MAGNOLIA MINDS: That Sticky Issue
By Greg Belser
Correspondent
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him (Psalm 2:12 ESV).
Acts 4:25 credits Psalm chapter two to King David. This is fitting, as the backdrop of the psalm is God’s promise in 2 Samuel chapter seven. There God promises David that the throne will never lack his descendant and his line will rule forever.
Ancient Israel was very clear in believing that a son of David and the Messiah would be one and the same, and yet when Jesus entered the world claiming to be the Son of God, He was rejected and accused of blasphemy.
Unbelief is sticky like that. We want a Messiah, but it seems we want Him on our own terms. Consider the reasons that unbelief carried the day in the Gospels:
— Jesus was from Nazareth;
— We know His father and mother and siblings;
— He is the son of a carpenter;
— He has no formal training;
— He “violates” the Sabbath;
–He mocks the religious hierarchy of His day;
— and more.
Yet by means of many signs and wonders, he validates his claims and attracts a band of followers.
Increasingly, we live in a world that takes little delight in the eternal truths of God’s Word or His son. This is not a new phenomenon. History is littered with similar seasons throughout the last three millennia.
Psalm chapter two invites (commands) our response to God’s Son as one of intimate embrace and affection — and likewise warns us of the consequences we face in rejecting Him.
Unbelief may look like, sound like, and seem like something altogether different than preceding generations experienced, but in fact it is just wearing different clothes today. Our response must be as the Bible instructs. We are to proclaim Jesus as Savior and live faithfully amidst all the naysayers.
The modern church has enjoyed a cozy relationship with the world, but times are changing and cozy is not the description that comes to mind any longer. We must remain wise as serpents but innocent as doves.
Perhaps the courage of the Old Testament prophet Daniel or the boldness of the prophet Elijah, also from the Old Testament, or the self-denial of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament seem impossible to ask of yourself. Those men lived for more than the world can see; they lived for a heavenly Judge and found their comfort under His promises. We can do no less.
Mississippians are blessed to live in a state that many describe as the most religious in America, but all religions are not the same. There is only one Son of David, Son of God. The Scripture invites us to draw near to Jesus with respect and tender affection, there to find refuge. Kiss the Son!
Belser is senior pastor of Morrison Heights Church, Clinton. He may be contacted at gbelser@morrisonheights.org.