NEEDING TEACHERS
For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at: www.Mannword.blogspot.com
Why do I need a teacher? I can read the Bible on my own. This is true. However, God purposely supplied the Church with teachers and for a good reason (Ephesians 4:11-14).
It has been correctly argued that in order to understand any single verse, we need the rest of the verses to understand it correctly. Therefore, Scripture instructs us to mediate on God’s Words day and night (Psalm 1). You might think, “Does this mean that I need to master the entirety of the Scriptures to even understand just one part? To some degree. Let me use an example to illustrate this. Jesus taught:
∑ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)
Hate our parents and ourselves? It might seem that the Bible is hopelessly confused. After all, according to the Ten Commandments, we know that we are supposed to honor our parents and not hate them. However, this problem is easily resolved once we are aware of all of Jesus’ teachings. Elsewhere, he had taught:
∑ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37)
Here, we find that serving Jesus is a matter of priorities. This means that Jesus has to be first in our lives, even above our parents and ourselves:
∑ “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
It might sound self-defeating to not seek our own welfare first. However, Jesus promised that if we put God ahead of ourselves, He will take care of all of our needs.
Even the context of Luke 14:26 enables us to understand that “hating” our parents is a matter of putting God first. Jesus then taught that if we come to God, we have to understand that He must be our Master for the long haul. Jesus used several examples to illustrate this principle. Through the example of building a house, Jesus illustrated that the builder would be foolish if he just built the foundation and decided to not complete it. Jesus applied this example to following Him:
∑ “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33)
“Renounce all?” Our parents? Our children? Our clothing? Of course not! However, these concerns have to be secondary. This is what it means to “renounce all.” If we are to build a house, we have to decide beforehand to carry it out unto completion. Likewise, if we decide to follow Jesus, we have to continue until the end. Nothing must get in our way. He finally likens turning away from Him to salt losing its saltiness:
∑ “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away...” (Luke 14:34-35)
Salt that has lost its saltiness is like a foundation of a house which has been abandoned. It is useless. However, if Jesus remains #1 in our lives, we will not lose our saltiness.
Well, now the teachings seem to fit together, until someone charges that, “Your God is an egomaniac. He demands you serve and praise Him.” How do you answer this challenge? Perhaps you need to return to your teacher, who might demonstrate that praise is a gift from God and a great privilege:
∑ …to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. (Isaiah 61:3)
Praise is also an appropriate response to the many good things He has done for us and a comfort when life becomes an unbearable burden.
It is a joy to see how the pieces of the puzzle of Scripture fit together, enabling us to confidently see the big picture. Paul therefore prayed:
∑ that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. (Colossians 2:2-4)
Understanding Scripture is a treasure trove of wisdom and understanding. It is the assurance of our heart and mind and a light unto our feet.
MARRIAGE THANKSGIVING
I’m not the greatest guy in the world. In fact, I’m not easy to live with. I’m highly irritable, impatient, anxious, and critical. In short, I am a “handful.” This is why I have always found teaching the course on Marriage to be most intimidating for me.
On top of this, I haven’t been very successful in changing these traits, even though I pray regularly for the Lord to do something with me. Of course, all of this is very humbling. Nevertheless, I have grown in my confidence in the Lord and His love for me. Consequently, I no longer regard my failures as an indication that the Lord is getting sick of me. Instead, I have become convinced that the Lord is working His perfect plan out in my life.
You might ask, “How can this be, since you are still struggling against these same character traits?” Well, the Lord has assured me that:
∑ “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
That is why I am now boasting of my weaknesses in confidence. I know that He has accomplished much through my weaknesses and I know that He will continue to, as Paul had written:
∑ …we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Corinthians 1:8-10)
One reason that I face failure over and over again is because I need it. It humbles me and causes me to despair of self-trust and to flee to God alone. Consequently, I’ve come to adore my Savior even more.
This humbling process has produced many benefits. Along with trusting in God, it has made me more grateful for prayer, the blessed opportunity to offer up my many personal misgivings and fears to our Lord.
It has also caused me to adore my wife more than I had. Before, my irritability and negativity was in charge of our relationship. Besides, my self-esteem had been jacked-up to compensate for my bad feelings about myself. I had convinced myself that I was a king. As long as I regarded my wife as a queen, there was no problem. However, by the end of our honeymoon, I realized that she wasn’t a queen, and I began to feel cheated.
Mercifully, the Lord has shown me what I really am, and it’s not pretty. As a result, I am now grateful for my wife – a woman who is always there to help and to forgive me. Instead of thinking, “How could I ever have ended up with such an irritating woman,” I now think, “What would I ever do without her?”
As I came to accept myself, through the love of God, as I really am, He has enabled me to accept the failings of others. Consequently, I can no longer look down on anyone. Instead, He has been opening my eyes to the beauty of my brethren and His Church.
I don’t enjoy my weaknesses and infirmities, but I have begun to see them as King David had:
∑ It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (Psalm 119:71-72)
To Christ be the glory!
No comments:
Post a Comment