After reading this incredible charge to take charge in drawing the charge (did you follow that?), I am praising God. What a responsibility, what a joy, what a gift, what a grace, what a burden! to be called to take up His cross and follow Him. And by that, He doesn’t mean to blindly follow anyone who claims to be following Him… but to FOLLOW HIM.
How does one do this with a balance of boldness and humility?
I don’t have the answer to that. But I am asking God to reveal it to me over time, so that I may be accurately taking up His cross, following Him, dividing truth, pursuing wisdom, receiving grace, and pouring out mercy. (This reminds me of my dad ~ and if you’ve ever met my dad, I dare to say, you couldn’t possibly disagree.)
Central to the task of walking in the wisdom of Christ is obedience that could be mistaken for being a crank without actually being one. … Nehemiah is a good guy. He might have easily been accused being a crank, a legalist. But he wasn’t. But Nehemiah was the kind of obedient that might get him labeled as one. If you are never accused of being cranky, stodgy, a bit legalistic, you aren’t doing it right. But the key is to obey in such a way as to draw the charge without actually being guilty of it. … The difference is whether you are fundamentally an accuser or an advocate. Do you confront your friends, your roommates, your brothers and sisters in love, honestly wanting to do them good? Or do you despise them, secretly hoping they are shamed in the eyes of others? Are you an advocate or an accuser? You want to be the kind of faithful advocate that draws the charge of being a crank without actually being one.
When you read that teaser paragraph (excerpts from the above linked post), do you think of Christ? I do! Wow. It’s like he’s describing Jesus Christ, His life, and His faithful advocacy. Jesus got accused of being a crank, but He wasn’t actually a crank. He was THE ultimate faithful advocate. By God’s grace, may we seek the true Christlikeness that would put us into the same camp. Amen.
Thank you for this today!
This especially popped out at me: “If you are never accused of being cranky, stodgy, a bit legalistic, you aren’t doing it right. But the key is to obey in such a way as to draw the charge without actually being guilty of it. ”
Some think I *am* a bit legalistic. Honestly, I’d rather be accused of that than the opposite. My duty is to obey the Lord, regardless of how others view me because of that. What is most important is that I am honoring and obeying God.
I do approach everyone around me in love and there is nothing more important to me than seeing them walk with the Lord. However, there is nothing more grievous than seeing them walk away from the Lord, lower their morals, watching them be shamed etc…. it breaks my heart.
I’d love to meet your Dad someday 🙂