Acts 16:9-15
I think sometimes people pre-judge Paul. They think that Paul is opposed to women in leadership in the church. Often it is based on a few quotes of his taken out of context. After all it was Paul who wrote that in Christ there is no male or female. (Galatians 3:28) And a careful look at his ministry shows his willingness to give women positions of importance. The episode we read about this morning is an example of that.
To understand what is going on in this passage you have to understand Paul's method of operation. Paul was a formally trained Pharisee. He was a teacher and because of his credentials he could speak in any synagogue. So, as he traveled around, in each town he would go to the synagogue on the Sabbath and inform the Jews in that town that the Messiah had come and he was Jesus! Some believed him and some didn't. Sometimes they threw him out but they had heard the Good News.
This method worked in most towns because most towns in known world had a synagogue. Philippi was different. You needed 12 Jewish men to establish a synagogue. There apparently were not 12 Jewish men in Philippi. Maybe that was because it was a Roman colony and most of the residents there had come from Rome.
Paul could have given up on the town and moved on, but he didn't. On the Sabbath he went out to the river which was a traditional place of prayer. When he got there he found some women who believed in God who had gathered there for prayer. Some Pharisees taught that a man should not talk to a women who was not a relative in public. But Paul sat down and witnessed to these women; he treated them as equals or at least more equal than most men in his day would have, and one of these women, Lydia, became a patron of the church in Phillip.
Now that I have defended Paul's integrity and shown that he is not the anti-woman monster some make him out to be, let me get to the real point of our lesson today: Lydia. We don't know a lot about her. She was apparently a well to do merchant. She dealt in purple cloth which was a luxury. That kind of business could be lucrative but required a large initial investment.
Living in a Roman Colony, Lydia may have had some freedoms she would not have elsewhere: the right to own property, the right to represent herself in court and enter into contracts. She apparently had extensive property to run a business like hers.
We are told that she was a "worshipper of God." She might have been Jewish. But often times the phrase "worshipper of God" means a Gentile who believes in God. She may have wanted to become a Jew but for one reason or another she did not. She certainly believed enough to go out of her way to keep the Sabbath and worship even in the absence of a synagogue.
In the few verses about her in Acts we are told that she opened her house to Paul. She allowed the fledgling church to meet there. We don't know if she had any children but she did have a household. If she didn't have children, and even if she did, her household might have included servants or extended family. So she may not have been a mother to children, but in a way she was a mother to the church in Philippi.
I believe that Lydia is an example for mothers today. In these two short verses we see an example for Christian mothers. First of all it says that the Lord opened her heart to listen to what Paul said. She had put herself in a place to be influenced by God. She took the time and effort to put time aside for prayer and worship. In the same way mothers today should put themselves in a place to be influenced by God. This means making worship and personal devotion a priority. I know how busy mothers are now a days, grandmothers too, but making our relationship with God a priority will put us under the influence of God. When we pray or read the Bible we are opening ourselves to the presence of God and then God can direct and guide us just as God guided and inspired Lydia.
We are also told that Lydia was baptized with her household too. Her belief had somehow influence those with whom she shared her life. They too chose to give their hearts to God and become believers. We never know what kind of influence we have on those around us. Our children are watching us and listening. The story goes that a preacher visited a mother and her small son one day. The boy said, "Is it true that we all come from dust and that we return to dust?" The preacher said, "That's what the Bible says." Then the boy got an alarmed look on his face and said, "Well someone is either coming or going under my bed!" That boy may not have understood but he was listening. If we will just live the Gospel then others, especially our children, will see and they will choose to put their faith in the same one we trust.
We are also told that Lydia opened her home. This was probably more than just providing a place for Paul and Silas to stay. She probably opened her home to the church to allow them to meet at her house. Just as she had her heart opened to God, she was opening her life to others. She put what she had at the disposal of God. In the same way mothers today should put their lives at God's disposal. God has given you resources and talents. Like Lydia, use those to host and nurture other Christians. Be a mother to the church just as Lydia was.
Lydia is an example for mothers. Like her, Christian mothers should place themselves in a place spiritually where they can be influenced by the Holy Spirit. They should allow God to open their hearts to hear the Gospel. That means prayer and Bible study and worship. And they should live their faith so that others are influenced by it. Your children and grandchildren are watching you. They are learning what you believe in and that affects them and the choices they make and beliefs they develop. Open your life to serve God. Put your resources at God's disposal. Show hospitality and serve in Christ's name.
Lydia is an example for mothers today. But remember that in the church all women are mothers! You don't have to have given birth to or adopted a child to be a mother in the church. Jesus said, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother." (Matthew 12:50) So if any of the women have tuned me out because they are not a mother, open your hearts and hear; Lydia is an example for you as well.
And you know I have to admit that she is an example to us men as well. She may have been a woman living in a man's age, but her faith can inspire all of us. Like Lydia we should let God influence us. Then we should live in such a way that we influence others. We should put ourselves and all we have at God's disposal. Then like Lydia we can be mothers, and fathers, of the church!
John 14:23-29
The scene is the upper room. Jesus has washed his disciple's feet and Judas has left to betray him. He has taken the bread and said "this is my body" and the cup and said "this is my blood." And he knows that he will soon be separated from them. He will be carried off and they will witness him being brutally beaten and crucified. And he knows it will shake their faith.
Now, Jesus knew that only three days later he would rise again. But what about that three days? And Jesus also knew that once he arose he would only be with them for forty days. Then he would ascend to take his place at the helm of the universe. What will they do without him physically present?
So Jesus tried to tell is disciples not to be worried. He promised them that they will not be orphaned. Even though the world will not recognize him, they will see him. Then one of the disciples asks a question: "How is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?"
The passage we read today from John is Jesus answer to that question. So let's just look at the question for a minuet. It addresses one of the realities of religious experience. How is it that some see Jesus and some don't?
I don't know about you, but I can see God in the beauty of nature. But many do not. I can see Jesus in the simple acts of kindness; in the way that light comes through window, in the pages of the Bible. But many people miss the divine presence in those things.
How is it that some can see and some can't? So Jesus tells his disciples some of the ways that he will be revealed to them. I don't think these are all the ways, but they outline the general principle of how God is revealed to us.
The first way that Jesus is made know to us is through love. When we love another, we act as a part of God. Love is more than just an emotion. People fall in and out of love all the time. Love can be just an infatuation with a fad. That is not love.
Love in the Biblical sense is a dedication and loyalty. That is why Jesus says "Those who love me will keep my word." It is all about loyalty to God in Christ. When we live that kind of love, Christ's presence is made evident in our lives.
But it is also in the genuine love we show for others. When we love our neighbor we are being the hands of Christ for them. And in that act Jesus' living presence is revealed to us. There is a song that goes "And they'll know we are Christians by our love by out love and they'll know we are Christians by our love." In other words Christ is revealed in us for others to see when we love others.
The second way that Jesus is made known to us is through the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his disciples, "I have said these things while I am with you but the Advocate will remind you." If you think about it the disciples were not taking notes as Jesus was teaching. It was perhaps a generation later that they began writing Jesus' teaching down on paper. And there was so much that they didn't understand when Jesus was saying it. Have you ever tried to remember something that didn't make sense?
But the Holy Spirit would remind them of all that he had said. Many of the things Jesus said only made sense after the resurrection. That was the Holy Spirit reminding them. The Holy Spirit does the same for us today. It recalls to our minds things that we had heard but not comprehended. It reminds us of the things that Jesus said.
But it also teaches. Have you ever had one of those "Aha!" moments? A moment when the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place and things suddenly made sense. That was the Holy Spirit! The disciples were in the habit of asking Jesus questions, but he would soon die and then after the resurrections ascend to heaven. But they could still ask and the Holy Spirit would provide the answers.
Can you see Jesus? Is his presence evident in your life? Sometimes in life we go though time when we can't see Jesus clearly. God's presence in our lives is not as obvious as other times. Things don't make sense. God's word does not seem to be easy to grasp.
In those times don't lose heart. Jesus promised that he would make himself know to us. Look for him in the love you share with others. Look for his Holy Spirit to call to mind Jesus' words and to teach you. Do you remember what Jesus said? "Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. Simply trust.
But maybe you have never seen Jesus to begin with? He is waiting to reveal himself to you. Just ask him into your heart. Ask him to reveal himself to you. Put your trust in the promise that he would not leave us orphaned.
Revelation 21:22-22:5
John's vision of the city of God is breathtaking! It is one of the few parts of the book of Revelation that everyone enjoys reading. The rest of the book is filled with dark images of evil and judgment. They are hard to understand and comprehend so they make us uneasy. But the picture painted in chapters 21 and 22 is filled with light and grace.
Let us just stop, as John does, and look at this image. After all the judgment and destruction, John sees and image of the city of God coming down to dwell among people. When he first sees this City of God he says it is like a bride adorned for her groom. Men, those of you who are married, do you remember that moment when you first saw your bride in her wedding gown. You are standing there with your best man at the altar and the back doors of the church open. And there she is: in a flowing white dress, an image of beauty. That is how God's city appeared to John: as an image of beauty and glory radiating the light of God.
And John points out that there is no temple in God's City. That may seem strange. No temple? Of all places the City of God should have a glorious temple. But there is no need for a single holy place because the whole city is filled with the glory of God. In fact even the sun and moon are obsolete because the glory of God is bright enough for all to see.
And in this glorious city there is a river. It is a river of the water of life and it flows from the throne of God. Its waters are crystal clear. And planted on its banks are trees. Wonderful trees! They produce fruit year round and their leaves will heal the nations. And nothing accursed will dwell there. There will be no hatred or deceit or prejudice. People will not kill or abuse one another. There will be only grace and peace What a glorious place!
How unlike our world this vision of heavenly glory is. The cities of our world look nothing like this. They aren�t brides adorned for their grooms, but harlots. The reality of our world is not light and glory, but darkness and despair.
We need temples in our world. We need places for people to experience the glory of God because it is so lacking. We need light from above to illuminate our days and nights because the light from within is so dim. The overwhelming experience of humanity is not the glory of God but the separation of sin.
And what is it that flows from our cities? Not crystal clear streams that give life. But polluted streams of filth and muck that rob life. And the fruits that the cities of our world produce are hated and violence; not healing of nations but the oppression of nations. Wars, famine, sin and destruction are the legacy of our societies and history. How unlike the city of God is our world!
Wouldn't it me great if such a place as this City of God described in Revelation existed today. A place where the glory of God was so real that you could see it. A place where you didn't have to search for peace and fulfillment because it was shinning upon you. A place where the light of God illumined and cleansed the darkest parts of the human soul. A place where crystal waters of life flowed past trees of healing for the nations.
And what would I do if such a place existed in our world? I would gather the seeds of the trees of fruit and healing and like some evangelistic Johnny Appleseed I would carry them everywhere. I would plant trees for the healing of the nations in Sariavoh and Oklahoma, Ireland and Los Angeles, Beijing and Columbia. And trees of glory and light would grow everywhere. And their leaves would be for the healing of the nations.
And I would bottle the water of life and I would send it rush deliver by overnight mail to the four corners of the earth. I would pour it on the blood stained barren deserts of Africa. I would serve it to the starving masses of Ethiopia and India. I would pour it out for the children of lost hope in our inner cities to play in. I would place it in IV bottles to be given to AIDS patients.
What I would do if the City of God existed today in our world!
It does exist! Any of your Sunday School teachers will tell you, "Of course it exists." Jesus said he would go to prepare a place for us so that when he returned we would be where he was. This vision is obviously a vision of that city of Mansions that Christ is preparing for us. And Jesus, the master carpenter, is building it as we speak.
That is all true, but the City of God is also here in our world today. Don't go flipping through the map pages in the back of your Bibles or run home to look for it in your World Atlas. You won't find the City of God there. Instead look at yourselves. You are the City of God.
John calls the City of God a bride. Who is the bride of Christ? The church. In the parables Jesus often church as a bride awaiting the arrival of her groom. If you have accepted Christ is not the Lamb of God enthroned in your heart? And does not the glory of God shine in our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit? And if we are faithful is there not a stream of the water of life flowing from us? And by God's help are we not given the power to fruit and leaves for the healing of the nations? Peter says in the Bible that we are each of us "living stones built into the temple of God."(1 Peter 2:5) It exists, in you!
You have been given the power of healing and life. What will you do with it? By the power of the living Christ in you, you are trees planted by the river of life. Will you produce fruit? Where will you plant your seeds? Upon whom will you apply the healing medicine in your leaves? There are people in spiritual, emotional, and physical pain. Who will you pray for, who will you go to, for whom will you sacrifice?
It may be hard for you to see. For John it was clear because he was shown the finished product. Jesus is still working on us; we are not finished so the glory of God does not shine through us as brightly as it will in that day. What we are becoming has not yet been fully revealed, but maybe you can see it. After church, as the people are flowing away, I can see it. If you squint your eyes and turn your head, and pray real hard you can see it too. A crystal river of life. It flows out from the altar down the isles and out the doors into the world.
Each of you is a vessel containing the water of life that is Jesus Christ. Where will you take this water? There are people in our world dying of thirst for the water of life. People in our community and throughout the world and alone not knowing of the love of God. With whom will you share the love of Christ?
You are the City of God and within you is the glory of God, the water of life, and leaves for the healing of the nations. What will you do with these gifts from God? Bask in the Glory of God's light in you. Drink deeply of the waters of life. Eat your fill of the fruit of the trees. Then share these gifts from God with a dark, thirsty and hungry world.
I wonder where the river of the water of life will flow today?
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-27
The Book of Revelation is one of the greatest messages of hope that God ever gave the church. Unfortunately, people have tried to make it much more difficult to understand than it should be. It contains a lot of imagery that seems strange and foreign to us. And people have taken advantage of that strangeness and tried to make something of Revelation that it was not meant to be. Preachers, sometimes well intentioned, have misused the images of judgment to scare people. And so as a result people are often frightened just by the mention of the book. And we have heard interpretations that stretch one image so far that we are often afraid to read the book because we think it is "too deep" for us to understand.
Just read the book of Revelation from beginning to end. Don't let yourself get bogged down in all the details and images. Just keep going and keep track of the general flow of the action. Don't lose your perspective by stopping and spending hours trying to figure out one image or passage. You can do that later. For now pay special attention to the beginning and the ending.
Where this story begins and where it ends is the context in which the rest can be understood. The revelation begins on a prison island. John is on that prison island for being a Christian. At the same time other Christians are dying for the same "crime." It is Sunday and John is worshipping. And in the midst of his worship God revels to him all that follows. The story ends with a vision of the coming of Christ. And everything in the middle shows how God is trying to lead people away from evil and darkness and to light of Christ. And eventually how God will destroy the source of the evil that is persecuting John and the other Christians.
Our reading this morning from Revelation comes at the end. Evil has been defeated and the Devil has been thrown in the lake of fire. Christ has come and has been ruling the earth with the saints for a thousand years. Then the City of God, the new Jerusalem, descends from heaven.
John goes into a lot of detail to describe what he sees. He says that it is like a precious jewel. He describes it as being studded with every kind of jewel imaginable. He lists 12 jewels, the gates are huge pearls, and the streets are gold. What he is trying to describe is the Glory of God that is radiating from it. It is as beautiful as a bride all decked out for her husband.
It is no mistake that John uses this bride imagery to describe the city. This city after all represents the fullness of God's people and the church is often described as the bride of Christ. In the description, John also says that this city has twelve gates, each bearing the name of one of the 12 tribes. And it have 12 foundations each bearing the name of one of the apostles. So this city is a visual representation of the whole people of God. Both Jews and Christians. All people who have placed their faith in God. And the people of God are literally glowing with the glory of God.
Of all the aspects of this wonderful city the most remarkable is that it has no temple. You would think that a heavenly vision like this would include a temple. This is a holy city. One would think it should have a huge cathedral in it. One would expect holy shrines and quiet prayer chapels everywhere. You know a Duke you can see the spire of Duke Chapel from everywhere on campus. And if you haven't seen Duke Chapel it is really a cathedral. I can remember being lost and just looking up to see the spire to get my bearings. One might expect that this would be the case in this Holy City, but it is not.
If you understand the nature of temples you can see why. You see, a temple is the house of God. The purpose of the temple in Jerusalem was to keep the unholiness of the people away from the holiness of God. It was basically constructed as a series of levels of holiness. The furthest out was the court of the Gentiles, those who were not even circumcised; they were the most unclean. The women, then the men, and then the priests. The innermost room was called the holy of hollies. It was the holiest of places. The glory of God dwelt there. Only one priest once a year was allowed to enter the holy of hollies. This structure kept unclean people from desecrating that holy ground, but it also separated the glory of God from the people.
No such structures exist in this city which John sees. The glory of God is everywhere for people to bask in just like the sunlight. There are no walls that separate people from the holiness of God. There is no place that is holier than another, the whole city is a holy place. The result is that the City of God is one big lamp of glory shining the way of the nations to truth and light. And God's presence is everywhere to comfort the afflicted, wipe away tears, bring life to the dead, release to captive recovering of sight to the blind, and the grace of God to the lost.
One might say, "If only such a city existed today what a relief it would be to this hurting and lost world." But it does exist today. "Where is it?" you might say. "Show it to me." You are looking right at it. It is here right before you. We are the city of God.
Oh, it has not been revealed to the world in its full glory yet. But when Christ comes again it will be. And all will see God's glory in it.
In the mean time, God is building the City of God. The gates have already been hung in the lives and the faith of the twelve tribes of Israel. And the foundations have been laid in the acts and faith of the Apostles. And every one of us is another priceless gem polished by the hand of God, or another brick of gold purified by the fires of the spirit. Each one of us is a part of this glorious creation of God.
It is true that the city of God is not finished, there is still a lot of polishing and bricklaying to be done. But the most outstanding aspect of this city is completed. In the Church of Christ, God dwells among people. There is no need for a holy of hollies in a Christian Church. That is because God's glory dwells everywhere within it.
The glory of God is here, just as it will be in that city. And for us today that glory is the light by which we live. Even when it is dark in the rest of the world we still have light. And that light is a beacon to the peoples of the world showing them the way to truth. They look at our actions and words and see what the truth of Christ is all about.
And the gates of the city are always open. They are open so that any who would worship Christ the Lamb of God may enter. We are the city of God. We do not yet live up to the fullness of what we will be, God hasn't finished with us yet. We do not always shine as brightly as we should, God still has some polishing to do. And sometimes the gates are not left open as wide as the should be, but the carpenter from Nazareth will straighten that out. We may not be finished yet, but the Glory of God is in our midst. It is in the heart of everyone who believes in Christ. And the through us the Glory of God is shining for all the world to see.
Acts 16:11-15
Being a church is a huge responsibility. Just to keep the facilities and the programs of the church going takes a lot of work. Budgets have to be planned and raised. And in financially hard times that is not easy. Then there are the moral responsibilities. We are called to be examples of the love of God for the world. But sometimes it is hard to love everyone in the church. And some people don't make it any easier.
Sometimes it seems that all of our energies are spent on just keeping our heads above water. Sometimes it seems as if the church is just surviving in this world. But we have been called to do so much more. We know that God has given us the good news about a Savior who loves. And we are called to spread that message of love.
Many Christians wonder: How can we do it all? How can we reach this lost world. Most of the time they won't even listen to us. The task of being the Church of Christ seems too big. What are we to do? We are so small and our responsibilities are so huge.
I imagine that Lydia and Paul in our Lesson today had the same feeling of being overburdened with responsibility. Both Paul and Lydia were called by God to witness to Christ in some very unfavorable circumstances. Paul's calling was to be an Apostle and eyewitness of the Gospel to the Gentiles. On his journeys he came to the city of Philippi.
Philippi wasn't the kind of place where people would want to hear about Christ. The people of Philippi had made themselves the leading city in the district by hard work. Philippi had started off as a little community like Antreville/Abbeville. But it had allied itself with kings and emperors and the powers of this world and made itself the leading city in its district. They had no need for a Savior who dies on a cross. Their savior was Rome. They had no need of the Jew's God. They had plenty of gods already.
So when Paul came to this city I imagine he threw his arms up and said, "What can I do!" Usually Paul got around these problems by going to the synagogue in town first. There he could speak to people who honored the same Scriptures. And he could announce to them that the Messiah had come. From the converts he found there he would have a base of operations to reach out to the rest of the city. But there wasn't even a Synagogue in Philippi.
Under such circumstances many people would just give up. Why waste time on a lost cause. Sometimes it seems better to engage in a strategic retreat. Why not spend one night and be on our way to the next city where the prospects are more rosy. Many people would have given up in desperation, but not Paul. No, Paul, despite the odds, went about his business. Paul couldn't find a Synagogue but it says, "on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together." He couldn't find a synagogue but he could find a few God fearing women who would listen to the good new he had for them. He did what he could: He sat down and taught these women he came across about what Jesus had done.
One of these women, Lydia, is said to be a worshiper of God or in some translations a fearer of God. "fearer of God" probably means that these women were Jews or they at least sought to worship the one true God which the Jews worshipped. It would have taken twelve Jewish men to found a synagogue. These women were not allowed to found one and call a rabbi on their own. So they faithfully gathered by the river and worshipped as they could.
When Paul came to speak to their gathering Lydia's heart was touched by what he had said. As folk used to say, God "laid a burden on her heart." She heard the Good news that the Messiah had come to save, and she felt the spirit urging her to tell the world about it. God opened her heart and called her to the ministry of spreading the Gospel. But what could she do? In her day and time, women did not have many freedoms or much power. As in many churches today, she probably would not have been allowed to preach. There were few, like Paul, who would sit down and teach her about God. In a town like Philippi she had the right to run her own business, but not much else. She wouldn't have been allowed to be the formal leader of a religious community. That would have been scandalous, even for Romans. But in a colony of Rome she did have the right to own property.
There were a lot of things that Lydia couldn't do because she was a woman and the people of her time didn't allow women do such things. But she and her household were baptized. And she urged Paul to stay with them for a while so that he could teach them. So Paul stayed, and people began meeting in Lydia's house to hear the good news that Paul had brought them. Lydia's house became the meeting place for the newly founded church in Philippi. In many ways the church in Philippi was born in Lydia's home.
Before two weeks were up the authorities in Philippi required Paul to leave town. It seemed he was causing too much trouble. Despite these humble beginnings, the Church at Philippi became one of the greatest churches of the first century. It is one of the few church to which Paul never had to write an angry word. Despite all its troubles, all the strikes it had against it, it grew to be a great church and an example of what Christ can do in people's lives.
Paul didn't make the church at Philippi great. He had been there less than two week. He did not baptize many people and did not have much of a chance to teach anyone. The only leadership he left that church with was a woman who owned a cloth shop. And the sanctuary was Lydia's house. As far as we know Paul never returned to Philippi. But he had told some women by the river about Jesus.
Lydia didn't make the church at Philippi great either. It is true that God used her as an instrument of spreading the good news. But she wouldn't have been allowed by law or custom to take the leadership role which would have been needed. All she did was have her household baptized, and open her home to be used as a place where Paul could stay and the new converts could meet.
Paul didn't make the church at Philippi great. Lydia, bless her, didn't make the church at Philippi great. God made that church great. God took those actions of faith of Lydia and Paul and used them as a starting point. Both Paul and Lydia did what little they could do in the face of circumstances which were against them. They did what little they could do and trusted that God would do the rest.
I believed the story of the founding of the Church at Philippi has a message of hope for the church today. We live under circumstance much like those which Paul and Lydia faced. People today are independent and self sufficient, or so they think. They already have gods of self centeredness and materialism. They feel no need for the Christian's God. Especially one that suffers and dies. Like the church of Philippi, we are small and seem unable to do much more than meet once a week and worship. Just as the world limited what Lydia could do because she was a woman, the world ties our hands. It says don't talk about religion in public it is impolite. And in the name of religious tolerance we have become intolerant to any real religion. And Yet as in Philippi, people are lost. People need to hear the Good News that God loves them. They need to know that they can be spiritually free from the bondage of materialism, self centeredness, and prejudice.
What can we do in the face of such a huge task? We can only do those little things which present themselves to us. Story of Lydia and Philippi shows us that when God's people are faithful in little things, God is faithful in the big things. If we will concentrate on what we can do instead of an what we can't, God will do the rest. The Almighty has done it before and the Almighty will do it again.
Don't worry about the church. God will take care of it. Don't kill yourself trying to save the world, that is Christ's job. Just be faithful in the small ways that you can. We live in a modern day Phillipi. But there are still people like those God fearing women who are ready to hear. Just concentrate on being faithful to God in the small ways you can, ministering to a friend, praying for a lost neighbor, and let God do the rest.