A PICNIC FOR THE LORD -- Devotional for July 3, from "Good Seeds"

When the people heard the words of the law, they began to mourn and weep. Then Nehemiah said, “Do not do so, my people, but come, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared, for this day is holy to God. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:9-10)

This is surely a portion of Scripture that needs to be set against others in order to get the whole counsel of God on the matter. I’m thinking of Paul’s sober words in II Corinthians 7:8-10: “Though my letter caused you sorrow, I don’t regret sending it – in fact I rejoice, not that it made you weep, but that you wept according to the will of God, and came to repentance.” If the sorrow expressed by the children of Israel was like this, wouldn’t that be a good thing? But Israel’s godly governor was not pleased. Consider Isaiah: when he saw himself through the eyes of his Maker he repented “in dust and ashes,” and it pleased the Lord (Isaiah 6:1-7). Wasn't it the same thing here, with Nehemiah’s people? Apparently not! Reading on in II Corinthians we see another kind of sorrow, “the sorrow of the world.” Godly sorrow causes us to see ourselves through God’s eyes, and He is a Father who is always looking out the window for the return of His prodigals, ready to receive us, forgive us, and throw us a welcome home party! The world, however, has no such Heavenly Father, only “their father, the devil” (John 8:44), who promises only temporal pleasure, followed by eternal agony. And when humanity loses hope, neither man nor angel can restore it. From the beginning of time, this “angel of light” has tainted man’s perspective of his Maker with suggestions like, “Hath God said?” and “You shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:1-4). Just what does the devil want, concerning mankind? That we would be his subjects, or his victims. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10a). With the eye of a prophet Nehemiah saw Satan at work in the seemingly proper penance of his people, and he quickly gave these instructions: “The enemy’s out to destroy you – ‘don’t be ignorant of his devices’ (II Cor. 2:11). God has forgiven you, and wants to gird you, but you’ve got to act…NOW! First, dry you eyes, then fire up the barbeque, mix up some lemonade, somebody strum a guitar, invite the neighbors in -- and let’s have a picnic for the Lord!