The verses we looked at the first week focused on our relation to Christ as sinners. Spiritual poverty, mourning for our sins, meekness in humility, and a promise from God to “fill us” as we seek Him. This past week the focus was on our conduct, personally and towards others. These verses describe qualities we are to exhibit in all areas of our lives.
Some questions to think about as you are reading…
1. Does my faith affect my conduct?
2. How do I exhibit purity, mercy and peace on a consistent basis?
3. What does persecution look like for us today?
4. How often do I make decisions to avoid pain or persecution?
The three qualities…
Mercy is in love helping those who are unable to help themselves. The ultimate example is Christ’s death as the payment for our sins. Because of our sin we could not help ourselves. This is different than grace. It is grace in action.
We are not capable of purity on our own. Jer 17:9 says the heart is deceitful and beyond cure. How can we be pure in heart when we are impure? In Psalms David asks God to create in him a pure heart. God is faithful to do that from the moment of salvation. This an ongoing process and occurs as we yield to Him and allow Him to change us as we walk through life.
A peacemaker makes peace at home, school, work, and in relationships. It is placing the needs of others before our own needs. We can never be at peace if we are constantly putting ourselves first. This makes a lot sense to me when I think about relationships, especially with my wife. If I am always putting myself first then there are turf battles and relatively little peace. This does not say you cannot disagree but forces you to examine your motives.
Back to the questions. My conduct is not changed by my faith if I continue to see myself as more important than others. Only when I yield to Christ and the nudging of the Holy Spirit will I be changed and others will see Christ through me. He will also be faithful to reveal more of Himself to me. My conduct is only changed when I allow Him to live through me. Then, as a result of a changed heart, I can extend mercy, peace, and love consistently to others.
Rom 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
In this country we don’t generally encounter severe persecution. Our culture is fairly tolerant of Christianity. The bigger problem might be that we have become too tolerant of our culture and our lives do not look much different than those who don’t know God.
If your life is reflecting the light of Christ you will experience persecution in some form. It may be subversive and likely not life threatening but it may affect your livelihood. You may be loyal and hardworking but your refusal to manipulate a situation in your favor may cost you a promotion or a new contract. You may feel pressure to choose work over family and lose favor with your employer or clients. Your friends or co-workers may think you are judgmental for not participating in some social activities your don’t agree with. These situations seem small when compared to threats on your life but you might have to deal with the “small” persecutions on a daily basis for years at a time. This is not pleasant or easy .
Notice that verse 10 is not talking about persecution because you may be annoying, judgmental, or unfriendly. Happy are those that are persecuted because of righteousness. Rejoice in the fact the your conduct is evidence that your are united with Christ and He is at work in you. Our prayer should be that our conduct is a reflection of Christ and it will attract those who are being drawn toward Him or repel those who are looking for life within themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment