Where Do I Stand?

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?”

Luke 17:7

            Jesus has just finished telling His disciples that if they have faith the size of a mustard see, they can, in a sense, move mountains! Wow. Pretty heady stuff. But before the disciples get too puffed up, Jesus quickly deflates them, reminding them that they are only servants. It is their job to work the field, tend the sheep, fix the food and serve it. Regardless of how hard they work, their master will never serve them.

            We are living in a strange time. Christianity has become a mishmash of self help psychology and instant gratification. God has been displaced from His position of Almighty and morphed into some kind of grandfatherly Santa Claus look-alike, a genie in a bottle whose sole existence is to grant our wishes. The trendy theology in the church today is that if you, the Christian, has enough faith God is obligated to respond in such-and-such a given way. Whoa! Hold on one minute! God is obligated?? Really? Last time I checked, God was indebted to no one.

           

When Job demanded an explanation from the Almighty, He responded like this:

“Who is this who darkens council by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer Me . . . . Would you indeed annul My judgments? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and array yourself with glory and beauty. Disperse the rage of your wrath; look on everyone who is proud and humble him; tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; bind their faces in hidden darkness. Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you.”

(Job 38:1-3, 40:7-14)

            Man, it’s time we remembered that God is God! He is an all consuming fire. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, beloved. Now that being said, He also is not a stingy God. He rewards the righteous and keeps His promises but it is merely because He says He will. He is obligated to no one but Himself.

            But you see that right there is what sets biblical Christianity so far apart from all other religions. Being God and obligated to no one, He willingly bestows His love on a rebellious creation, giving us all things freely to enjoy. He stoops to lift the lowly and gives grace to the humble. Never confuse His mercy as a sign of weakness. Never allow your opinion of yourself to become so high and mighty that you forget who He is.

Application: Today I will approach my On The Mount time with a healthy view of who God is.