Awards are everywhere - in the entertainment industry, in sports, where you work, at school. The Baseball Hall of Fame inducted two new members yesterday - Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn. Notably, they rejected Mark McGwire despite his homerun records, on the suspicion that he cheated with performance enhancing drugs. Last year, the Assemblies of God noted my 25 year anniversary of ordination to Christian ministry. I wear the pin denoting that milestone with some pride, hopefully the good kind of pride, not the arrogant kind! Not all awards have to be published or pinned, either. Drs. Trent and Smalley wrote a book to explain the importance of giving kids 'the blessing,' urging parents to pass along appropriate affirmation for their children. The way that a parent gives honor to his child is one of the biggest influences that shapes that child's sense of worth and purpose for the rest of his life. If a parent is dishonors his child, treating him with contempt and/or nagging criticism, he steals confidence and sets up that child to grow into an adult who will struggle with issues of inferiority. If she appropriately recognizes and encourages her child, she helps lay a foundation for good relationships and a sense of worth, enduring to the grave!
There is one reward that supersedes, by far, all others; the blessing of God!
How do we live in His blessing? How do we enjoy His affirmation?
Take a look at what the Word says,“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." That line comes from a passage in the book of Isaiah that reminds us that we cannot do anything for God that He could not do for Himself. We are not rewarded with His blessings because we enriched Him in anyway. To think that is absurd, and leads us into the Pharisaical folly of thinking that God is fortunate to have us on His team. Remember the story Jesus told about two men who went to pray? The self-righteous Pharisee asked nothing of God, only commending himself to God for all the good things he had done. The 'sinner' lowered his eyes and prayed only for mercy from God. Jesus said that only one man went home right with God and it wasn't the 'good guy.' (see Luke 18:10-12)
We cannot 'buy' God's approval, nor can we earn it. And yet, we must learn to live in it and there are choices we make which allow us to enjoy it.
Read this carefully. "This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig’s blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations;" (Isaiah 66:1-3, NIV) Building temples and presenting offerings cannot replace a heart that loves God and a life that honors Him with obedience!
King Saul, who lived in rebellion, tried to buy God's favor with a thousand sacrifices, but God swept aside his offerings, the prophet Samuel declaring: "Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production." (1 Samuel 15:22, The Message)
Are you living in humility before God, allowing Him to lead you? Are you discovering His will, day by day, not necessarily as He writes it in the sky in mile-high letters, but in obedience in the little things? There is the place of blessing, the place where His smile warms our hearts and we know what it is to live with a sense of close fellowship.
In 1981, the movie, Chariots of Fire, told the story of Eric Liddell, a committed Christian who became an Olympic competitor, and later a missionary to China, who died in as a prisoner of the Japanese in WWII. There is a memorable line in that movie. Liddell confidently, yet humbly says, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." Nothing in the world can replace the sense that God takes pleasure from us as obedient children! If you're running from Him, resisting Him, complaining about Him - stop, turn in repentance, and humbly give yourself to Him. That does not guarantee that everything in your will magically turn out wonderful, that you will be spared all difficulty. It does allow you to know the smile of His blessed approval - and that, my friend, supersedes all other awards, any other achievement.
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