Friday, January 29, 2021

"As the World Turns" -To

"We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?" (S.O.S. 8:8)

  "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:11-13) 

  Oddly enough, things really do turn; sometimes they turn for the worst, sometimes for the best; some things will seriously turn upside-down or totally around; but no matter which way is up, or which way is down, God is never far away, and He is still in control! The interesting things about God's love, is that His love counts; all other loves, no matter how much power or passion they might bring to the table, there is never ever a single chance they might come as close to the promises that come with the love of God! 

  As you might have figured out by now, this is more about being restricted and conforming to some sort of order, than it is about youth or important standing. Within the structure of religion, it is a lot like Unions; your given standing by how long you have been serving, not by the way you might believe or by the gifts you have been given. Take that up a notch, and imagine what it might have looked like for the Gentiles that first came to Christ; all the restrictions put upon them, as they might have felt substandard compared to those that were Jewish followers of Christ.

  Yes, it is more about what God does, not what man might do! It is a lot like King Saul trying to get David to wear his armor, as David was about to face Goliath; it was not a very good fit, it had not been tested, and it restricted the plan that God had intended for him to do. Imagine what it would have been like for David to sling that rock wearing all of the bulky armor; it would have just gotten in the way and slowed him down. God's ways may not always look impressive or meet the standard of being dignified, but they get the job done! 

  As Matthew Henry puts this, the Jewish church would have said this of the believing Gentiles, saying, "Their condition (say the pious Jews) is very deplorable and forlorn; they are sisters, children of the same fathers, God and Adam, but they are little, because not dignified with the knowledge of God: they have no breasts, no divine revelation, no scriptures, no ministries, no breasts of consolation drawn out for them, when they might suck, being strangers to the covenants of promise, no breasts of instruction themselves to draw out to their children, to nourish them, 1 Peter 2:2. What shall we do for them? We can but pity them, and pray for them. Lord, what wilt thou do for them?"

  Yes, it is rather odd, but this is the condition we are currently living in: as there are now standards which many churches are leaning towards, not based upon that which is governed by the Word of God, but more about what is acceptable and approved of mankind, womankind, or whatever the kind of creature it might be; as long as it does not try and judge the world, the world will allow it to be! But guess what: Judgment starts in the house of God...

"I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy -just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too." (Romans 11:13-16) NLT

No comments:

Post a Comment