I have a friend who is intelligent, even savvy to the things of this world. I enjoy talking with him, except that he does not 'get' the most important part of my life- loving God! He's a great guy, full of interesting stories, but when it comes to spiritual matters, he's a blank page. We were swapping stories about our kids recently. He told about his kids being promoted, taking interesting jobs, making investments- all good stuff. Then I shared about Chrissie, Peter, Natalie, and Sean taking jobs where they could serve people and express their love for the Lord, most recently accepting positions as teachers in Christians schools.
He asked, "What does that pay?'
"Peanuts," I answered.
"They need to think about the future," he said.
"They are," I replied. As you can imagine the conversation went nowhere. For my friend, thinking about the future means building a strong resume and a fat bank account. For me thinking about the future means pleasing God and building His Kingdom.
My friend thinks that the spiritual side of life just means being nice, showing concern, or as he said, "doing no harm to others." That it admirable, as far as it goes, but it is a long way from being a disciple of Jesus Christ. My world view that has God at the top of the stack, that makes Him the final reference point in all decisions, that serves Him as the Lord of life - is a fairy tale to him. When I talk about the Lord in familiar terms (quite unconsciously, I might add) he does not argue, but I can tell that he does not understand, at all.
The Scripture teaches there are two kinds of wisdom- one that is ordered by life in this temporal world, one that is ordered from Eternity. ". . . when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets." (1 Corinthians 2:6-10, NLT)
Be careful about reading that and feeling a kind of insider's pride! I do not feel superior to my worldly friend. I didn't figure it out or find this wisdom by any quality inherent in me. God, in His sovereign grace, chose to let me see the unseen, to know that which is beyond 'knowing,' by awakening faith in my heart. My only choice was to say, 'yes,' to His love and to live humbly and obediently before Him. The result is that "God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:10-12, NLT)
I want to urge you, Believer, to two choices today:
First, to thank God that He loves you and that He has called you to love and serve Him! Really thank Him, not with a self-congratulatory commendation your good works, but in deep humility that "God would love a sinner such as I am." We must not offend those who do not know Him as we do, by becoming proud of our spiritual heritage, by implying that we are 'in the Club,' and they are not because we are better than they are. God's loving grace is so amazing, it should bring us to tears just to ponder it. "That God should love a sinner such as I, how wonderful is love like this!"
Second, pray for those around you to be given grace! Borrow Paul's amazing prayer, that "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power... " (Ephesians 1:18-19, NKJV) Only when He reveals Himself and begins to unfold the mystery of faith can the worldly wise man understand!
Here's a story from the Word. Ponder it today, asking, which man do I resemble more?
"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:10-14, NIV)
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