Reverent Humility

I was thinking about the story of Job the other day and I believe that the Holy Spirit brought a fresh concept to my mind as I read. I know that as we build a relationship with our God, one way to operate in that relationship is to treat him like a friend. Often times, I get up in the morning and talk to him out loud as if I'm carrying on a conversation with a close friend. I'm sure God is fine with that and likes it when we are informal and relaxed around him. But the danger comes when we become too relaxed, so much so that we lose sight of his God-ship. Job 1:8, tells us that Job was the most righteous man of his time. Even still, he expressed a bit of arrogance when referring to the ways of God, proclaiming his innocence in the sight of God. In essence, he was questioning why he was experiencing such calamity as if God were in the wrong. When God finally speaks, he is quick to rebuke Job. In Job 42:1-6, Job responds with these words:

"Then Job replied to the Lord: 'I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You ask, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you and you will answer me.' My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.'"

Job, the most righteous man of his time, lost sight of the reverent humility that needs to be remembered when it comes to God. At times, we can let our emotions get the best of us when it comes to our idea of God. We may act as if we know him better than everyone else, even to the point of speaking for him or unintentionally challenging him as if we know better than God. We may begin to think that our walk with God entitles us. And we can get a little puffed up, mistakenly proclaiming wisdom in our own eyes. This lesson from Job teaches us to remember our place. God will always be God and we will never be. His ways will always be higher than ours, his thoughts greater than our thoughts. He is the creator and we are the creation. We should never forget that God is God. Yes, we are his children, and he loves us so much that he bought us with the blood of his son, but he is, and will always be preeminent. So, we need to be careful not to fall into the trap that Job found himself in. But I should note that he did the right thing in repenting.

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As I think about Job’s story, I'm also reminded about Uzzah who tried to steady the ark of the covenant and was struck dead by God, because he didn't recognize the holiness that came with the ark of our Lord. I'm not saying that we should be afraid of God, but I think there should always be a healthy dose of reverent fear and reverent humility when we approach our God. In the old testament, when people would approach an earthly king unannounced, they knew that by doing this, the King could decide to kill them on the spot.  Often times they wouldn't, but that knowledge was always there. Likewise, I think we should maintain a reverent fear for our God. We should never forget our place when it comes to who we are in him and who he is in us. That is why we bow in his presence instead of arrogantly striding up to him.

Spur One Another

The bible encourages believers to encourage one another. In one instance, it describes brotherly fellowship and encouragement as if it were iron sharpening iron. Hebrews 10:24 tells us that we should spur on another on. It says:

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."

In light of this verse, I'd like to encourage you toward love and good deeds. Over the years, I've thought a lot about the idea of love. Do I really love my neighbor? Do I really love those in the church? What is love anyway? Is it a deep positive feeling for someone, or is it an act? I believe that love is something that first starts in the heart, but can also manifest itself in actions. Sometimes we have to will ourselves to love others. Jesus tells us that we are to love our enemies. I think that takes a level of will. It also says that people will know we are Christians by how we love one another. I encourage you to show love this week. To who you ask? Everyone. And good deeds is one way to show love. If God lays someone on your heart, don't hesitate to give them a kind word, lend them a helping hand, or bless them in some way. God explains that love is a key character make-up of every true follower of Christ, so I encourage you to show love and do good deeds.

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Hebrews tells us that we should consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Therefore, I encourage you to do just that. Store up treasures in heaven by doing the work of the Lord here on earth. And one command from our Lord is to love one another. Send a card to someone, perform a random act of kindness, be a blessing to someone. In short, consider how you can show love and how you can do good deeds.

Call to Act

Have you ever pondered why you're here on this earth? Maybe you've wondered what God wants you to do in life or even if God has a plan for you at all. I believe that God has a plan for all of us. He has put certain skills and passions in our heart and wants to help us use them for his glory. We just need to be willing to follow the Spirit's leading and prepare our minds for action. 1 Peter 1:13 says:

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."

I like that... "prepare your minds for action". In that verse, Peter encourages us to take a bit of initiative in our future with the Lord. He tells us to prepare our minds for action, to be self-controlled and to set our hope on the grace given to us. These are all active directives, not passive ones. As I ponder concepts like these, I'm convinced that God has a plan, or path, for us. We may be able to choose one or even two, but if we are acting within his will, I believe our lives will be fulfilled and his kingdom will be enriched by the fruit of our lives.

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Peter encourages us to prepare our minds for action. I believe to effectively do this, we should be in constant prayer, in the word, and be open and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. If we are, he is always faithful to direct us and lead us within the path that God has chosen for us. Sure, there are ultimately limitless paths we can choose, but I believe that God has a perfect plan for each one of us; one that will enrich our lives to its fullest. In John 10:10, Jesus assures us that he came that we might have life and have it to the full. I believe that this comes by being in step with him - in step with the Holy Spirit.

Very Last

I always find it interesting when Jesus describes the life of a believer as one of contradiction. An example of what I mean is when Jesus tells us that those who are great here on earth will be least in heaven and those who are considered least here on earth will be considered great in heaven. In Mark 9:33-35 it says:

"They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, 'What were you arguing about on the road?' But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all'". 

Isn't that interesting? Jesus also tells us that he didn't come to earth to be served, but to serve. There are things that we think should be a certain way because of how we’ve been trained in our culture. But Jesus explains that the attributes of a Christ follower are often counter-culture. People who we think are the least, or “servants”, will be considered great in heaven. And those who we consider to be great, even some who we may think have a great “Christian walk”, will be the least in heaven. So, maybe we should change our way of thinking and try to be the least here on earth so that we can be considered great in heaven.

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We're often encouraged to be the best, to stand out, and to make our mark in life. Those aren't bad things in and of themselves, but Jesus tells us that being a servant is what we should really aspire to emulate. Because being a servant means being the least, which in turn means being great in heaven. And since heaven is our final destination, I think we should aspire to live like it. Don't you?

Enslaved Again

In Galatians, Paul writes a letter pretty much chastising the Galatians for going back to practicing traditions from the old law of Moses even after they learned about Jesus and the new covenant. Despite this new knowledge, they chose to go back in “bondage”, so to speak, to the way things used to be done. It says in Galatians 4:8-9:

"Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God – or rather are known by God – how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?"

As I mentioned earlier, this portion of scripture is in reference to the law of Moses, but I think we could also consider how it might be relevant to sin as well. Paul says, “how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” Like putting the law behind us and turning to the new covenant, we also need to put our sin behind us and turn to freedom in Christ. And as we do not want to be enslaved by the law, we also don’t want to be enslaved by sin all over again. So I encourage you, to remember what Jesus promises; freedom in himself. Chapter 5 verse 1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” I think that says it all.

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Remember what Paul said to the Galatians and try to apply it to the Law of Moses as well as to our view on sin. It says, “how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” And we as believers should respond with a resounding “no”. It can be difficult to stand in the face of sin, but we are encouraged to stand firm and to not let ourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. I think it would do us all well to think on that verse for a while and see if the Holy Spirit might bring it to life in our lives.