Imposters

Monday, March 16, 2020

This letter is from John, the elder.  I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth—as does everyone else who knows the truth—because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever.  Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.  How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded.  I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another.  This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning.  Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.  I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world.  They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body.  Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist.  Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve.  Be diligent so that you receive your full reward.  Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement.  Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.  2 John 1-11

The sermon illustration about authenticity in being a Christ-follower is old enough to have a beard.  

It’s a  one liner:  Just because the farm dog has her next litter in an old, abandoned stove doesn’t mean the pups are biscuits.  

So, one would ask, what’s the point?  Well, the points are legion, but the main one is that biscuits are a lovely part of breakfast, while pups are meant to run and play with little boys and girls, splashing in streams and making memories of chasing butterflies, getting muddy beyond belief, and rolling in the grass.  

In connection with what the beloved disciple John wrote, there’s a big difference between assuming the persona of being a follower of Christ, and genuinely being a follower of Christ.  One of the acid tests is whether or not behavior truly echoes belief.  A person can say many things about his behavior, but (as grandma used to say) the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  What we say about what we do means less than what we actually do.  Our true belief is revealed by our behavior, for whatever a person truly values is what a person ultimately does.[1]

John’s caution to the elect lady (the church) was the difference between saying we love, and genuinely loving.  And his definition, or acid test, was the connection with God’s commands.  The difference, for instance, between an obedient son and a disobedient son, both of whom their father had asked to go work in his fields, was a matter of obedience.  One said he would go – and didn’t.  The other said he wouldn’t go – but also changed his mind and went to work.  It was a no-brainer to label the one who truly loved his father.

For You Today

Let’s let Jesus speak the last words for us today about being genuine, and not an imposter:

“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.  A tree is identified by its fruit.  Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.  A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.  What you say flows from what is in your heart.  “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?  Luke 6:43-46

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on this topic see Living an Authentic Life

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[1] See Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34

A Word to Those Who Preach

[1]

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.  Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.  Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.  Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress.  Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching.  Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.  1 Timothy 4:12b-16

If you have never had a weight problem you can probably skip this devotion and go on to the funny papers.  There is that moment of panic at every doctor’s appointment when you’re waiting in the waiting room, and your name is called out.  The panic arrives because the time has arrived when the intake person will say quite flatly as you’re being led down the hallway, let’s just stop here and let you get on the scale.  I want to snap back, uh…LET me get on the scale?  What makes you think I WANT to do that?  And who put you in charge of how much I weigh.  Frankly that’s none o’ yer dang business!

But I don’t say any of that.  I just get on the dreaded scale and take my lumps.  (Mind you, I was thinking it – was guilty of the rage – so I don’t get any points for moderation of my temper – only perhaps longsuffering…VERY long)!

So, what does being annoyed at my doctor’s office have to do with preaching?  In a word, EVERYTHING!  The scenario I just described also illustrates the chief element of Paul’s advice to his young preaching protégé, Timothy, namely keeping your actions in line, even when you don’t feel like it.  If someone has been preaching for more than a little while, that preacher understands the weight of being observed by the world’s critics.  The community wants to know if the living is going to live-up to the preaching.  If it doesn’t, the things you do will speak so loudly, no one will hear what you say.

Timothy was young, very young.  And Timothy was gifted with a command of the Scriptures – sufficient enough for Paul to sign his ordination certificate.  But in this passage, Paul makes sure to cover the ground rules of ethical living.  Paul knew that knowledge is a good thing, but knowing must be held in the cradle of pure motive, AND actions.  What you say and what you do must be held in close proximity. 

Now, no preacher is perfect in either heart or actions, and those of us who preach do well to stay off the pedestal that some want us to ascend; that never ends pretty!  But, says the apostle Paul, your main job, if you’re going to preach an unhindered Gospel is to work toward that perfection, even while you’re avoiding the pedestal!

For You Today

If you’re the type that preaches, or if you’re a preacher-watcher, remember to cut him or her some slack – at the bottom line a preacher is a struggling sibling of yours in Christ.  If you want to be kind, just don’t ask him to get on the scale!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of  By Johnsnow1234 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons     Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©