THE VOICE OF CLARITY

Exodus 30:11-31:18; Matthew 26:47-68; Psalm 32:1-11; Proverbs 8:27-32

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Collect choice spices—12½ pounds of pure myrrh, 6¼ pounds of fragrant cinnamon, 6¼ pounds of fragrant calamus and 12½ pounds of cassia—as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Also get one gallon of olive oil.  Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil.  Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, [and] the Ark of the Covenant….”

“Then the high priest said to him, ‘I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.’  Jesus replied, ‘You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.’”

“Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt.  I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’  And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”

This may be the most important election in eighty years.  It is the duty of every Christian, every American, to vote.  But oh, the rhetoric!  The changes in position!  The outright slander!  Clarity is almost impossible to find.  Even where there is clarity, there is contradiction.  Our leadership is confused because our leaders’ priorities and language are confused.  Good grief!  It is no wonder many voters remain undecided and that the world has lost much of its confidence in us.

Thank goodness God’s Message is plain.  “I created you.  I love you.  Your sin broke my heart.  I could not stand being separated from you.  So, I died in your place.  I defeated death so we can be together forever.  Just love me.”  Straight and to the point.  Nothing unclear.  Nothing to be misunderstood.  One heart, one meaning.  A hallmark of God’s Message is clarity. 

We may not want to accept God’s Word.  There certainly are times He chooses not to speak.  We may not be listening for His Voice.  But let’s stop kidding ourselves about His meaning.  When the Spirit does speak, He leaves no doubt of His intent.  His is the one Voice of absolute truth.  His is the one Word we can rely on.  We are confused because we are looking in the wrong places, and to the wrong leaders, for guidance.  We already know what we want to hear and disregard anything else.  We reject the simplicity of “love your neighbor as yourself” not because we don’t understand, but because we don’t want to love our neighbor.

Here’s another thing I learned on my retreat in the woods.  Dishonesty, especially within and to myself, trumps even the clarity of God’s Voice.  Said another way, before I can hear Him, before I can even be prepared for His personal Message and mission for me, I have to be honest with myself.  I have to be honest with myself about what I don’t want to hear, and honest with myself about the boundaries I set for God.  Then, I have to tear those restrictions down.  There are places I don’t want to go, things I don’t want to do, traits that just seem too difficult to develop.  God’s Word for me is simple: “Get over it.”  Now, that’s Godly clarity.