Standing Firm

This whole issue of pride in the Christian life is adequately and abruptly answered by I Corinthians 4. Thinking back to what I said yesterday, the complexities of the Christian life seem to become natural responses when the realities of God are seen in their brilliance.

This is how I am to regard myself: as a servant of Christ and a steward of the mysteries of God. There it is. That’s the truth of who God has said that I am. Now, if I can see myself as that, the response should follow. And it’s helped by the guidelines that Paul gives. Next verse: because I am a steward, it is required that I be trustworthy. There’s something powerful in that. I think of the stewardship of money. It’s easy to see why I must be trustworthy. I cannot steal, I must keep careful track of it, I must invest wisely. This is also easy to see with time. I ought not to fritter away my time and I must invest it well.

Now this is the same attitude I should have with the mysteries of God. I have been entrusted with these and I ought not to fritter it away or steal it or the glory of it for myself. I must invest it wisely. I must steward the mysteries of God.

Secondly, I should consider it a small thing to be examined by men, I ought not to care what other people think of me because it is the Lord who examines me! I have been entrusted with these mysteries and I will by held accountable of how I steward them by God Himself! Of course, it becomes a small thing then how other people see me.

My flesh is fueled by people’s admiration and respect, but what is that really? When juxtaposed against the Lord’s examination, this becomes shallow and non-consequential.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 at 12:50 am and is filed under General musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.