May the mumbling commence!
Life is a journey. It is a series of tests. How can we remain loyal to what matters
most? From where do we get our
identity? These are important questions
when our good faith relations with someone are rudely rejected. Read a story of David from Second Samuel
chapter ten:
Sometime after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died,
and his son Hanun became king. David
said, "I am going to show complete loyalty
to Hanun because his father, Nahash, was always completely loyal to me." So David sent
ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father's death.
But when David's ambassadors arrived in the land of
Ammon, Hanun's
advisers said to their master, "Do you really think these men are coming
here to honor your father? No! David has
sent them to spy out the city so that they can come in and conquer
it!" So Hanun seized David's
ambassadors and shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their robes at the
buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to
tell the men to stay at Jericho until their beards grew out, for they were very
embarrassed by their appearance. (Verses 1-5)
Ambassadors of sympathy were rudely
sent back in shame – beards maligned and clothes ruined. And all of this happened on the advice of men
that should have known better. This
action would cause a rift to form between David and the Ammonites.
Hindsight told King Nahash that his
actions were wrong, so he feared retaliation.
Soon there was a buildup of armies that was threatening to the nation of
Israel… and war began.
Let’s pose that question to
ourselves again. How can I remain loyal
to what matters most? What does matter
most… my relationships with other people… my reputation… the sovereignty of my
nation? No what matters most is my
relationship to God.
When I am right with God, then all
other things will fall into their rightful places. I get my identity from God, and so do
you. Indeed, so do we. So let’s listen and obey God – even when it
makes no sense to us from the standpoint of tradition. Read some of Peter’s story from Acts chapter
ten:
The next day as Cornelius's messengers were nearing the
city, Peter went up to the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he was
hungry. But while lunch was being prepared, he
fell into a trance. He saw the sky open,
and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals,
reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said
to him, "Get
up, Peter; kill and eat them."
"Never, Lord," Peter declared. "I
have never in all my life eaten anything forbidden
by our Jewish laws.”
The voice spoke again, "If
God says something is acceptable, don't say it isn't." The same vision was repeated three times.
Then the sheet was pulled up again to heaven.
Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean?
Just then the men sent by Cornelius found the house and stood outside at the
gate. They asked if this was the place
where Simon Peter was staying. Meanwhile,
as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, "Three men
have come looking for you. Go down and
go with them without hesitation. All
is well, for I have sent them."
So Peter went down and said, "I'm the man you are
looking for. Why have you come?"
They said, "We
were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer.
He is a devout man who fears the God of Israel and is well respected by all the
Jews. A holy angel instructed him to send for you so you can go to his house
and give him a message." So Peter invited the men to be his guests for the
night. The next day he went with
them, accompanied by some other believers from Joppa.
They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was
waiting for him and had called together his relatives and close friends to meet
Peter. As Peter entered his home,
Cornelius fell to the floor before him in worship. But Peter pulled him up and said, "Stand
up! I'm a human being like you!" So
Cornelius got up, and they talked together and went inside where the others
were assembled.
Peter told them, "You know it is against the Jewish laws for me to come
into a Gentile home like this. But God
has shown me that I should never think of anyone as impure.” (Verses 9-28)
It is our attitudes and thoughts
and words of actions that either make us pure or impure – not our
nationality. God still looks at our
hearts. May our hearts be pure in the
Lord’s sight!
May we follow the leading
of the Lord without hesitation. Then, we
will know who we are and to whom we belong.
We are yours, O Lord.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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