Wednesday, February 7, 2018

7 February 2018 - in season and out of season



“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.” 

Jesus tells us to correct our focus. Worry more about what is going on in our hearts, he tells us, than what is going on in the world. To be sure, there is a lot of badness in the world. But we can remain undefiled and unsustained, pure of heart before God, if we make it our aim to please him, to make things that come out from us pleasing.

Rather than worrying about the world, over which we have no control, we make it our firm resolve to avoid "thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly." There is still the tendency, in each of us, toward all of these things. Usually it manifests in small ways. Murder becomes merely harmfully ignoring someone and so on. Yet they are all within us. And to the degree that we let them out they defile us.

If the tendency toward sin is so deeply ingrained within us what can we do? We need the wisdom that comes from God. Just as Solomon trusts in God for wisdom and is thereby able to judge justly so to if we trust in the LORD for wisdom he will tell us how we can bear good fruit in any situation, at any time, no matter what is happening around us.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (see Galatians 5:22-23).

This sort of thing amazes the world. They see how bad things are and expect the circumstances that surround us to determine how we behave. But this is not how it should be for Christians. When the world sees love in the face of hate it is able to believe us when we proclaim the Gospel message.

Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.


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