Where's your source?
This week's Bible-fortified goodness is on John 8:38-44:
One thing the Bible is clear on is how easy it is to get led astray. The Pharisees were convinced they were part of a proud multi-generational tradition of doing God's will. In actual fact, they were doing the devil's work. If they were following God, they would be full of love and truth. Instead they were full of hatred and deceit. They were Satan's disciples.
The scary thing is how we can have no clue that we're off the mark. It's like the tragedy of severe mental illness, where the afflicted person doesn't realize they're having a psychotic episode, because their world view is affected by the episode itself. Every internal indicator that they have to go by says that what they're experiencing is real, except that it isn't. It's a lie.
The Pharisees presupposed that they were righteous. They followed a lot of rules. They were well respected by their community. Short of hearing from God directly, or comparing their values with his, they couldn't have known that they were self-deceived. That's really scary. And they were on the top of their game. That was even worse for them. Nobody was in authority over them for them to trust. So they were isolated and delusional as a group.
We have to check in with God, and study his character. Are we exhibiting the same traits he demonstrated through Jesus and through his many interactions with mankind? Are we loving, selfless, pure, generous, long-suffering, patient, and full of grace? Or are we full of bitter hatred, selfish, steeped in immorality and dissipation, quick to give up, impatient, and hard-hearted? Do we have people we can trust to speak into our lives? Or are we like the Pharisees, where we are a total system unto ourselves, with nobody around who is able to see or say that the proverbial emperor has no clothes?
We hear testimonies from Christians in modern times that suggest that this sort of thing still goes on. People pastor churches for decades, or attend services, and then one day wake up and realize they've had it all wrong. Do we have the humility to recognize that? What if you examined your life and discovered that you were making a huge mistake, and that you would be forced to make embarrassing changes in front of others? Would you change, or would you keep up appearances because that's what people expect? What if a friend pointed out some trait you didn't think you had. Would you examine it, or ask God to show you that side of you if it exists? Or would you just dismiss it? What if you felt like God was saying to change some aspect of your lifestyle that nobody else would understand? Would you do it? Or would you continue on autopilot?
The Pharisees were doing the devil's work of hatred and controlling others, but branded it as if it were part of God's covenant with Abraham. There was no introspection. No climbing the mountain to talk to the source. They just took the idea and ran with it. Don't make their mistake! Look at the fruit of your life. Is there idolatry? Bitter anger? A need to lord ourselves over others? Do we exalt ourselves as the final authority on anything? Are we violent, full of vindictiveness, unwilling to forgive or make allowances for the weaknesses of others? Do we seek to meet our needs at others' expense? Do we take pleasure in the shortcomings of others? If so, we're doing the devil's work right alongside of the Pharisees.
Where do our thoughts and actions come from? A rulebook? Our emotions? Our taste for the good things in life? Our friends or family? We can often find the source based on the fruit of our actions. By fruit, I mean the characteristics demonstrated by Jesus and described by Paul, not just sheer numbers of converts or miracles performed. Do our lives evidence God's touch? Do people see Jesus through our choices? Or do they see the devil's plan to ruin us and to separate mankind from a relationship with God? We have a choice in the matter, and it starts with truth.
Some of the Pharisees sought the truth and became Jesus' trusted disciples. If they can do it, so can we. Look at the Apostle Paul. He was literally a murderer, not holding to the truth, steeped in the Pharisee ideology. He was like that until God showed him the truth and asked him to change course. If you're presented with an opportunity to change course like he was, take it! God is the only source of life that will pay off in the end. Anything else brings delusion, misery, and ultimate ruin.
I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
“Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
One thing the Bible is clear on is how easy it is to get led astray. The Pharisees were convinced they were part of a proud multi-generational tradition of doing God's will. In actual fact, they were doing the devil's work. If they were following God, they would be full of love and truth. Instead they were full of hatred and deceit. They were Satan's disciples.
The scary thing is how we can have no clue that we're off the mark. It's like the tragedy of severe mental illness, where the afflicted person doesn't realize they're having a psychotic episode, because their world view is affected by the episode itself. Every internal indicator that they have to go by says that what they're experiencing is real, except that it isn't. It's a lie.
The Pharisees presupposed that they were righteous. They followed a lot of rules. They were well respected by their community. Short of hearing from God directly, or comparing their values with his, they couldn't have known that they were self-deceived. That's really scary. And they were on the top of their game. That was even worse for them. Nobody was in authority over them for them to trust. So they were isolated and delusional as a group.
We have to check in with God, and study his character. Are we exhibiting the same traits he demonstrated through Jesus and through his many interactions with mankind? Are we loving, selfless, pure, generous, long-suffering, patient, and full of grace? Or are we full of bitter hatred, selfish, steeped in immorality and dissipation, quick to give up, impatient, and hard-hearted? Do we have people we can trust to speak into our lives? Or are we like the Pharisees, where we are a total system unto ourselves, with nobody around who is able to see or say that the proverbial emperor has no clothes?
We hear testimonies from Christians in modern times that suggest that this sort of thing still goes on. People pastor churches for decades, or attend services, and then one day wake up and realize they've had it all wrong. Do we have the humility to recognize that? What if you examined your life and discovered that you were making a huge mistake, and that you would be forced to make embarrassing changes in front of others? Would you change, or would you keep up appearances because that's what people expect? What if a friend pointed out some trait you didn't think you had. Would you examine it, or ask God to show you that side of you if it exists? Or would you just dismiss it? What if you felt like God was saying to change some aspect of your lifestyle that nobody else would understand? Would you do it? Or would you continue on autopilot?
The Pharisees were doing the devil's work of hatred and controlling others, but branded it as if it were part of God's covenant with Abraham. There was no introspection. No climbing the mountain to talk to the source. They just took the idea and ran with it. Don't make their mistake! Look at the fruit of your life. Is there idolatry? Bitter anger? A need to lord ourselves over others? Do we exalt ourselves as the final authority on anything? Are we violent, full of vindictiveness, unwilling to forgive or make allowances for the weaknesses of others? Do we seek to meet our needs at others' expense? Do we take pleasure in the shortcomings of others? If so, we're doing the devil's work right alongside of the Pharisees.
Where do our thoughts and actions come from? A rulebook? Our emotions? Our taste for the good things in life? Our friends or family? We can often find the source based on the fruit of our actions. By fruit, I mean the characteristics demonstrated by Jesus and described by Paul, not just sheer numbers of converts or miracles performed. Do our lives evidence God's touch? Do people see Jesus through our choices? Or do they see the devil's plan to ruin us and to separate mankind from a relationship with God? We have a choice in the matter, and it starts with truth.
Some of the Pharisees sought the truth and became Jesus' trusted disciples. If they can do it, so can we. Look at the Apostle Paul. He was literally a murderer, not holding to the truth, steeped in the Pharisee ideology. He was like that until God showed him the truth and asked him to change course. If you're presented with an opportunity to change course like he was, take it! God is the only source of life that will pay off in the end. Anything else brings delusion, misery, and ultimate ruin.
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