reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the
honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is
great reward.
Psalm 19:7-11
Lord, You are allowing two good friends to teach me
an incredible lesson from two perspectives this week. Thank You.
My one friend, someone I consider a very capable and
diligent studier of Your Word, is searching for evidence that you, Jesus
command us to worship You. He can’t find the words that, to him, instruct us to
do any more than follow Your example of feeding the poor, caring for the
orphans the widows and the sick. My friend’s suggestion is that ours is to be a
servant role to the nations—performing acts of provision and mercy—and that by
following Your example, Your kingdom is ours to claim.
When he posed this to me, my inner being shook with
fear. You’ve heard my prayers on this question:
1. Could
it be a fact that You, Jesus do not scripturally (in Your own “Red Letter
Bible” words) require us to recognize you as Lord and Savior?
2. If
not, then what is our purpose and by whose authority do we go forth?
3. To
obtain the Kingdom of heaven, is all we need to do is to perform noble works?
4. Do
command us to submit to You as our King? Am I Biblically capable of defending
that position using only Your words from scripture?
5. How
do I walk with my friend down the path of this exploration so that we can both
learn and grow as You, our God and Spiritual Counselor, would have us do?
Immediately Adonai, you inspired me to go to Your sword, the Word, to cut through the
confusion, identifying scripture addressing Your kingship. That was the easy
part—Old and New Testament alike abound with references to worship of the
Messiah as the Son of the Most high.
And there is Your personal statement at the end of
the Gospel of Matthew where You inform us that, “All
authority on heaven and earth have been given to me.” This proclamation
is a little tricky. because You don’t come right out and say, “obey me.” I have
to recognize Your authority and it’s then up to me to bow down (or not bow down)
to my Superior.
My friend seems to be asking You to make things more
clear—to say to us, “I declare myself your King. Worship me.” That’s what any of us mere humans would require if
we were given all authority. But not You. You want something more from
us, and that’s where my other friend’s response to this puzzle is so amazing!
She is a new believer, fresh in her realization of
Your love and sacrifice for her. Upon hearing my first friend’s query, this
woman of God stated, “Are you kidding? Now that I realize what Jesus has done
for me and seeing Him work in my life, how can I not fall down on my
knees and worship Him as my God?”
All my studies, all my clever arguments and
scriptural references couldn’t match up to the power of this humble statement
of faith. You spoke through her to me and to us all, Lord. You didn’t have to
order me to do anything. I can’t purchase salvation or a kingdom house by my
good intentions. You’ve done the heavy lifting for me—for all of us. So I’m
convicted by Your sacrifice, not by Your power. It’s the beginning of a
beautiful relationship where I have to choose to worship and serve, not due to
fear or obligation, but for desire; not as a requirement, but for hunger to be
in relationship with You.
Once I am in a right
relationship with You—vassal to Lord— then, not before, comes a very specific
command. I’m to go out and “do”. The
fruit of my servant relationship with
You will be the care of widows and orphans, the clothing of the poor, the
visiting of prisoners, the loving of my neighbor and my enemy as I would have
them love me. How much simpler can it get?
Some might say, Lord that we can serve this way
without worshiping You. That other religions and cultures perform good deeds
just as well, or better than we Christ Followers do. Who am I to argue? All I
know is what I see—a corrupt world, some of us doing little good
and all of us doing a lot of not so good…no, let me call my actions what
they are…selfishly based acts. We may look all clean and pretty on the
outside, but You know the truth of our hearts:
Not
one is righteous in Your sight
I’m told by Your word that my fruit is not a
measurement of my nobility, but evidence of my faith – that’s all. I can’t do enough; My life can only be a witness
to what has been done for me.
I know my friends to be strong believers, Master. They
and I recognize You for who You are, regardless of whether or not You command
obedience. I am concerned only that we, Your followers, share the total message
You have given us to take to the world: How beautiful is Your love—all You long
for is our completed love in You. And seeing that love in action—Your sacrifice
for all of us, seeing You work in my life—how can we (how can I) not
fall down and worship You as God?”
Mark C.
