Would you stand out?

Romans 12:1-2 remind us, "So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way. Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect." Noah was righteous and blameless before God. Out of all the huge multitude of people on earth at the time, he found favor with God. Others were noted to be so evil, to the point God could not tolerate their evil and corrupt hearts any longer. We can only imagine how difficult it would have been to remain righteous and obedient to God when all those around you were so totally corrupt. Sin was rampant and everyone else was engaging in all manner of evil. Sometimes it is hard to stand for what is right, especially when all around us is standing for what is evil, corrupt, and even vile.

Very few people stood out in scripture as being noted to be 'righteous', 'good', and 'different' from the society around them, but Noah stood out. He was different, choosing not to do the same things those around him were doing. According to scripture, his family trusted God. We don't see evidence that there were any other 'believers' of the time that trusted God in the same way. Maybe there were some 'posers' in the land, but we don't see evidence of God sparing anyone else in the flood. The more we embrace the culture of the day, the further and further people grow away from the holiness of God. The easier it becomes to compromise until we don't really even know what righteousness is any longer. It is easier to change scripture to fit our desires and to justify our sins. 

We live in a dark world as well, but it as far as we know, it is not nearly as dark as it was during Noah's time. We can still find fellowship and other believers to help us live upright lives. We may see all manner of 'unrighteousness' around us, but we aren't alone in the pursuit of righteousness. One of the hardest questions we may have to answer is if we would find favor in God’s sight right now. If God were looking for a righteous man or woman, would he be able to choose you? Would you stand out as being righteous or are you basically acting the same as all those around you in this world? Just askin!

Hey, I want that, too!

Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. (Psalm 73:1-3) 

I imagine we all have those moments when we see stuff happening around us in this world, then stop to ponder how has the world 'gone so wrong' in its actions and beliefs? We might not understand how the wicked prosper, the misguided rise to positions of power, or the righteous lose out on what appears to be so much. That doesn't mean we lose our faith in the one who holds all mankind in his hands and will eventually bring all to judgment - the good, the bad, and the worst. Moments of doubt and confusion come to all of us - we just have to press into our faith a bit harder, so those doubts aren't given any ground to fester. Emotions will surface that indicate we are struggling a bit with what we see, hear, or imagine, but those emotions don't have to be denied. They are real, so the sooner we acknowledge them, the quicker we can seek God's help in 'settling them'. What really helps during those times of struggle is our friends who come alongside us. We need each other to help us when our faith begins to weaken, or when our emotions seem to be getting the best of us. 

When we observe the wicked prosper, it is possible we have a little bit of our own battle stemming from our pride? After all, we want to prosper, as well. We want the 'good stuff' to happen in our lives - is that wrong? No, it is not, but we might not realize just how quickly our pride can be dashed upon the cold, hard ground of disappointment and failure! To become prosperous or be elevated to a position of power in this world is not wrong. We might even want our lives to be kind of carefree and without all the hurdles we could encounter along that path to success. To pursue the path out of prideful ambition is when we run into difficulties. To pursue a path that 'gives us everything we desire' may just throw us into a greater pit of emotional distress than we were in when we found ourselves with a bit of envy toward those who 'had' what we did not. If we were honest, when the wicked succeed and prosper in their ways, we might even want them to 'get what is coming to them'. Is that wrong? Vengeance is, but to desire to see righteousness succeed and wickedness decline is never wrong. 

We might just see the wicked doing the same old things - things that don't bring God honor or give way to justice for all mankind. That might even begin to bother us more and more as we see them succeed in their ways and righteous individuals seemingly 'fail' as they attempt to forward their beliefs. It is hard to stand in observation of the 'little guy' being trodden underfoot, but we must never lose sight of the 'BIG GUY' who always walks with the 'little guy' on this earth! God doesn't want us to be tempted to compromise our faith, making choices to follow after things or people who will distract us or dissuade us from our walk with him. He will always intervene in our lives any time we allow our pride to create a yearning for the path of the wicked. This is a very good thing, because we aren't always capable of discerning those two diverging paths on our own! God's presence will always help us know when pride is drawing us away from the narrow path and down the one that will eventually cause the wicked to stumble. Just sayin!

So, you still 'trying'?

So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God’s presence in heaven itself. Unlike the other high priests, he doesn’t have to offer sacrifices for his own sins every day before he can get around to us and our sins. He’s done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice. The law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, who is absolutely, eternally perfect. (Hebrews 7:26-28)

In the Old Testament (OT), there were religious leaders called "priests". The most important thing about the OT priest was that he was "set aside" from the rest of the community in which he dwelt for the specific purpose of all the duties associated with worship and sacrifice. They didn't hold down 'outside work', such as farming or carpentry. There was also this office of "High Priest". He was over all the other priests and saw to it they all knew their duties, but he had some duties of his own that the other priests could not perform. He had the important duty of being the one to offer the sin offering for the people - on the Day of Atonement. It is this role as High Priest that "foreshadowed" the work of Christ on our behalf as our one true High Priest.

Jesus perfectly fulfilled all the duties and requirements of the High Priest, but as our perfect sacrificial lamb, without spot or blemish, he also performed the role of the perfect sacrifice. Once and for all, the sacrifice was offered - leaving no need for further sacrifice. His role in dying for mankind's sin made all the OT required sacrifices no longer necessary. His role as High Priest also did away with the need for the priest as the one to be the "intercessor" between God and man. Two "systems" of known religious occurrences were done away with in his life, death, burial and resurrection - the role of the priesthood on earth as a kind of "mediator", and the need for sacrificial offerings to continue.

As the perfect offering, his blood was shed - making full and complete atonement for our sins (covered over, never to be remembered again, removed as far as the east is from the west). He is the only one now who stands making intercession for us before the heavenly Father, having opened the door of full access to God for those who will believe in him as their Savior. No longer needing a mediator, we enter into God's presence with boldness and confidence. Even the High Priest of the OT times didn't have a boldness or confidence, for if there was any impurity in his life, he could be struck dead in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies.

No other confidence is as great as what we enjoy because of our position IN Christ Jesus. No other position gives us such boldness. In ourselves, we could never get the "job done right" - that is why the OT Law of Moses included the provision for the yearly sin offering during the feast known as the Day of Atonement. It was offered over and over again each year - because the sacrifice of the young bull could never accomplish the forgiveness of our sin. It was a "type" or "symbol" of what Christ would accomplish as he was lifted up on that cross so many years ago. It "foreshadowed" his shedding of blood on our behalf. The perfect given for the imperfect.

He makes a way for us to enter into God's holy presence and ends all need for "works" on our part as a means of making us righteous. Here is the challenge for many of us - we don't fully comprehend the magnitude of Christ's finished work on our behalf, nor do we trust it as enough to give us such boldness and free access to the Holy God. It is tough to give up on a "system" which seemed to be so ingrained for so many years, so maybe that is one of the reasons Israel had a tough time embracing Jesus as Messiah when he came. They became very anchored to the way things had been done for all those years and forgot that the "type" could be set aside once the "real deal" was in their midst. Because we are "fully righteous" in Christ Jesus, we walk in the position we are placed into. If we want to continue in the old way of "trying" to live righteous when we are freely given "full righteousness" already, we probably don't fully understand the completed work of our High Priest. Just sayin!

Learning to live right

You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me. (Psalm 119:1-8)

On occasion, someone will ask how they know they are making a 'right decision' or if they are 'living right'. Right-living is something the Bible refers to as "righteousness" - it is the idea of learning to order your steps according to the plans and purposes of God. The design of the designer is always the best plan for the creation, is it not? We can "recommission" or "repurpose" some things for other use, such as making a lamp from a vase, or turning a stool into an end table, but it was not the intention of the creator to see them used in these ways. The vase was designed to be adorned with richly scented, magnificently colorful flowers. The stool was designed the support the weight of a human, not a light bulb. They "function" okay in their "recommissioned" purpose, but they function at their optimum when they are doing exactly what they were created to do! The same is true with each of us. We may think righteousness is a life characterized by morality and a certain degree of upright behavior. Something we might call living a virtuous life. Some describe a "righteous life" as being a "good person" who is "honest", "fair", and even "just". Righteousness is the sum total of making right choices for the right reasons. Apart from Christ in our lives, our choices are anything but righteous!

We could interpret being righteous as "being wise". We have been made "right" by the grace of God. We are given the ability to live "right" by the presence of God in our lives in the person of the Holy Spirit. We are supported in living "right" by the constant intercession of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The righteousness we are really called to exhibit in our daily lives is a result of these actions in us. The idea is each of us coming into "conformity" to the will of God. Righteousness is our will "conforming" to his will. How does this happen? We have to accept the Word of God as the authority in our lives - the "owner's manual" of sorts which helps to direct us to the intended "purpose" for our lives. When we own a car, we refer to the owner's manual to see where the spare tire is kept, how it is removed, where to put the jack, how the car is properly supported when the jack is used, and so on. The owner's manual gives us insight supporting the safest operation of the vehicle. The Word of God is no different - it supports the safest operation of our lives! In order to learn to "conform" to the will of God, we have to get to know it. There is no better place to explore what is "within" and "without" God's will than in the scriptures. If you don't find it plainly there, you certainly get a gist of how God guides us to make decisions which don't violate his overall plan for his children.

Recognizing what the Word says is one thing - actually submitting to what it tells us to do is quite another. To be fully righteous in our steps, we must submit to what we are shown. The idea of submission is kind of a sore point for some - probably because society has so twisted the meaning of submission so as to make us a little wary of this action. When we submit to something, we are just agreeing we are making it our own. In other words, when we choose to follow God's will as revealed in scripture, we are just taking his will and making it our own. We determine it to be "good" and "accept it" as our "mode of operation". When we do, we learn to live in such a manner that our lives reflect the right actions God desires. What this kind of "right-choosing" does for us cannot really be put into words adequately, but I think it helps us see ourselves as God sees us - with the full potential of blameless, perfect, and upright living. There is an exchange of wisdom which comes as we behold ourselves through God's Word - for his Word reflects the original intention of the creation. When we see ourselves as God sees us, the "right" choices become a little easier because we see the potential in those choices. Righteousness is achievable - through a change of perspective. We need to learn what is contained in his Word - allowing his Word to fully influence our choices - choosing to make his will our own. In so doing, we become "upright", "honest", "fair" and even "just" in our behavior. Just sayin!

I'm right, aren't I?

If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both. (I John 4:20-21)

This one may seem like a tough one for some of us because there are some individuals we really don't have any positive feelings toward, aren't there? Try as we might, we just don't understand what they are doing, how they are behaving, or where they seem to be headed, oftentimes taking others with them on their misguided journey. We 'want' to love them like Christ asks us to, but we struggle with actually finding much of any type of 'redeeming qualities' in those individuals. I am by no means an expert example in this area of loving ALL people, but just some thoughts on how I deal with the ones I find it hard to 'like', much less 'love'.

It begins with me recognizing I am 'boastful' about the differences in the behavior exhibited by the individual I have issue with and my own. Most of the time this means I am a little too 'self-righteous' - I see my behavior as 'superior' to theirs. Trust me on this one, I seldom exhibit consistently 'superior' behavior! I might have moments where my behavior is pretty 'right on', but they can be followed by others where there is nothing 'right on' about it! We begin our journey of living others by asking God to keep US humble - aware of our own short-comings, challenges, and habits. You have heard it said it is easy to see a fault in another when that same fault exists in us. Recognizing this can be the beginning of a journey where we stop feeling negative toward an individual and begin praying for not only them, but ourselves!

It continues by me acknowledging all of us have been created with a sin nature - none of us were created without the desire to follow paths we know aren't the best ones to take. This may not seem very significant at first, but if we begin to recognize we all have the SAME propensity toward sin, perhaps we will begin to understand there is a real struggle within that directs the behaviors of the individual. The way we behave can even be a combination of our sin nature (propensity toward sinful actions) and our conditioning (the way we were raised and taught). Undoing 'bad conditioning' is sometimes harder than being free of our 'sin nature's pull'. We begin by praying for understanding - not so much of the other person's issues, but your own. In time, God will begin to show us ways to be a positive support to others who struggle in similar ways. 

Loving others isn't easy, and it requires some pretty deep awareness of our own actions, attitudes, and 'propensities'. Perhaps this is why it is easier to dislike the individual rather than find ways to be a positive support in their lives. We don't like being humbly aware of our own shortcomings, much less using them as a springboard to pray for another. If we begin to think less about how 'right' we are and how 'wrong' the other guy is, we might just get to the point our prayers begin to unlock new behaviors in both of us! Just sayin!