In our times, a “bucket list” is defined as something that we want to do before a certain deadline—perhaps before we die. That's why we read about 90-year-olds tandem sky-diving or going up in a hot air balloon. Or maybe their list includes mending tattered relationships, so they can pass away with a clear conscience. In Old Testament times, the spiritual buckets required folks to render enough offerings or acts of penance in hopes they'd be forgiven their sins and get right with God. By the time of Martin Luther (early 1500s) the church had lots of money-making rules to take care of bruised consciences. And Luther had a problem with that. He felt weighed down by his sin (even as a monk—a real-life “church guy”) and didn't know if he was good enough for God.
Then one day he read Romans 1:17
Die Gerechten werden aus dem Glauben leben. “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Nothing about having to earn it. It came by faith. A gift. And from then on, he risked his life to teach what Scripture teaches, birthing the Protestant movement. And this wasn't just a New Testament concept, for in writing that, the apostle Paul had reached back into an obscure Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk (2:14), to proclaim the forward-looking truth of the mission of Jesus Christ, that “salvation” is a gift, not something earned.
Habakkuk's name means “embrace” or “ardent embrace”--which has been taken to imply “wrestler” or big-time hugger. He had “wrestled” himself with his nation's plight. The wicked, strong, proud Chaldeans were getting the upper hand and ready to overthrow the southern kingdom of Judah. God answers that yes, they will prevail, but not forever. Judgment will eventually come. Our role is to trust and obey. Yes, amid the failures of Old Testament laws, and the threats of vile enemies--the extravagant hope of a Savior.
For a lot of people, the “minor prophets” like Habakkuk are hard to understand and boring. There's so much warfare and questioning and plain old doubt. But Habakkuk, fifth to the last of the Old Testament prophets, looks toward the dawn of hope that erupts in full glory with the birth of a Savior. As he wrote, things looked very dim. Crops were failing: figs, grapes, olive. Ditto livestock. But he looked up: “The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights!” (v. 3:19).
It's also the vibrant, hopeful New Testament message: Jesus died for my sins. I am forgiven. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
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