Whose Standard Is This Anyway?

COMMENTS

This posting will take you on a journey following my train of thought.  Prepare yourself—it may be a wild ride! 

NOTES

This year, we are studying Genesis in Community Bible Study.  A recent lesson was on Noah, the flood, and an incident that happened after the flood.  We find in Genesis 9:20-25 that Noah planted a vineyard but then drank a little too much of the “fruit of the vine”, got drunk, and fell asleep in his tent with no clothes on.  One of his sons, Ham, went into his dad’s tent and saw him in his altogether.  Instead of covering him and keeping his mouth shut, Ham left Noah as he found him and went blabbing to his brothers about it.  Now, I’m not saying that Noah was right; but he was still the father and the head of the family—the God-fearing but imperfect man God chose to carry the human race forward.  As such, he deserved to be treated with respect.  Shem and Japheth (Noah’s other sons) did that, but Ham seemed to go out of his way to disrespect his dad.  When Noah found out about it, he cursed Canaan (Ham’s son). 

As I thought about this story, I thought about someone I care about who, like many other people, would really question the fairness of this whole incident.  As I thought about how I could answer those questions when my loved one asked them, I realized that all of us were making a critical error in even asking the questions.  They were based on the wrong standard!  The questions assume that WE know what is right and what is fair.  We are judging God by our standards when we should be judging ourselves by God’s standards!

From there, my thoughts took another detour (I warned you!).  Last night, I was home by myself—a very unusual event—so I decided to watch a movie that I knew my husband wouldn’t be interested in seeing:  Les Miserables (Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway).  Unfortunately, I can’t really recommend this film because parts of it are downright indecent.  If you decide to watch it, please fast forward through a couple of the scenes (especially the “Master of the House” sequence).  It’s a shame they didn’t get the message of those scenes across with a more G-rated approach.  In case you’re not familiar with the film, let me give you an overview.  SPOILER ALERT:  I’ll be telling you some of the ending so don’t read this if you don’t want to know it!

Obviously, this will be oversimplified!  The story occurs during the time of the French Revolution and centers around a man who is a thief.  His life is dramatically changed through the kindness and forgiveness of a priest who leads him to God.  He, then, changes the lives of several others with whom he comes into contact.  This all happens over a period of almost 20 years.  At the beginning of that 20-year period, he had broken parole; and his former jailer had made it his life’s work to find the former thief and punish him.  This is a beautiful story of redemption and forgiveness and how God can change a life that is given totally to Him.  (Although, like most Hollywood films, they leave Jesus out of it—the critical element of forgiveness!)  The sad thing, though, is that the jailer is completely unable to respond to this kind of love.  When he is faced with the forgiveness of the former thief, who holds nothing against the jailer for chasing him for so many years, it throws him into a desperate dilemma.  He thinks that accepting such forgiveness invalidates his life and his entire being.  Unable to live with that, he kills himself.

What does that have to do with the earlier statement about standards?  The thief was able to judge himself by God’s standard—repenting of wrong, choosing to do right, and accepting the forgiveness God offered.  (The flaw in the movie is that they didn’t recognize the fact that someone had to pay the penalty for the crime in order for it to be forgiven.  We know that was Jesus, whom the filmmakers conveniently left out.)

The jailer, when faced with the same scenario, judged God by his standard.  He didn’t believe in forgiveness so he thought God’s forgiveness was unfair and unjust.  In his mind, the only option was that the thief must pay the penalty for the crime himself.  If the thief could be forgiven, the jailer had been wrong.  Since he couldn’t admit that he had been wrong, he couldn’t accept the forgiveness offered (through Jesus, who wasn’t in the movie).  Left in a no-win situation, he ended his life.

As humans, we don’t now and never will have all the answers.  There are things—in the Bible and in life—that we think are unfair or wrong because we think we know what’s right.  We must remember that HE is God, the Creator, the Ultimate Authority, the One who set the laws of the universe in place.  All that is required of us right now is to trust Him—we can ask Him those questions when we get to Heaven!

1 Peter 1:1-2

COMMENTS

I picked up my Bible today, not knowing what I was going to read.  I’ve been studying Acts this year at Community Bible Study—we’re almost finished, about 5 weeks to go.  So, I thought it might be good to start back at the beginning of Acts and refresh my mind about what I have learned.  When I opened my Bible, it fell open to 1 Peter.  I immediately knew that’s where God wants me for now.  I suspect that He’ll have us go through the entire book; but He’s the boss, so we’ll take it a day at a time!  ;-)

NOTES

If I’m totally honest with you, I’ve been struggling a lot lately with obedience.  I’ve been wanting to do what I want to do—and frequently, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.  Not surprisingly, I haven’t been feeling very close to God, not hearing His voice like I used to.  I’m not crazy, so I knew WHY I wasn’t hearing Him; but I still wanted my way.  As they say, I wanted to have my cake and eat it, too!  Reading 1 Peter 1:2 confirmed that I was where God wants me.

I’m taking some “poetic license” and rephrasing verse 1 to make it applicable to me.  I don’t mind doing that because I believe these verses apply to all of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.  I’d encourage you to make substitutions that apply to you.

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood:” (I Peter 1:1-2 NIV)

Now, there’s a lot of important stuff in verse 2.  It tells us a lot about God, making reference to each part of the Trinity.  And I’m in no way down-playing that.  However, I find that in order to be able to see the essence of what’s being said, I have to initially leave out some of the phrases and look only at the basics.  After I have grasped that, I can go back and focus on those important details.

That is exactly what happened when I read verse 2.  Even though I read every word, all my mind processed was:

“who have been chosen…for obedience to Jesus Christ…”

God chose me, and I was chosen to obey Jesus.  Not to do my own thing.  Not to spend my time indulging my arrogant self.  I was chosen for obedience to Jesus Christ.

The Father, in His foreknowledge, CHOSE me (amazing!).  The Spirit is working to SANCTIFY me (also amazing!).  Jesus SAVED me by His blood (incredible!). 

There was purpose in all of that.  So, how do I fulfill my purpose? 

OBEY!

Square Peg In A Round Hole

COMMENTS

Most of you have probably heard the saying, “I feel like a square peg in a round hole.”  That, of course, means that you feel out of place or unfit for whatever it is you find yourself doing.  I’ve said it myself.  You probably have, too.  I had lunch today with a friend, and she used the phrase for a situation she’s in right now.  I found myself thinking about it….

NOTES

We don’t like to be put in situations that make us uncomfortable.  We don’t like to feel like a square peg in a round hole.  I want to feel like a square peg in a square hole or a round peg in round hole.  I want to feel like I “fit”.

However, I have found that in my Christian walk, God frequently puts me in situations where I feel uncomfortable.  Those are the circumstances that cause me to rely on Him instead of myself.  When I’m comfortable, I foolishly believe that I can handle things just fine all by myself.  Isn’t there a part of each of us that loves to be self-reliant and independent?  There’s a bit of the rebel in most of us that wants to say, “I don’t need anybody or anything!  I can do it myself!”  Especially when we’ve been hurt.  But that’s the worst place in the world for us to be.  God made us to be social creatures; we need each other.  And more importantly, we need HIM!

So, He puts us where we have to admit that we need help—help from other people and, as was said above, help from HIM.  We don’t just FEEL like square pegs in round holes; we ARE square pegs in round holes.

As I was thinking about all of this, God told me that there is one circumstance when a square peg will fit in a round hole—when the square peg is small enough.

When God puts me in a “round-hole” situation, this “square peg” cannot fit unless I become smaller.  I cannot be prideful; I cannot force myself into the hole.  It is only by humbling myself before my God and yielding to His infinite power that I can become just the right size to fit that hole.  It is in His power that the uncomfortable situation becomes fulfilling, invigorating, and life-changing!