In the history of the nation of Israel, it was a dangerous time. It was a time of civil war. As Americans, we certainly know what a civil war can do to a nation. Our fighting stopped in 1865. Slavery was abolished, and a promise of restoration was given to those who had been enslaved.
But it didn’t take long before we found ways to negate that promise, to limit the capacity of people formerly enslaved to have genuine freedom. What ensued was a time of great mitigation and change, of turmoil and lynchings. As the culmination of the first 100 years after our civil war, we had to pass new legislation to try to once again make freedom to be free. Even now, 150 years later, we are still dealing with the effects of that civil war.
In the book of First Chronicles, David is crowned king over the northern tribes of Israel and the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin after a civil war. In 1 Chronicles 12:32, there is a description of some of the men who rallied around David in hopes of making the nation stronger than their tribe’s interests. Here is the verse…
“Of Issachar, me who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…”
When I read this verse, I immediately think of our time. Right now.
We need people who have an understanding of the times and a sense of what we ought to be doing as a community of faith. We live in a time of drastic change. The way that information and power are now related is different than the way that it was a generation ago. People of the world are desperate and are on the move. The distribution of wealth is shifting to a concentration in a very few that has not been seen in quite a long time.
What is our understanding of the times and what we ought to be doing as a community of faith?
If we have no goal higher than being polite and enjoying the good things in life, then we will not be preparing the church to live in the next generation.
What does it mean to be alive in a time when taxi cabs drive themselves, when you can take your own personal entertainment device into your own person space and spend the vast majority of your waking hours watching content and playing games?
What does it mean to live in a time when we are encouraged to interact with chatbots that tell us what we want to hear instead of being in relationships where we have to address conflict and confess sins?
There has never been a time when understanding the difference between a scribe’s knowledge of the content of the scripture and the spiritual maturity of a disciple of Jesus has been more important than it is today. Our calling is to follow Jesus, to obey his commands, and to make disciples in our world.
We will never fulfill our calling by passively avoiding the worst sins while maximizing our personal pleasures. If we are going to follow Jesus, we will have to understand our times and move together as a community that is constantly changing.
What is your understanding of “the times” and your place in them? Has God equipped you with spiritual gifts to serve others and make disciples, or do you see yourself as ill-equipped? Are you all in for the Kingdom of God or must you have your own tribe to get the best share?
My hope is that FPC will grow as a community of believers who understand the times and act on that wisdom even in tumultuous times.
by Dr. Paul Suich, FPC Parish Counselor