The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Who Am I?"
"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:4).
Let us make the Psalmist's inquiry personal. "Who am I, that You consider me, and that You have visited me?" Every born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ knows deep in the spirit that we are utterly unworthy of our Lord's consideration and presence. Our flesh, however, still bears the mentality that we somehow merit blessings and favor. We do not, nor will we ever. Jacob expressed the sensibility of humility that must pervade every trusting heart: "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant" (Genesis 32:10).
Interestingly, God will one day reward believers for things done in faith and faithfulness (I Corinthians 3:14). This actually involves the rewarding of our reception of "grace, whereby we serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear" (Hebrews 12:28). His freely given favor in Christ - grace - motivates, guides, and empowers the life of obedience. Thus, we will be rewarded for availing ourselves of the grace that leads to "the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:11). In essence, God will reward us for the works that flowed from our acknowledgement of unworthiness and complete dependence on Him. Amazing grace indeed!
A well known preacher once chided a young lady at a car rental agency when she informed him that no cars were available. "Young lady, do you know who I am?!" She didn't, and he didn't either, at least in the unfortunate moment. The man had forgotten himself to be one for whom the Lord Jesus suffered, was forsaken, and died, a man "unworthy of the least of all the mercies." He forgot himself to be worthy of the lake of fire, rather than the river of life.
May we not forget. Christ alone provides our worthiness as God gives to us that which our Savior deserves, solely and completely based on His having given to the Savior what we deserve (II Corinthians 5:21). Worthy indeed is the Lamb, whose merits shine so brightly in the eyes of His Father that they avail for all who trust Him and are "accepted in the Beloved" by freely received and completely unmerited favor (Ephesians 1:6). "Who am I, that You consider me with such grace, and bless me with Your presence?" May the question abide continually in heart and mind. As it does, our hands and feet will more faithfully and consistently reflect the grace that makes possible the life.
"Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent."
(John 6:28-29)
"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."(Luke 18:10-14)
Weekly Memory Verse
My strength is made perfect in weakness.
(II Corinthians 12:9)
7607
No comments:
Post a Comment