The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"They? I!"
Perhaps you, like me, have read portions of Scripture about believers in which they did not know and believe the obvious.
"Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments, and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered His words" (Luke 24:1-8).
Such passages have elicited the thought, "How did they not know, how could they…?". Then another thought occurs. "How do I not know, how could I?" Far too often, the risen Lord Jesus has stood before me in the pages of Scripture, along the pathways of life, and in my heart through the Holy Spirit, but I have failed to see, realize, and believe. I have brought spices to a grave, as it were, rather than faith to the throne of grace whereupon sits the risen Christ. When thinking clearly, my focus cannot possibly direct itself to others, but upon my own need to remember and affirm the Lord Jesus as risen from the dead.
"Remember how He spake unto you." Of course, we have not seen, heard, or touched the living Word physically. "We walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7). However, we possess gifts the disciples of the Lord Jesus did not have. The indwelling Holy Spirit, the written Word of God, two thousand years of church history, our own personal history with a risen Savior, and the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ all provide powerful reminders and encouragements to believe our Lord is alive and near along every pathway of life. No excuses for unbelief exist for us, any more than they existed for our brethren of old. We actually bear far greater culpability, based on far greater light (Luke 12:48). Thus, the focus of faith ever leads us to "How can I?" rather than "How could they?"
The risen life of the Lord Jesus pervades our hearts and our steps. We can live in its holy light, overcoming the challenges of our present lives by faith in His dynamic present and working. "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth Jesus is the Son of God?" (I John 5:5). Or, like disciples of old, we can bring spices to a grave we should know to be empty. We do well to glean lessons from their ignorance and unbelief, but always in the remembrance that too often our own hands have been fragranced by spices of unbelief we should have known were completely unnecessary. The Lord Jesus is risen from the dead. He sits upon the Heavenly throne of grace. He works mightily in the hearts and lives of those who trust Him. Our brethren long ago needed no spices. Nor do we.
"What is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places."
(Ephesians 1:19-20)
"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."
(Ephesians 3:20-21)
Weekly Memory Verse
The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.
(Psalm 46:7)
6789
No comments:
Post a Comment