We make our relationship with God so difficult. But it really shouldn’t be. The simple reality is that we must make a choice. You really can’t sit on the fence with God.
<code><strong>Psalm 2</strong>
Ps 2:1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
Ps 2:2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.
Ps 2:3 “Let us break their chains,” they say,
“and throw off their fetters.”
Ps 2:4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
Ps 2:5 Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
Ps 2:6 “I have installed my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
Ps 2:7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.
Ps 2:8 Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
Ps 2:9 You will rule them with an iron scepter;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
Ps 2:10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Ps 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear
and rejoice with trembling.
Ps 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.</code>
We make our relationship with God so difficult
We make things so difficult. I guess when you’re a person, that’s what you do.
Yes, this is an Old Testament passage. It’s from Psalms. It’s all OT stuff. And yet, there are things to learn from it. Especially when the passage, like this one, points to the New Testament. And therefore, to us.
Here’s what I mean by that.
There is a debate among Old Testament scholars as to whether Psalm 2 can be considered messianic. That is, does it speak specifically of Jesus Christ? This is a complicated question with which we will deal again in the expositions of other psalms. But I say at the outset that if any psalm can rightly be regarded as messianic, it is this one. Psalm 2 speaks of the rebellion of the world’s rulers against God’s Anointed—the actual word is Messiah—and of the Father’s decree to give him dominion over them. This determination, plus the psalm’s ready and obvious application to the hostile circumstances of their day, made Psalm 2 one of the psalms most quoted by the writers of the New Testament. 1Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 21). Baker Books.
Of course, read the whole thing. But verse 12 really sums it up. The choice we have when it comes to our relationship with God. Specifically, in our case, with Jesus.
Ps 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Again, this is Old Testament. So we need to consider the words for what they are – Old Testament type of language, where outcomes are very much about here on earth. But today, for Christians, our ultimate outcome is the next life. So let’s keep that in mind and consider the options in verse 12.
There are two possible outcomes. One is to be blessed. The other is to be destroyed. That’s Old Testament speak.
These days, the choices are ones we really don’t like to consider. And yet, they remain the only two choices given by God. Heaven. Or Hell. There is no other.
Love Jesus, and I mean really love Jesus, and spend eternity with Him in the next life. That’s the ultimate blessing.
Don’t love Jesus, including pretending to love Jesus, and spend eternity with Satan and his fallen angels. That’s the ultimate destruction.
There are no other choices ever presented in the Bible. No second chances. No temporary place to go and have a chance to change your mind.
In the New Testament, in Jesus’ own words, we see those two choices clearly presented.
The Sheep and the Goats
Mt 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Mt 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Mt 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
Mt 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Mt 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
Mt 25:44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
Mt 25:45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Mt 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Conclusion – We make our relationship with God so difficult
I guess we make it difficult because we don’t like the choices. We’re presented option 1 and option 2. And try to make up our own option 3. The problem is, anything other than option 1, choosing to love and follow Jesus, is choosing option 2.
God created us. Jesus is God. Jesus died for us. Why do we need to make it so complicated? And who are we to complain if we don’t believe the one who created us?
Image by Raheel Shakeel from Pixabay
Footnotes
- 1Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 21). Baker Books.