It's now 2011! Happy New Year. I am looking forward to the year ahead, with anticipation of challenges at work, new ministry opportunities at Church, vacations with the family and the multitude of activities of sports and school functions with the kids. This is the first year we have three kids at three different schools, elementary, Jr. high and high school. I pray that 2011 is a blessed year for you.
We continue our study in John and we are now going to look at John 5: 39 to 47, with focus on verse 46..."For if you believe on Moses, you would believe me..."
Jesus is continuing His interface with the Jewish leadership. They all knew the Old Testament very well. They and the society in general had the utmost respect for those writings. In fact, to show deep knowledge about the writings of Moses was very prestigious. They wanted to appear to have high knowledge and strict adherence to those writings so they could maintain their stature in society. So the Old Testament was what gave them the power they had. But it was a flawed power that Jesus was exposing. They were enraged by Jesus, because His extremely high knowledge of God's Word threatened them. They would call Jesus out on some legalistic violation of the Mosaic Law and then Jesus would "trump" them with a deeper line of logic. Their own status and prestige was being undermined.
Jesus was using their own respect of the Old Testament to show them how blind they are! They maybe smart, but very unwise!
You can have all the smarts in the world, but if you don't continually seek the truth in God and have full humility, you will be diverted into a flawed purpose for your life. The Jewish Leaders of the time were highly educated. But they used God's Word to control the masses with their stature and legalistic rules. Jesus showed up with comprehensive understanding of God's Word, but applied heart and love to the truths of God's Word. These truths turned the society upside down. God's truths continue to go against the norms of today.
There are people in our society today that have all the knowledge (so they think), but are so blinded by their own passions and arrogance, they cannot see truth. It is because of a lack of humility. One needs to embrace how we are fallen and we have limited abilities. Then we need to realize God is perfect. He is the source of all wisdom and truth. He alone can sustain and expand our wisdom. Wisdom starts with our view of God. Do we fear Him or no? If we do, God will start to instill much wisdom in our lives.
As believers in Christ we are much like a lighthouse, shining God's truth to others. Think of a lighthouse and the truth it represents. It is a beacon preventing vessels from shipwreck and guiding them to safe harbor. If the lens is not clear and clean, the light will be hard to see. Arrogance will fog the lens of a believer and will blind someone seeking the truth.
Dear Lord, I think of these fallen men in the Book of John, talking to Jesus, and still being so blinded by their own arrogance. Lord clear the spiritual lens for me so I might only represent truth and having no blind spots. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment