Missing the Show of Shows

From 1 Timothy 1 – 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,

2 Timothy, a true son in the faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia – remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is faith.

5 now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some have strayed…

Philip Yancey wrote of a strange experience in a café looking out on the geyser Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. The natural wonder drew thousands, but he watched the crew working in the restaurant as the time for the geyser's eruption came and went. They no longer paid attention. It was too common, and they went about their business.

So it is in the Christian community, Paul ruefully conveys two Timothy in the opening of his first epistle between the two. Transformation is going on that is as amazing, at least, as the regularity and spectacle of Old Faithful. Impure hearts are replaced by sovereign grace with pure ones. Hearts of stone become hard to flesh. Good, accurate consciences begin to replace the erratic responses of the fallen heart is Christ's adopted brothers and sisters learn to discern choices as He does. This astounding transformation even works its way outward as these erstwhile competitors for the glory that could be grabbed start to treat each other sincerely. Yet, Paul says with the opening of verse six, we stray from that marvel as old business.

We don't have to. The healing of the blind man in Luke 18 was so remarkable that the jaded crowd which tried to stifle his pleas moments before is glorifying God on his behalf. As remarkable as it is that blind eye see, only to be closed in death at some point, is it not more remarkable that character changes in Christ's likeness as a metamorphosis to be fully accomplished in His Presence? Oh, what a foretaste of Glory Divine! Where we see it incrementally in ourselves, we are permitted to draw attention to it as we draw attention to Him Who renders it. As we see sanctification taking place in our brothers and sisters coming in ways, indeed, so subtle they may not even notice as they focus energy on their latest battles, we can do as Paul does in the macro, and chart evidence of Christ at work. The same Spirit Who works can focus our attention on that work, can keep us from turning aside to less interesting dramas.

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