Sometimes the very presence of the Holy Spirit within us brings conviction of sin to another, without our ever saying a word. This is especially true when we pray for that person. God’s love in us never abandons; it identifies deeply with individual people. But it also brings the reality of God‘s presence, the purity of his holiness. It is not intimidated by, nor does it flee from, the crisis of sin; neither does it deny the reality of sin’s existence. But sometimes it is the very love of God that demands that we speak painful truth to a friend.
–Rebecca Pippert
We are to live in such a way that shows Christ to others.
Simply doing so can bring conviction to them.
This is not a substitute for verbally sharing our belief in Jesus, rather it is a necessary complement to verbally sharing.
We are called to love others. That will sometimes require us to point out sin and speak painful truths. But that is also what we are called to do when someone is about to be run over by a bus. We point out the danger and speak the truth to keep them from being hit. And when we speak of eternity, sin can be much worse than a bus.
We conclude therefore that a Christian man does not live in himself, but in Christ and in his neighbor, or else is no Christian; in Christ by faith, in his neighbor by love. By faith he is carried upwards above himself to God, and by love he sinks back below himself to his neighbor, still always abiding in God and His love…
–Martin Luther
The Greatest Command: Love God with all that you are and have.
2nd Greatest Command: Love your neighbor as yourself.
…regardless of our temperaments, we all must become initiators. The mark of a mature Christian is whether she or he chooses to be the “host” (the initiator) or the “guest” (the receiver) in relationships where being a host is most appropriate. There are, of course, times when those who are ordinarily hosts should be guests. The point is that the call to love those around us is in part a call to identify their needs. Once we have some understanding of their needs, we must find ways to meet them that are natural for us.
–Rebecca Pippert
We all have a role to play in sharing Christ with others. We can’t hide behind our personalities or temperaments and say “that’s just too uncomfortable for me.” Instead, as a mature Christian, I must step out of my comfort zone to choose to be the host/initiator so that I can be obedient to Christ’s command to share His good news. I must then identify the needs of my guest/receiver, and then strive to meet those needs in a Christlike way that comes naturally to me.
God, help me to be willing to step out of my comfort zone today to be an initiator in finding out what someone else needs. And help me to meet those needs in a compassionate, gracious, loving way.
The question is not whether we are good at theology, or “balanced” in our approach to problems of Christian living. The question is, can we say, simply, honestly…that we have known God, and that because we have known God the unpleasantness we have had, or the pleasantness we have not had, through being Christians does not matter to us? If we really knew God, this is what we would be saying, and if we are not saying it, that is a sign that we need to face ourselves more sharply with the difference between knowing God and merely knowing about Him.
–J. I. Packer
I want to know God… personally, intimately, deeply… and not just know about Him.
We’ve all done it…
Taken that wrong turn…
And some people have found that wrong turn to be a costly mistake… photo credit: www.komu.com/news/car-slides-off-roadway-into-lake/
Sometimes we feel as if we taken the wrong turn not just with our car, but with our entire life. We look back on the past and and we think, “Boy, did I choose the wrong way.” And we might even wonder if life has been permanently damaged because of that choice. If you feel that way, I have great news for you…
If I found I had driven into a bog, I should know I had missed the road. But this knowledge would not be of much comfort if I then had to stand helpless watching the car sink and vanish; the damage would be done, and that would be that. Is it the same when a Christian wakes up to the fact that he has missed God’s guidance and taken the wrong way? Is the damage irrevocable? Must he now be put off course for life?
Thank God, no. Our God is a God who not merely restores, but takes up our mistakes and follies into His plan for us and brings good out of them.
This is part of the wonder of His gracious sovereignty…. The Jesus who restored Peter after his denial and corrected his course more than once after that, is our Savior today and He has not changed….
Guidance, like all God’s acts of blessing under the covenant of grace, is a sovereign act. Not merely does God will to guide us in the sense of showing us His way, that we may tread it; He wills also to guide us in the more fundamental sense of ensuring that, whatever happens, whatever mistakes we may make, we shall come safely home. Slippings and strayings there will be, no doubt, but the everlasting arms are beneath us; we shall be caught, rescued, restored. This is God’s promise; this is how good He is.
Thus it appears that the right context for discussing guidance is one of confidence in the God who will not let us ruin our souls.
Our concern, therefore, in this discussion should be more for His glory than for our security — for that is already taken care of.
Isn’t that a beautiful description of how good God is to us. That if we have chosen Jesus as Savior and Lord, then no matter if we slip, we know that His arms are beneath us and that we will not ruin our souls. Our security in Him has been established already, so let us live for His glory!
(Quotes in today’s post are from Knowing God by J. I. Packer)
