WHICH WAY TO LEAN

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. 
-          Proverbs 3:5

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Proverbs 3:5-6 is a commentary on our journey toward “wisdom.”  The “trust” here is something that gets us to “lean” – and not on our own understanding.

You see, it’s impossible to live without leaning.  We “lean” either on our own human ideas and misunderstanding – or on God.  And the writer of these Proverbs is counseling us to lean on God.

Leaning on God, not if but when it goes far enough, will find us falling. But will not be falling on our faces; we’ll be falling on our knees – the posture of trust.  On our knees is where we ought to be – surrendering to God and following God’s leading in wisdom each day.

“In all your ways,” the writer encourages, “acknowledging Him.”  Lean on Me, God says. Trust Me.  Confide in Me.  Consult Me.  Ask Me.  Tell Me your plans for today.  Let Me know the issues you are dealing with.  Share with Me your hopes and dreams, your fears and failures.  In other words, PRAY!

Read Proverbs 3:5-6 again.  Listen to this invitation from God – to you – to come and give yourself to Him so that God can lead you through this day and to Himself.

Jesus put this invitation this way. “Do not let your heart be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in Me.” (John 14:1).  Please accept this invitation without delay.

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LOOKING AT OURSELVES FIRST (3)

You are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

– Romans 2:1

Paul wrote the letter of Romans to Jewish Christians who thought they were superior to Gentile Christians.  The Jewish Christians had been raised on God’s holy law, and they looked down their noses at Gentile brothers and sisters whose lives were still pretty rough around the moral edges.  In a blistering argument, Paul nails them to the wall with this simple fact:  having higher standards doesn’t automatically make you better people.  Look at your behavior – that’s what counts.  And, down deep, your behavior is not better than theirs.  You do the same things they do.  Having the laws in your head doesn’t mean they automatically rule your heart.

I read a book on writing the natural way. But having that book doesn’t automatically make me a better writer.  It’s the skill that counts, not how-to manual.

Without the grace of God, we are all on a level playing field when we find ourselves in conflict.  And if we shut God out of our heart, we can be just as mean spirited and selfish as the next person.

God’s kindness leads all of us to repentance.

LOOKING AT OURSELVES (2)

“Why do you…..pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” – Matthew 7:3

I think people must have smiled when Jesus spoke these words.  Picture it: a person with fencepost jutting out of one eye while trying to see straight and to poke away at a piece of sawdust in someone else’s eye.

When we get involved in conflicts, it seldom seems to us that we have a fencepost in our own eye.  Most of us will admit to having a speck of sawdust in our eye.  After all, nobody’s perfect.  But the other party is obviously the one with the problem.  Look at them!  Anyone can see that they’re narrow-minded, rude, insensitive, unreliable, inconsistent, and more.

Perhaps they are.  Perhaps they are clearly in the wrong.  But then why would Jesus warn us with such a powerful picture to keep a close eye on ourselves?  Because He said that we will be judged as severely as we judge ourselves.

What should we watch out for?  Well, it’s obviously subtle enough to miss, or we wouldn’t be focused on specks in others; yet it’s also clear enough to detect, because it’s huge.  Here’s a clue.  Had somebody ever said to you, “It’s not what you said; it’s the way you said it,” or even worse, “You seem pleased to be showing me my fault”?

It’s easy to spot, really.  It’s that plain old spirit of judgmentalism.  It’s a condemning spirit.  With that infection present, there’s no way through conflict.

THE TRUE MEANING OF GREATNESS

“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be the first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28

Wanted : Male or female to be model of success for the world. 

Qualifications : Must be attractive, charming, bright, and physically fit.  Only the wealthy need apply; money can be either earned or inherited but not stolen.  May be required to show evidence of greatness, such as how many persons are serving you.  Good dose of luck helpful but not essential.  Fame definitely an asset.  Send resume’, full-length picture, medical records, and list of important friends.

Wanted : Male of female to be model of success for Christians.

Qualifications : Must be kind, patient, and generous.  Good dose of humility essential.  Selfish applicants need not apply.  May be required to show evidence of greatness, such as how many persons you are serving and how you have been persecuted for your Christian lifestyle.  Only servants will be considered.  Send resume; no picture or medical records or list of influential friends necessary.  It doesn’t matter you look like or how healthy you are or who you know.

If anyone had a right to be served, it was Jesus.  Yet He didn’t come to be served.  He came to serve.  If we are looking for a genuine model of success, we will find it in Jesus.  If we want to have the success Jesus had, we will have to live like He did, as a servant.  Who are we serving right now?

STRONG IN GRACE

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
-  2 Timothy 2:1

God looks at us and sees what he wants to see.  He’s not blind to our sin, but He chooses to focus on what we could be.  He looks beyond our faults and sees our potential.  He know we don’t deserve to be treated with mercy, but He shows us mercy nonetheless.  If it weren’t for God’s grace, we would all suffer the enormous consequences of our own rebellion.

The lie that millions have believed through the centuries is that God withholds His love until we prove we deserve it.  People labor their entire lives to earn a place in God’s heart, never certain they have achieved their goal.  They’ve been either unaware or unwilling to accept that God wants to give them His grace.  God knows that no one could ever be good enough to deserve what He has to offer, so He gives it freely.  Trying to earn God’s favor is exhausting.  Accepting the grace He offers is life changing.

Paul urged Timothy to “be strong” in God’s grace so it would fill every area of Timothy’s life.  Like Timothy, we ought to trust in God’s grace for every part of our life.  Grace changes our character.  We are weak and unable to do God’s will, but God has given us the power to do whatever He asks.  If He wants us to love someone who is unlovable, His grace will enable us to do it.  If He wants us to forgive when our hearts has been broken, His grace will give us the strength to do it.  If He asks us to share His gospel with others, He will graciously provide the courage we need to do it.  Be strong in God’s grace so you can share His grace with those around you. 

Have a blessed day in His grace.

LOOKING AT OURSELVES FIRST

Search me, O God, and know my heart. – Psalm 139:23

Many of us know we should examine ourselves first in the face of conflict.  But very few of us do that.  When we find ourselves entangled in a conflict, we should first ask ourselves, Am I at fault here?

This is hard for us, especially because in most conflicts, we feel strongly that we are right. And we figure that we should also be obvious to everyone else.

But in conflict, as wise people know, the fault is rarely completely one-sided.

So, if today you find yourself thinking angry, condemning thoughts about someone who has done something to you, you may need to take firm steps to deal with that person.  But take care also to look honestly at your own behavior and feelings.  Before you act, ask yourself, What if I’m not seeing the whole picture? What if, in fact, something in me is also at fault here?

The good news is that God knows us far better than we know ourselves.  God knows “all [our] ways.”  Nothing is hidden from God’s eyes.

Even better news is that God, by His Spirit, is actually able to show us what he sees, to peel away our layers of self-deception, and to give us 20/20 vision into our heart of hearts.  Would it not be wise, first, to humbly ask God to show us ourselves accurately, lest we end up, too late, profoundly at fault as well?

ULTIMATE PEACE

God was pleased to…[make] peace through [Jesus’] blood, shed on the cross.

– Colossians 1:19

“Why can’t people just get along with each other?” We’ve heard this sad lament, and many of us have uttered it.

The brokenness strewn everywhere around is so weighty. Marriages unravel. Homes disintegrate. Children run away. Negotiations break down. Churches split.  Employees walk out or get booted out. Courts clog. Mediation specialists try to untie the tangled knots we tie. Wars and terrorism are painful reminders that conflict seems never to cease.

But God has determined that wars of every kind will cease – “to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 46:9). And God has been “pleased” to do that, says Paul. Operation Reconciliation is under way, every, even today. And someday perfect friendship will reign every where. The sound and rumors of war will cease forever.

How? By bringing one antagonist after another to the foot of the cross. It’s hard to hate, looking up at such love. It’s hard to hold a grudge, surrounded by such forgiveness. It’s hard to demand that others be punished, watching Jesus’ blood flow for our own punishment. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

In our Lord’s love for all of us lies the hope that surely love, not hate, and peace, not war will have the last word…..forever.