I am amazed, Father, at how You are moving! Churches everywhere are reaching out in whole new ways. May Your Word be increased a hundred-fold and more! Amen!
Luke 9:26-27 (<<click to read the passage)
One of humanity’s biggest struggles is coming to the reality of who Jesus really is. A big part of the struggle is coming to the point in our lives where we make up our own minds as to who Jesus is. Many want to believe that Jesus is who He says He is but honestly, it can be difficult to see past the many things with which others have enshrouded Him.
Many want to believe that Jesus is all about love but too often those who claim to follow Him, are just about anything but loving. Hate-filled arguments, even when followers “believe” they are in the right, cloud the visage of who Jesus really is.
How many times do things we hold to be the “Gospel truth” have their basis more on traditional or cultural bias than actual Biblically-based truth?
How often in pushing things we hold to be of utmost importance in our belief system do we stop, with a good deal of sincere heart-searching, and ask ourselves, does this concept really reflect the heart and mind of Jesus?
Too often we are more intent on asserting our “rights.” How dare others tromp upon them!
I am reminded of Paul’s writings to the believers in the city of Corinth. One topic he addressed was the issue of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Now Paul, believing in the One True God, put no stock in idols whatsoever. They were just crafted images that many of that time held in high regard, as they represented a deity of some importance in their society. God was God and there was no other – so meat was meat.
But, amongst them were individuals who struggled with that. Yes, they believed in the One True God, but their entire lives they had held these other “deities” in high regard. And doing things that went against that mindset was difficult. There was no reason they should do so, but we all realize adjustments in our own lives can be problematic.
Paul wasn’t so concerned with his “right” to not eat meat sacrificed to idols, but he was concerned with how asserting that right would “cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.” (1 Corinthians 8:9 NLT)
His concern was that, as believers, we take great care in asserting our rights, for in doing so we might just cause “a weak believer for whom Christ died [to] be destroyed.” v11
He goes on to say in verse 12,
“And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ.”
So, to bring this around to my original intent, my challenge for us as believers is to weigh what we say and do in the name of Jesus before we say and do.
In Luke 9:26 Jesus is recorded as saying,
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.”
…and, I for one, do not want to be found guilty of causing “a weak believer for whom Christ died [to] be destroyed” just because I felt it necessary to assert my “rights”.
Apr 19th, 2020, Sun, 5:55 pm
