-Actually, the Law does not start with the bad news. It starts in the very beginning, a very GOOD place to start, with a very, very GOOD God. Breathtakingly so. In the beginning, God. That’s exactly how it starts out. And this indescribably, ineffably good God of glory is the blessed Creator and Maker of all things. He started out by making everything which exists, not one thing came into existence which He did not make, and it was all VERY good. That is the very first thing we read in the Law. We read about paradise. That garden of extreme goodness, a place where there was no sickness or brokenness or dying or crying or pain. A place where man enjoyed unbroken intimate friendship with his heavenly Father. How things were always meant to be. But then paradise was lost. In that fateful moment, man cast God out of mind, and for his efforts he received an outcast mind and was cast out of paradise. The bad news. And while I suppose news COULD be good in the absence of bad news, this particular bad news made this particular Good News all the better. Because the message of the Law involves not only the problem of sin which separates us from our breathtakingly good heavenly father - Paradise Lost - it also points to His provision. Paradise Restored. A Savior. The Messiah. The promised seed of Adam and Abraham Who would crush the serpent and conquer death and bring the blessings of this breathtakingly good God to every tribe and tongue on planet earth. This is the Good News which is developed throughout the entirety of what we call our Old Testament, and then clarified and realized in the New. It is the Good News ushered in by Jesus Christ, a message which - in keeping with the original intent of the Blessing - the Son of God directed to be delivered to all the nations. A Message and a Mission which this blessed God entrusted to His people - and specifically to Paul. Disciples everywhere, men and women and children in every nation believing in and following Jesus and telling others about Him - that is the Mission. Not for Paul only, but definitely Paul.
-And here’s the kicker. This glorious Good News is a precious gift, but not one which is meant to be hoarded. Hide it under a bushel, no! There is no issue of trust if we are only talking about a gift which is merely meant to be received/believed. If somebody TRUSTS me with something, they expect me to take care of it. And in the case of a message - which is what we’re talking about in this instance - the recipient is expected to faithfully convey that message to its intended hearers. THIS Message doesn’t stop with me. I am not supposed to be a black hole, but rather a conduit. In baseball lingo, I am making a relay throw, not a cut-off play. I am supposed to send the ball on its way, not hold on to it. God entrusted His glorious Good News to Paul - and to us - and He is expecting us to deliver, to deliver it to our neighbors and to the nations. He is counting on us. If you have believed, if you have received, He is counting on you. And me. To be sure, He is not standing in heaven, helplessly wringing His hands, just hoping that you and I will deliver His Good News. “Oh, I just hope they’ll come thru for Me.” But surely ours is a sacred trust. This Good News of peace on earth and good will towards men is a message for all people. It was secured at an incomparable price. It is the greatest, most precious and costly gift ever given. Truly a sacred trust. Can He trust you? Can He trust me? Who then is the trustworthy, faithful servant, whose Master will find faithfully giving the Bread of Life to His household (Matthew 24.45)? It is required of stewards that they be found faithful (1Corinthians 4.2). Entrust these things to faithful men, He says (2Timothy 2.2). God found Paul faithful - next verse (1Timothy 1.12)...
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