Read: Psalm 90; Numbers 17:1-11; 2 Peter 3:1-18
In Theodor Geisel’s (better known as Dr. Seuss) kid’s book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, the title character is a miserable creature who lives alone in a cave high atop a mountain above Who-ville. The Whos love Christmas, but the Grinch, he does not. “Why may this be?” asks the narrator.
“It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small.”
The grumbly grumpy Grinch decides that if he must be miserable then everyone else should also be miserable. So he proceeds to steal Christmas from the Whos.
Israel had cried out to God while they were in Egypt and in bondage as slaves to Pharaoh, and so God had sent a redeemer through the person of Moses to set them free and bring them to the promised land. Reading the story in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy, it seems as if the people of God started grumbling from the moment they reached the Red Sea and didn’t let up. They complain that it would have been better to serve as slaves in Egypt than to die in the wilderness. They complain that Moses is taking too long on the Mountain talking to God and that they want another god to worship. When they finally reach the promised land, they complain that the people who are already there are too large and scary, and they refuse to enter.
Set between the redemptive act of leaving Egypt and the promised land ahead, instead of rejoicing in what God has already done for them, and looking forward to the promises He has made for them, God’s people have hearts that are too small and they grumble. Instead of being a blessing to others, they attempt to bring everyone else down with them.
For those of us in the “already, not yet” between Christ’s first coming, His redeeming act on the cross, and the promised return where He will once and for all judge the living and the dead, Peter cautions us to not become Grinches,
“Above all, you must understand that in the last days, scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ~ 2 Peter 3: 3-4
How then shall we live?
“You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”~ From 2 Peter 3: 11-18
The song from the 1996 cartoon about the Grinch has these lyrics:
“You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch
You're the king of sinful sots
Your heart's a dead tomato splotched with moldy purple spots, Mr. Grinch
Your soul is an appalling dump heap overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable, mangled up in tangled up knots!”
Scripture describes the hearts of sinners much the same way, Jeremiah 17: 9 says,
“The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?”
Jesus told his disciples,
“For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.” ~ Matthew 15: 19
If our hearts are like a splotchy tomato and full of sinful desires how can I live this God-honoring, loving my neighbor, joyfilled attitude while stuck in the desert and there are giants in the land?
In Ezekiel 36 God speaks this promise,
“ I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” ~ Ezekiel 36: 25-28
At the end of Dr. Seuss’ book, the Grinch having witnessed that Christmas came despite his grumbling, stealing, and attempts to ruin it all, has a change of heart.
“Well… in Who-ville they say that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day!”
Despite our sinful nature, God through the power of His Holy Spirit takes the tight stone hard hearts of His people and turns them into hearts of flesh that overflow in blessings to others. As we wait on the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ let us encourage one another by pointing to His Advent, and may you grow in the grace and the knowledge of Him.
Blessings,
Jory
Reformed in Tualatin 