From an early age, my late father frequently reminded me that those who are blessed with privilege must recognize the responsibility that comes with it. I saw that principle through the middle chapters of Leviticus which I read today. The Lord, through Moses, called on the Israelites, again and again, to be different from the people of Egypt among whom they had lived for 400 years! They were now to be known as the people belonging to the Lord, with the privilege of making Him known in the world. That required sexual purity, a commitment to justice, and a new social order.
God demanded that the whole of their lives be defined by their relationship to Him. He would not share them with lesser gods and He would not accept anything but their best sacrifices. If the people were faithful to Him, He promised to bless them. "The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them." (Deuteronomy 28:12-14, NLT) Even receiving the promise, the people would honor their God, for others would see their blessings and know that the Lord was a good and powerful God!
I am reluctant to pursue this thought because I know it is so easily twisted into something it is not! So, please, read thoughtfully. Disciple, God calls us to the privileged place as His people. Through Christ, and the rebirth of the Spirit, we become the children of God, with the high privilege of bearing His Name before our world. Here’s how the Word explains it: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." (Ephesians 1:3-6, NIV) As I read those words, my heart fills with gratitude for His grace. But, soberly I also know that a sacred responsibility is ours. "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Ephesians 4:1, NIV)
Those who receive, by faith, the calling of the Father enjoy what Jesus called the ‘abundant life.’ We enjoy the joy of knowing the purpose for which we were made. We live in the center of His will. Our spirit are made alive and responsive to His Spirit. We are loved and learn to love wholly! We live peacefully under His care in this world and with confidence even in the presence of death because we are assured of eternal life. But, we must never believe that all this is simply our right or available to us just for our own benefit. God glorifies Himself by providing us such an inheritance.
Let’s live in the privilege and embrace the responsibility! Here’s a word from the Word.
"And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children. See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is." (1 John 2:28-3:2, NLT)
___________
Your love has captured me.
Your grace has set me free.
Your life, the air I breathe.
Be glorified in me.
You set my feet to dancing.
You set my heart on fire.
In the presence of a thousand kings
You are my one desire,
And I stand before You now
With trembling hands lifted high.
Be glorified.
Be glorified in me.
Be glorified in me.
Be glorified in me.
Be glorified.
Be Glorified
Tomlin, Chris / Giglio, Louie
EMI Christian Music Publishing
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