In accordance with sound doctrine
should we as Christians be tested?
Let us explore further…
Let’s face it, who actually thrives on
assessments? Only those who ace them! As for the rest of us, every effort is
made to avoid them where possible. And yet some tests are simply unavoidable.
Take my son Mongi he is nineteen and now needs to get a driver’s license and
the only way to achieve that is to take the test and furthermore pass it, for
him to legally be allowed to drive a vehicle on the roads. I see his mind now maneuvering
to achieve this goal; he has begun to factor in what driving lessons will cost
and how often he will need to work to achieve his objective. He has begun to strategize!
There is another way that some have obtained their drivers licenses in South
Africa but it is the way of the criminal, for the right price and with the
right contact they can be bought! However, even though these documents may fool
the authorities, it will never be genuine!
Now with that principle established,
let us consider our original question; “must we as Christians be tested?” Yes! “Why?”
one may ask. Let us explore further…
There are numerous examples we could
glean from for us to arrive at our conclusion, here is but one; when the Lord, by
Moses lead the children of Israel out of slavery from Egypt these were His
words; “Then the LORD said to Moses,
"Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people
shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will
walk in my law or not.” (Exodus 16:4) – Here is the reason for the test;
1. It was God who now made provision for them by raining manna from heaven, He
fed them! Nevertheless they had their part to play; they were only allowed to
gather what was needed for a day, they were not permitted to gather manna for
the following day. It was to be done daily! Their temptation could well have
been to gather twice as much as was needed, the schemer would have possibly
considered making life easier for their families by gathering more that was
needed and hoping that it would make life a little easier. However that was not
permitted, no differently I suppose in principle to an individual buying a driver’s
license instead of obtaining it legally! The test was a simple one, to prove whether
they would walk in God’s laws or not! God tried them to find out whether they
would trust him, and walk in the law of faith or not, whether they could live
from hand to mouth, and be satisfied with the bread of the day in its day, and then
depend upon God for fresh supplies tomorrow. There was also another reason to
see whether they would serve him through faithfulness. Whilst on earth the Lord
Jesus taught us the very same principle; “Therefore do
not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What
shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all
these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added
to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is
its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:31-34) –
Do you see the similarity in the instruction? Their dependency was on the Lord
and His righteousness, so too should our dependency be on the Lord and His
righteousness; will we learn to trust, obey and to walk by faith? That is the
test! Or will we look to make our own plan by using the systems of the world to
further our careers becoming self-sufficient? The more I study this the more I
realise how Satan’s ploy has been included by so many; even many a Christian
has embraced this trap! God seeks a people who will solely depend on Him and
not on their degrees and bank balances!
Before what I say gets taken out of context let
me make it very clear, that does not mean we needn’t work! If a man does not
provide for his family he is worse than an unbeliever; we are clearly taught this
from scripture. It was still up to the children of Israel who journeyed through
the Wilderness to go out and gather bread. The lesson is a simple one, will we
walk by faith or will we depend on self?
Jacob would be a good example to glean from; He
left his home with staff in his hand, nothing else! He then found a job working
for Laban, where he most worked hard “by the sweat of his brow”. His employer
then plotted against him in an unfair manner to benefit from his hard work.
This is where his God/our God stepped in and blessed him abundantly. Why?
Jacobs trust was in His God and not in his labour!
The
Christian must and will be tested, God give us the resolve to find His grace
for correct application throughout this day and well into the future. We have
this hope that one day in the not too distant future this expectation shall
become our reality; “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and
I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelation 21:7)
Signing off
Tyrone
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