Today we see both Samuel and Paul explaining that they have acted in good conscience before the Lord. We don't find that either Samuel or Paul is sinless. But we do find that both of them have a history of hearing from the Lord and being conformed to his will, as opposed to seeking to run things their own way. In both instances, they are confronting a people who are refusing God's stated will.
What do we see in the lives of Samuel and Paul? Of course, many things, too many to catalog here. But a primary characteristic we can see in Samuel and Paul, one which we are exhorted in Scripture to develop in ourselves, is a willingness to be changed by God's stated will. Our Lord and Savior has told us what he values. He has told us what it is to live a godly life. He has shown us that we are justified by faith, believing that he in fact is the one who saves and protects us. Do we then work out our salvation according to our own reason, or is it safe to let the Lord's word change us? The right response, though it is the response that we don't tend to like, is to let God be God and accept what he has told us. We are conformed to our Lord's will, rather than trying to conform his will to our reason.
Will we face opposition when we do this? Certainly. The first opposition we face is our own reason and what we think of as wisdom. Once we overcome that, the ridicule of others is relatively easy to deal with. Let us go, then, and make it our goal to be conformed to the will of God in Christ, no matter what we find ourselves and others around us thinking and saying.
No comments:
Post a Comment