So Be It
"So be it...Amen."
Twice in this prayer, we affirm what has been said. After making the promises, we pray, "So be it." And, after asking for the prayer to be ratified, we pray, "Amen." Both mean the same thing; the word "amen" is not a neat, clean way of ending a prayer. "Amen" is not the same thing as "Okay, I'm signing off now, God." It is, rather, an affirmation, a Hebrew word that means, "So be it." May everything I have prayed until this moment be the truth, be the future, be what happens.
It is a wish, a hope, a prayer. What it is not is a demand. When we pray, "Amen," we are, in essence, joining our hopes with God's. We have asked for, often, some very specific things. We have particular outcomes in mind. We think we know how things ought to come out. But when we pray amen, so be it, we are asking God to do what needs to be done. We are placing our trust in one who knows better than we do what will be best.
"Amen" is far more than giving mental assent to a set of propositions. "Amen" is about enacting our faith, putting what we believe into action. "Amen" calls on us to trust God and do our best. "Amen" challenges us to do what we should to be answers to our own prayers.
I remember an Old Testament professor of mine who humorously showed us what it means to live an "Amen" life. He spent the better part of a class period talking about the Old Testament concept of "The Day of the Lord" and how it relates to the return of Jesus. He laid out the way he understood it and how the end might come. It was a wonderful lecture, evidenced by the fact that now, over twenty years later, I still remember it (and I don't remember very many specific seminary lectures!). Then, as the bell rang, Dr. Thompson said to us, "Of course, that's how I understand it, but if God chooses to do it differently, I'm okay with that, too." And then he dismissed us.
I'm sure God was relieved! (And I say that with all the humor Dr. Thompson intended in his comment. By the way, as a digression, a lot of Christians could learn a lot from Dr. Thompson. Not just about the end, but about his attitude toward the end. We get so locked into a particular schema for "the end times"—a schema that may or may not be Biblical—that we forget God may not do it our way! But, as I said, I digress...)
Here's the point: an "Amen" lifestyle trusts God to do what is best. Rather than tell God what to do, an "Amen" lifestyle genuinely places our concerns, our loved ones, our hopes and dreams into his hands and leaves them there, knowing God always has our best in mind.
That's what we should be doing when we say, "Amen." So be it. May your will be done.
Maybe you had no idea you were saying so much with one two-syllable word!
So let's go out there today and live an "Amen" life. So be it, Lord. May your kingdom come!
Twice in this prayer, we affirm what has been said. After making the promises, we pray, "So be it." And, after asking for the prayer to be ratified, we pray, "Amen." Both mean the same thing; the word "amen" is not a neat, clean way of ending a prayer. "Amen" is not the same thing as "Okay, I'm signing off now, God." It is, rather, an affirmation, a Hebrew word that means, "So be it." May everything I have prayed until this moment be the truth, be the future, be what happens.
It is a wish, a hope, a prayer. What it is not is a demand. When we pray, "Amen," we are, in essence, joining our hopes with God's. We have asked for, often, some very specific things. We have particular outcomes in mind. We think we know how things ought to come out. But when we pray amen, so be it, we are asking God to do what needs to be done. We are placing our trust in one who knows better than we do what will be best.
"Amen" is far more than giving mental assent to a set of propositions. "Amen" is about enacting our faith, putting what we believe into action. "Amen" calls on us to trust God and do our best. "Amen" challenges us to do what we should to be answers to our own prayers.
I remember an Old Testament professor of mine who humorously showed us what it means to live an "Amen" life. He spent the better part of a class period talking about the Old Testament concept of "The Day of the Lord" and how it relates to the return of Jesus. He laid out the way he understood it and how the end might come. It was a wonderful lecture, evidenced by the fact that now, over twenty years later, I still remember it (and I don't remember very many specific seminary lectures!). Then, as the bell rang, Dr. Thompson said to us, "Of course, that's how I understand it, but if God chooses to do it differently, I'm okay with that, too." And then he dismissed us.
I'm sure God was relieved! (And I say that with all the humor Dr. Thompson intended in his comment. By the way, as a digression, a lot of Christians could learn a lot from Dr. Thompson. Not just about the end, but about his attitude toward the end. We get so locked into a particular schema for "the end times"—a schema that may or may not be Biblical—that we forget God may not do it our way! But, as I said, I digress...)
Here's the point: an "Amen" lifestyle trusts God to do what is best. Rather than tell God what to do, an "Amen" lifestyle genuinely places our concerns, our loved ones, our hopes and dreams into his hands and leaves them there, knowing God always has our best in mind.
That's what we should be doing when we say, "Amen." So be it. May your will be done.
Maybe you had no idea you were saying so much with one two-syllable word!
So let's go out there today and live an "Amen" life. So be it, Lord. May your kingdom come!
Comments
Post a Comment