2 June 2015 - utterly amazed

The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord.

We are called to trust in the LORD with firm hearts. Even in bad circumstances our trust should be steadfast. Tobit starts off well, burying the dead, not caring about the consequences. But then when times actually get hard he begins to enter into a mode of self preservation. He is no longer one about whom the psalmist says,  "Lavishly he gives to the poor". In fact is even unable to accept blessings himself.

She said to me, “It was given to me as a bonus over and above my wages.”
Yet I would not believe her, 
and told her to give it back to its owners.

Tobit himself is made poor, in a sense, by losing his eyesight. But instead of trusting in God he enters into survival mode where he is only considered with what he himself can provide for himself. He not only fears "An evil report" but he can't even trust a good one.

When we are tempted to enter into survival mode we should remember that nothing we have is truly ours.

Whose image and inscription is this?

We ourselves are made in God's image and inscribed with his name. All we have is ultimately from him. If it bears the image and inscription of Caesar, well, Caesar himself bears God's image. We should therefore relate to the things of this world as Paul prescribes:

"those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away" (cf. 1 Cor. 7:30-31).

In our hearts, let us render all things to God for they are all truly his. When we remember "from him and through him and for him are all things" (cf. Rom. 11:36) we are no longer susceptible to the passing highs that worldly praise can give. We don't fall for empty praise just as Jesus does not.

Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion.
You do not regard a person’s status
but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

At the same time, we no longer fear even an evil report. Our hearts become firm, trusting in the LORD. False pleasures don't make us stumble. Hardships don't make us fear. We see this embodied in Jesus. No wonder Mark says of the Pharisees and Herodians:

They were utterly amazed at him.

The word amaze and its derivations appears about 6 times in the OT but 45 in the (much shorter) NT. This is because Jesus is the one who is truly amazing. Let him amaze us today. This is the first step to loosening our grip on this world because Jesus himself is the one who has overcome the world. It is to union with our amazing Savior that we are called!