The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
"Appears… Is"
They appear to be so close together.
I refer to the moon and Regulus, our satellite and a star that presently seem to be nearby one another in the night sky. Actually, they are not. Regulus is 79 light years away from the earth and the moon, that is, 450 trillion miles away. The appearance of proximity does not denote the reality of the spacial relationship.
"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).
The truth applies to spiritual matters even more. The Lord Jesus Christ warns us regarding the fact that how something appears may not align with how it actually is. The Apostles Paul and John also speak to the necessity of seeking to "judge righteous judgment."
"He that is spiritual judgeth all things" (I Corinthians 2:15).
"Try (test) the spirits, whether they be of God" (I John 4:1).
We must keep our hearts and minds attuned to our Lord and His truth in order to avoid basing our perspectives on appearances that often do not align with reality. This accounts for a primary reason we read and ponder the Scriptures, the benchmark of God's truth whereby we gauge the "appears" in accordance with the "is." Indeed, apart from the Bible's light, the devil's darkness will often appear as a bright and shining star. "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (II Corinthians 11:14). Failure to avail ourselves of the "righteous judgment" of God's Word means that we are not merely in danger of viewing "appears" as "is." It means we are already misled, with more darkness that falsely glimmers as light awaiting our unwitting minds. "Uphold me according unto Thy Word, that I may live" (Psalm 119:116).
We do well to consistently seek our Lord's confirmation and correction regarding how we view the matters of life. Nearby stars may actually be immeasurably far away. Countless other deceptive appearances also present themselves to our perceptions. "Appears" is a powerful influence to our human perspectives and understanding. Being aware of our susceptibility to base reality on appearance prepares us to more consistently look into the night sky, as it were, and base our perceptions on the "is" of the "righteous judgment" of God and His Word.
"I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way."
(Psalm 119:128)
Weekly Memory Verse
Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God."
(Deuteronomy 9:7)
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