A Thought

“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven, Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.  They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your servants.”  Psalm 119:89-91

The Word may well be “forever” settled in heaven, but down here the only thing the Church can seem to agree on is that there was a man named Jesus and that He was murdered.  Beyond this the Church (that is, all believers) seems concerned not with reconciling ourselves with the Word but rather dismissing the Word as antiquated, not applicable to “me”.  Whether we are talking about restrictions on what we should eat, sexuality issues, worship attendance, or tithing; we are much more concerned with what we don’t have to do and not so concerned with what we are privileged to do.

Discipleship is about following the Lord faithfully, learning more from Him each day, and seeking to get closer to Him, hungrily pursuing holiness of heart and mind.  How can it be, then, that the psalmist (presumably among the Lord’s faithful) “loves the Law”, but modern-day Christians actively and publicly show disdain for the Law (public acts which separate the faithful from the not-so-faithful) … and then wonder why an unbelieving world does not take us or our faith or our witness seriously?!  They do not see our fidelity; they hear our excuses … ostensibly in the name of grace!

Rather than seeking ways to distance ourselves from the WHOLE Word, we should be seeking to enter into the whole Word just as Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Whole Word.  Rather than finding excuses to separate ourselves from the Whole Word (based, incidentally, strictly on the opinions of St. Paul), we should be seeking ways to incorporate the Whole Word into our lives.

Whole = complete = perfect = sanctification = holy.  This should be our story; this should be our song.  This must be our living before it can ever be our witness.

Blessings,

Michael