The weekend was wonderful and full of refreshment and beautiful weather. I’m grateful to have taken a couple of days off from writing and believe I have something substantial for you to ponder as you begin a new work-week.
I won’t be listing the full passage for the remainder of these 10 blog posts from 1 Thessalonians 2:1-13. If you wish to read the entire passage and see the previous entries just browse the archive links to the left. Today’s thoughts motivate me to a tighter, bolder testimony for Christ. I hope the words serve a similar purpose for you.
LOYALTY TO GOD
“But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts – 1 Thessalonians 2:4
Ultimately, the one you fear is the one who will own your loyalty. Mind you, this doesn’t have to be a trembling, phobic fear; it may be that you fear losing their approval, losing their presence, losing what they contribute to your life or losing what they provide. Nearly all of us have someone in our lives who motivates us, either consciously or unconsciously, to live in loyalty unto them. Ideally, this person should be God Himself. We should so long to please Him that we adjust our whole life accordingly. We must ask ourselves whether a particular action or decision will bring pleasure to God? We have received much grace from Christ in life and we love to faithfully follow Him. It hurts both us and Him when we sin, therefore we fear Him in reverence, awe and devotion. He has purchased the rights to our loyalty and we acknowledge this reality by enthusiastically submitting to His lordship. Our reverence for Him results in our ultimate loyalty to Him. This is pristine theology which translates into a practical outflow of approved living.
Yet we live in a world of conflict. We are pulled in many different directions. Our flesh craves the path of least resistance and there is some tenacious component of us that longs to be approved, not only by God, but by our fellow man. Regularly, we are faced with decisions that force us to choose between loyalty to God, loyalty to self or loyalty to people. Here’s what the Apostle Paul said: “…but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” The potential conflict that Paul was faced with regarded the very essence of his life and ministry. He was a missionary/preacher who had been handpicked by Jesus Christ to carry the unadulterated, undiluted, unalloyed message of saving grace to the lost and ignorant. It may sound glamorous but, more than anything else, it was incredibly grueling work. His life was constantly on the line, his reputation consistently shredded by his enemies, his body worn, weary, beaten, and bloodied more than once. The opponents of grace hated Paul’s message and there was a constant opportunity for Paul to tweak his presentation of truth in order to procure more favorable circumstances in life. Paul was called to be a loyal ambassador for Christ to the naioins…not an appeasing diplomat. The great man never gave in. His loyalty was to God and nothing would penetrate the walls of that castle of his will.
How about you? Whose approval would you rather forego first? A merciful, gracious and forgiving God who you know will pardon your folly or some person in your life who is seeking to provide opportunity for you to stray from your Shepherd? At work, are you silent when their words vilify your King or His bride? By now you are familiar with some biblical parameters for righteousness – what do you say when those around you mock those standards? Some of you have pulpits and podiums where you have been given the responsibility to speak on His behalf. Never enter that sacred place of instruction without your spine. There are some in your audience whose favor you will hazard if you batten down the hatches and shoot straight with them- are you willing to stand lovingly firm and tell the truth anyway? Each and every day our loyalty is being tested. Perhaps the most pointed exam is when there is no audience at all. We are alone, unsupervised, unobserved and some form of temptation finds us. To whom will our loyalty be manifest in that hour? If you are still in that place of your religion where you believe that it is about keeping or breaking rules then you will compromise your loyalty to Christ often. If, however, you recognize the temptation as a fundamental decision concerning your love and faithfulness to a Person then you will find regular victory.
All sin, at some level, is a breach in our loyalty to the One who has made us objects of His greatest love.
He is loyal to us, is He not? Our blessed bibles say this, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” John 13:1. May His relentless, unspeakable grace empower us to have this same testimony toward Him. As we grow in His love, we will also grow in loyalty.
On my tombstone, I want Paul’s faithful words:”TO LIVE IS CHRIST, TO DIE IS GAIN”