.
They stayed together and struggled. As they did, he found that marriage got easier. He learned to love his new wife. He began to enjoy their marriage. It was still hard and still required work, but being trapped together taught them to love each other, and they began to grow their relationship.
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We should try our best to understand what Ezekiel wrote, and to piece it together with other passages of Scripture that speak of what will happen in the future. Of course, we should always model humility as we try to understand Scripture, but we shouldn’t just shrug our shoulders and say we’ll figure things out one day in the distant future. Pan-millenials (“It will all pan out in the end”) are taking the easy way out. We can do better.

There was a time when people cared — really cared — about eschatology. They held conferences. They formed denominations. They created study Bibles. Thinking about eschatology — the doctrine of what happens in the end times — was a big deal.
No more. I hardly hear anyone talk about end times anymore. In some ways, that’s good. Sometimes we were a little too ready to fight over eschatology before. In other ways, it’s sad. I wonder if we really care as much as we should.
I’m struck by what Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:8: “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
That verse challenges me. Do I love his appearing? Our future with Jesus is meant to be one of the controlling influences in our lives. Do we even think about it, never mind long for it and love it?
If we had a bigger view of what’s to come, I suspect our lives today would be radically different.
I got thinking about this recently as I studied Ezekiel 43. Ezekiel has a vision of our future: God will recreate heaven and earth, and God will dwell with his people once again. Ezekiel’s vision is detailed, and it goes on for many chapters.
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