Proof of Adoption Part VI

Finally,brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things ( the problem with being lukewarm in the faith is you never get to enjoy the benefits of a life well lived) .

The final proof of adoption deals with an area that no one sees, our mind. What we ponder on, think over, meditate on will eventually show itself in our actions and speech. Therefore training our thought life to be in agreement with God’s Word not only makes for a very healthy thought life, but actions and speech that we never have to be ashamed of or often apologize for. If you have regrets over an action or words said, then you can appreciate what I just said. This transformation does not occur over night, it takes time and dedication, much like a soldier training for combat or a fireman training to fight fire. Continued training is needful, for combat can happen at any moment. You can be in battle with the first shot of a gun or an alarm can wake you out of your sleep calling you to put out a fire. What comes out of you then is the result of your dedication and training. Training takes over and thought patterns as instinct guide the next step. This is no different in the battle for the mind and it is the second most important thing we can do. The first is a commitment to loving the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.

When we do not commit to this we end up living duals lives. We have our outward life, how we believe people want us to act or how we want people to believe we are and our inward life – our true self. This can be totally different from the man or woman on the outside and can create a lot of needless stress. It’s a mask that we must be ready to wear at any moment, and with different people we may have different masks. Proverbs says that the fear of man is a trap. Instead of fearing the Lord which counters the fear of man, we fear man and come under his control. “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25). Hence the reason for our dual life, which is motivated by our insecurities.

As long as we seek to please people as opposed to seeking to please the Lord we will never get free of our insecurities. Biblical truth frees our mind and soul bringing us into relationship with the Lord. Through growing in reverence for the Lord, we begin the process of becoming transformed – from a mindset that seeks to please man to a mindset that seeks to please The Lord. The internal working of the Holy Spirit “remaps” us as we grow in the knowledge and experience of walking in God’s love. This is a much stronger life. To live life consistent with how we think and feel inwardly without the fear of man is a freedom that is our birth right  as a child of God; it is a life that we can be proud of. We can look in the mirror without regret, pleased with the man or woman that the Holy Spirit is forming.

 To live without acknowledging that we are wired with a need to be loved is to ignore a critical aspect of who we are as people. However,  it is not just loved but to be perfectly loved which is what gives us our value. Perfectly loved eliminates the question “if I do this will they still love me, or if they knew this about me would they still love me. Witn human love their remains this uncertainty, there could be limits on it and hence a contributing factor to our insecurity.  The love we seek and need is unique to God alone. To look for this unconditional love on the human level is to look for love “in all the wrong places.” It is His love we need and it is how we are wired and hence true peace is attained when thought and body (actions) are one because of God’s love and approval in our life. And God’s approval is most unique. He can see all the fawls in us and yet it does not diminish one ounce of His love or the inherit value/ worth He has place on us. As true north is constant, so my value before Him is constant because of Christ’s work on the Cross ( Amen!)

The word hypocrite in the Greek comes from the stage plays of old when the actors had masks that they held up in front of them while they acted out their role. Some of them had two masks, one in each hand for the two characters they played. It got a little confusing I’m sure. When we act out who we’re not it is hurtful to our character and self respect. When a guy wants to have sex, but the girl really does not want to but goes along with it because she fears losing the guy; or when we are striving for that promotion at work and our boss ask us to do a few things under the table or to lie for him, these actions hurt us. Should you say yes to a boyfriend that really does not respect you, or yes to a boss who will probably ask you to lie for him again? At what point do you say no, if not now, when? Each time we violate the person inside we step down in our self respect, which is so critical to our internal happiness. To lose self respect is to lose something on a human level that cannot be regained. Only God can heal that fatal wound.

Jesus is the fulfillment of this verse and while standing in front of Pilate said, “I am the way, the truth and the light, no one comes to the Father except through me.” Pilate being the vain man that he was said, “what is truth?” I’m sure Christ’s words went right over him. Generally speaking there are two approaches to truth. There is the philosophical approach were truth is relative. It depends upon the situation and on the individual and what might be true ( or right)  for one person may not be true for another. I do not call this truth but “convenience thinking” or rationlization could be another term. Whatever works for MY best interest is what is true for me. The other truth is Biblical truth. There is right and there is wrong and if it inconveniences me to do the right thing then I have a choice to make. To live with no absolutes, no right or wrong is to strip from my soul the very moral code that gives me my self respect and by which others respect us. Who respects a weasel, someone who gives a promise today but breaks it tomorrow because it became inconvenient to keep? Committing to God’s way of living is in itself the very definition of being a respectable man or woman. I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of people who were not necessarily reglious, but who ordered their life around The Ten Commandments or something similar. They have a presence of integrity about them because they have ordered their life as such and all the more for those of us who know Christ.

Father God,

Give us courage to do the right thing, starting first with our thought life. Let us replace impure and or vain thinking with truth and righteousness which comes as we spend time with You in your Word. You have given us what we need to succeed in every area of our life, help us to take advantage of it. Thank you and Amen.

Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur