Reflection 07 - The writing's on the wall

According to Wikipedia the idiom ‘the writing on the wall’ is an “expression that suggests a portent of doom or misfortune”. Most of the definitions you’ll find on the internet talk about ‘ominous’ signs that something ‘bad’, ‘unpleasant’ or ‘unfortunate’ is going to happen. 

This idiom comes from the story that we looked at on Sunday from Daniel 5. If you’ve not yet had a chance to listen to Sunday’s sermon you’ll find it here: https://youtu.be/es_xfoWhf-E 

Of course, something unpleasant did happen to Belshazzar but it wasn’t simply unfortunate. His actions had been weighed on the scales and he’d been found wanting – and now God’s judgement was coming. Belshazzar had set himself up against God and this was the consequence.

Daniel’s name means ‘God is my judge’ and Daniel lived his life in the light of this truth. He was in Babylon because of God’s judgement on Israel. God’s opinion was more important than any other – even the king’s.

Judgement is probably one of those themes that we tend to steer clear of. In chapter 4 we were encouraged by the thought that God was giving Nebuchadnezzar yet another chance to respond. But, one chapter later, there appears to be no second chance for Belshazzar. How are we supposed to respond to that?

Judgement is also one of those themes that it is very easy to ‘get wrong’ in our Christian walk. We tend to one extreme or the other. 

At one end of the spectrum are those with a picture of a critical God, waiting to punish our every mistake. They do what they do out of fear or duty. Sometimes this results in paralysis – an inability to do anything because of a fear of getting it wrong. Sometimes this results in a very judgemental and critical attitude towards others with long lists of ‘thou shalt nots’. This attitude can often lead to a loss of joy. There is little of God’s love experienced. There is little room for grace as we seek to earn God’s favour through our obedience.

At the other end of the spectrum are those who favour themes of love and forgiveness at the expense of judgement. They downplay the truth that God is a holy God who calls us to a life of holiness. They forget that the whole world is moving towards what the Bible calls ‘the day of the Lord’ when every single one of us will have to give an account. They forget that the first Christians were called to endure great hardship and to remain faithful to ensure that they weren’t disqualified from the prize. Their lives are not much different from those of their non-Christian friends.

Clearly the truth lies somewhere between these two extremes. 

God is a holy God who will judge the whole world – and we can know freedom from that judgement because of God’s love for us and Jesus’ death on the cross. It is not something that we can earn or deserve.

And on the ‘day of the Lord’, God is going to put everything right. Sin and evil are going to be destroyed. There will be no more death or sickness. And therefore it is a day that we should be looking forward to.

When Peter is looking ahead to this day his question is ‘what kind of people ought you to be?’ (2 Peter 3). His response is to live holy and godly lives. The mistake we often make is to think that this is then about following a set of rules. We then become legalistic as we imagine being saved relies on our obedience, or we abandon the rules because we’re relying on grace.

Of course, living holy and godly lives is not about following a set of rules – it’s about being in a right relationship with God. Responding with love and thankfulness to a God who loves us. It’s about finding out what things please him – and then doing them. It’s about learning what things displease him – and then not doing them. Not because we have to. Not because we want to avoid judgement. But because that’s how you behave when you’re in a loving relationship with someone.