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The Daily Word of Righteousness
A Suitable Helper, continued
By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30—NIV)
No hero of the Bible sought to "do great things for God." The Lord Jesus Himself never sought to "sell" the Gospel nor did He seek to provoke God to act or to do great things. He waited on His Father and acted only in accordance with the Father's will.
The Lord made no judgments on His own nor did He attempt to do anything without the Father. For this reason His judgment was always just. He did not seek to please Himself but the Father who sent Him.
This is a level of maturity we must arrive at. This is maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ.
It is not always easy to wait quietly on the Lord for many years while others are having great spiritual "success." Also one may enjoy having the spiritually ambitious point out how foolish it is to wait on the Lord when they are doing great things. "Come down off the wall!" "Come down off the cross!"
But we learn not to judge people or circumstances but to wait quietly until we know what it is the Lord wants us to do.
How do you feel about this? Are you willing to strive for this type of maturity? It is the way of the Servant of the Lord.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; (Isaiah 42:3—NIV)
It is not unusual for strong Christians to despise those who are having problems, the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. We have a tendency to point out their weaknesses and gossip about them.
Do you know, it hurts the Lord when we do this? It is like your daughter telling you about a terrible thing your son did and rejoicing over it. But you do not rejoice over the shortcomings of your son!
The way of the Servant of the Lord is to work patiently with the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks, faithfully bringing forth justice for them.
Be merciful to those who doubt; Snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (Jude 1:22,23—NIV)
And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, (II Timothy 2:24,25—NIV)
We must grow in maturity until we are kind to everyone, not quarreling with anyone, if we are to be a helper suited for Jesus Christ. The willingness to gently instruct those who oppose us is a sign we are approaching the stature of the fullness of Christ.
To be continued.