In O. Chambers book My Utmost For His Highest I found this sentence, “We slander God by our very eagerness to work for Him without knowing Him.”
I came across this quote in a devotional reading and spent some time really thinking about what it was saying. The truth of the quote was striking. The Pharisees were eager to work for God, but not to know Him. A group comes to Jesus and says to Him, “Look how much we have done for you, in your name.” And Jesus tells them, “Depart from me I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21-23)
Slander is a misrepresentation which defames another’s reputation or name. When I am eager to work for God, but am not knowing God I am misrepresenting Him. I am telling the world that my effort is more important than my God. And the truth is that my effort is meaningless drivel without His help and power. That is putting the spotlight on me and not on Him. That is defaming His name.
I can’t tell you how many times in my life I have been busy doing the “work” of God and have not taken the time to actually be with God. I am fooling myself and defaming the Lord by pretending that my effort can make any difference anyway. And, what I have found is that my effort leaves me exhausted and fruitless. It’s like paddling upstream; lots of effort but little progress.
The converse of that scenario is just as troubling. Doing nothing for God doesn’t reveal my spirituality, but my laziness. Those who know God most, seem to always be doing the most for God. But it is not an empty religious exercise, it is a God-powered effort that advances His glory and kingdom. That is what I want to be about in my life.
My prayer, which is where this all should start, is that the Lord will work in me so that I might know Him and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do all that He calls me to do.
I came across this quote in a devotional reading and spent some time really thinking about what it was saying. The truth of the quote was striking. The Pharisees were eager to work for God, but not to know Him. A group comes to Jesus and says to Him, “Look how much we have done for you, in your name.” And Jesus tells them, “Depart from me I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21-23)
Slander is a misrepresentation which defames another’s reputation or name. When I am eager to work for God, but am not knowing God I am misrepresenting Him. I am telling the world that my effort is more important than my God. And the truth is that my effort is meaningless drivel without His help and power. That is putting the spotlight on me and not on Him. That is defaming His name.
I can’t tell you how many times in my life I have been busy doing the “work” of God and have not taken the time to actually be with God. I am fooling myself and defaming the Lord by pretending that my effort can make any difference anyway. And, what I have found is that my effort leaves me exhausted and fruitless. It’s like paddling upstream; lots of effort but little progress.
The converse of that scenario is just as troubling. Doing nothing for God doesn’t reveal my spirituality, but my laziness. Those who know God most, seem to always be doing the most for God. But it is not an empty religious exercise, it is a God-powered effort that advances His glory and kingdom. That is what I want to be about in my life.
My prayer, which is where this all should start, is that the Lord will work in me so that I might know Him and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do all that He calls me to do.
1 comment:
Scott:
I think you have "gone to meddling" again.
The danger of not staying busy for Jesus at all times is that your mind often begins to wander and that can inadvertently lead to intimacy with God. Intimacy, then, leads to revelation. Revelation, in turn, often leads to meddling. This is a dangerous pattern, especially for someone in a pastoral position like yourself.
(Actually, I found your blog to be very convicting and right on. I'm guilty!! Instead of deriving the benefit of hanging out in the tent of meeting like Moses and Joshua, I usually find myself much more interested in what's going on back in the camp.)
Recently, my parents were listening to the sermon of a perhaps overly "busy" pastor who stumbled into a somewhat telling choice of words. He said, "We need to do more for Jesus than we DO do." One person started to laugh and then it became contagious.
"DOO DOO." "DUNG." Without knowing God, that's all it is. And God's not laughing...
Bryan
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