2009-02-20
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, we began investigating practical ways we keep our hearts teachable and make wise, godly judgments. The first two ways are: 1) Begin by going to God’s throne of grace [EPH 3: 12], and 2) Ask if we are being self-righteous or if we are walking in love [EPH 4: 15]. This list the Holy Spirit is giving me is always in concert with Christ’s Sermon on the Mount words in judgment found in MT 7: 1-6. Now, let’s continue with the list with 3) Ask if we seek the motives of people’s hearts or only seek their outward appearance.
We can’t set up ourselves as judge and jury in a controversial situation. It becomes necessary to return to that old question: are we our brother’s keepers? In the course of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, in LK 10: 30-37, this Samaritan had a judgment decision to make. A man who had been attacked and robbed by criminals was laying on the street. He was passed up by a priest and a Levite earlier, and the Samaritan walking by had a judgment call to make. Should he stop and help the man, or should he pass him up as the others had? I’m sure many things went through his mind as he was making his decision. He was asking why the man was there: was he setting up a trap to snare him with the help of others, how badly is he really hurt, what about my agenda-do I have to be where I’m going right away, or do I have time to help this man, is the man there because he tried to commit a crime and failed, what is his agenda, and so on. Just by asking to the first three questions above, the good Samaritan has enough equipment to begin making a godly judgment. That is particularly true of the first practical suggestion. All of this can be done quickly, as the good Samaritan approaches the injured man. It was clear that, through the Holy Spirit, his loving heart took over, and he decided the man’s needs were more immediate than his own in continuing toward his destination. LK 10: 34, “He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to the an inn, where he took care of him.” Another judgment was then necessary. Once the man was doing better [in about a day], he gives two silver coins to the innkeeper, instructing him to care for the man and to trust that he will return to reimburse the innkeeper for any expenses incurred in this care upon his return from Jericho. We are not told if the innkeeper knew the Samaritan-only that he planned to return to Jerusalem. Apparently, the innkeeper agreed to the plan. Christ, Who was using this parable to demonstrate to a teacher of the Law, was using it to teach the latter to go forth with kindness in his heart. His method of questioning the teacher of the Law at the end was designed to cause the teacher of the Law to think he himself had discovered the lesson for himself.
It’s natural that most adults and even some older children will quickly examine what they think the motives of another might be in a judgment call. But people doing this may make bad mistakes, if not careful before coming to conclusions. My own experience while in the sixth grade on the school yard point this out. A boy named Bobby was known to be a bully. The other boys kept their distance from him, and so did the girls. Bobby had a mean temper and was not above picking a fight to get his own points across. He always made people feel small and worthless. I kept my distance from him too, but one day I brought a new kick ball to school that I didn’t want to keep. I gave it to Bobby in an effort to make peace with him, but he didn’t receive this gift with any kind of gratitude. Instead, he kicked it so hard that it popped and tore-destroyed beyond repair. I was in tears, and Bobby walked away, as if he had won a victory. All I wanted to do was to try to make peace with him. Several years later, I mentioned the incident with Bobby to my mother. And this is what she said to me, “I guess you’re old enough now to know why Bobby was such a bully. The summer before you two were in the sixth grade, Bobby lost his 14-year old brother, Sam, to leukemia. Bobby and Sam were very close, and it was devastating to Bobby and his whole family. Bobby was acting out his feelings in the school yard. Maybe I should have told you about this sooner, but I thought you were too young at the time to understand.” In the present, the only reasonable thing to do is to ask the Lord for His guidance in understanding people’s motives enough to make godly decisions about how to respond in situations that are controversial. This is the time to remember LK 11: 9-10, “And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive, and he who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks.”
PRAYER: O Lord, there are many times that we need to have the wisdom to turn to You for advice. All too often, we forget and try to deal with controversial situations by ourselves. You have told us that Your intervention in our lives is essential to living righteously, and we must believe you. Today, we pray PS 25: 4-5, “Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God, my Savior, and my hope is in Your all day long.” By what Christ has said in MT 5: 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs’ is the Kingdom of Heaven,” we have been shown what is necessary for a life of righteousness. We must know and understand our need for Your guidance, inspiration, and wisdom. We long for your presence in our lives and Your strength. PS 42: 1-2, “As a deer pants for streams for water, so my soul pants for You, O God My soul thirsts for “God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” I pray I am not naïve in saying that we and You can meet anytime we remember to seek You out. While we can’t be face to face with You on earth, You can speak to us through the Holy Spirit indwelt in us, until that time comes when You call us home to heaven. Your promise of such a face to face meeting, in PS 17: 15, gives me hope. “And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see you face to face.” I join all other true believers in acknowledging Your supreme power, wisdom, compassion, and love-all the while remembering You will be exalted in Your glory. PS 46: 10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” As we all come before Your throne, we confess our sins and ask for Your help in revealing our sins [unknown to us]. We ask You for Your guidance, so we can live righteously, making wise judgments. We lift You up in praise, and we acknowledge Your greatness. IS 12: 4-6, “A day is coming when the people will sing, ‘Give thanks to the Lord! Call for Him to help you! Tell all the nations what He has done! Let the whole world hear the news. Let everyone who lives in Zion shout and sing, ‘Israel’s holy God is great and He lives among His people.’” You are a wise, patient, and compassionate God, and we offer You our loyalty, praise, thanks, honor, and glory in Christ’s mighty and holy name. Amen.
Next week, the Holy Spirit leads me to continue with this list of practical how-to’s in making judgments. We’ll look at judging as it is impacted from our own cultural traditions and interpretations of the Law. In the meanwhile, it should dawn on us that our God really does “live among His people.” Take a look at PS 121: 1-3, “I look to the mountains; from where does my help come? It comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not let you fall; your Protector never slumbers.” Have any of us ever met a human who makes it his job to take care of a person 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week? But, that’s exactly what our loving God does for each of us. He is so wise, knowing, understanding, powerful, good, kind, compassionate, and loving, that as He sees us, we are “made in His image ” and thus, meant to be loved, guided, saved, and taught by Him. He wants us to have a “full knowledge of Himself” and is “constantly renewing us in His image” to make this come about [COL 3: 10]. Why does He lavish such love on us? It’s because He knows that salvation from spiritual death is so important that He made it His Son, Christ’s first priority [JN 6: 39-40]. Moreover, He foreknew that Christ, His only begotten Son, would have to suffer and die on the cross, to open the door to redemption for all of us. We must ask how we would feel if we knew that our only child had to suffer and die and then watch this happen? This unparalleled unselfishness is not holding back any blessing, including salvation and the Holy Spirit. This is unique to our Father in heaven. No human can do this or offer eternal forgiveness [HE 8: 12] for all mankind, as our Father has done. Christ’s obedience in following through in His calling is one of our greatest blessings ever [HE 10: 10]. If you are realizing how greatly loved you are, then this author has done her job.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn