To swim with the stream!

(John 14:27) “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”

The Lord Jesus said to Saul; “it is hard to kick against the pricks”, in other words it is very hard to swim upstream when a torrent of water is flowing against the swimmer, it is near impossible. It is the same for us who have been called, when we try and find wiggle room we find life becoming very uncomfortable. The lesson is to obey and not to resist and yet because we carry with us these bodied of death there always seems to be some form of resistance. However when we realize our mistake we should like Saul, be diligent to change.

Here is his very first encounter with the Lord Jesus; “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him…” (Acts 9:1-5)

A couple of considerations to reflect on…

We found mention made of Saul two or three times in the story of Stephen. He was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a free city of the Romans, and himself a freeman of that city. His father and mother were both native Jews; therefore he calls himself a Hebrew of the Hebrews; he was of the tribe of Benjamin, which adhered to Judah. He really believed he was doing the work of God and yet in ignorance he was an enemy of the cross. How much of our lives are also enemies of the cross? We will have to all independently give an account for the way we live our lives and I suppose we will make our own decisions; no one can make them for us. Paul was living his own life and with such zeal that no one could stand in his way, until he met the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. It was like that for all of us somewhere in time passed. The day we came face to face with our Saviour, our lives changed dramatically, we were transported from death into the Spiritual realm of life. We were blind but now we see!

But my concern for my own life and the life of others that are close to me is somewhere along the way so many seem to lose their way. And yet, all our bad decisions send us into a tailspin, so many bad choices get us to kick against the pricks. At the end of the day all our kicking will be futile and amount to nothing but wood hay and stubble. O to be like Paul and to cry; “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”  It seems to be a completely different response, to Lord, what can I get away with!

It is not about the dos and don’ts of life we are no longer under law but under grace, the law should no longer have its hold on us. It is about our obedience to our great God; to “present our bodies a living sacrifice”. We are new creatures in Christ! We have been called to a specific function no differently to a hand working as a hand in unity with one’s body. We have all been given a specific gift, not that we should now be obsessed with our gift but rather faithful to the Lord and the gift will make way for itself.

“Do not neglect the gift that God has given you” means; be faithful to God as we become more dependent upon him from day to day and not more self dependant. If it is a gift of teaching that one has received then that individual will study to be approved. He will spend time seeking out doctrinal truths. But if that is at the exclusion of seeking direction from God the Holy Spirit, how will that help him and others? It will be man-centered and not God-centered. There is away we need to function as new creatures in Christ and that is clearly seen in this portion of scripture; God first in every decision and with every thought before we act. Or at least acknowledging this to be the way we should respond to this wonderful gift of salvation. It was God who first loved us; it was never the other way round. We now are instructed to return the favour by laying down our lives which is proof that we love Him; “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

Why is it that I so often tend to be topical on this exact point? Because we carry with us bodies of death, which will by default always look to go in the opposite direction to the call that God has placed on our lives and so we need to be reminded about their persistent rebellion and often.

God help us to love you more as the days go by, we will be able to measure our love in that sense, and we will find you all the more often through sweet fellowship when we seek you out; “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” (Proverbs 8:17)

The sooner we realize to get on with what God has called us to do the happier will be in Him. Peace will be our banner!

Signing off

Tyrone