Sharing from today's devotional

The Divine Commandment of Life

. . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect —Matthew 5:48

Our Lord’s exhortation to us in Matthew 5:38-48 is to be generous in our behavior toward everyone. Beware of living according to your natural affections in your spiritual life. Everyone has natural affections— some people we like and others we don’t like. Yet we must never let those likes and dislikes rule our Christian life. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7), even those toward whom we have no affection.

The example our Lord gave us here is not that of a good person, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. “. . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” In other words, simply show to the other person what God has shown to you. And God will give you plenty of real life opportunities to prove whether or not you are “perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Being a disciple means deliberately identifying yourself with God’s interests in other people. Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. God’s life in us expresses itself as God’s life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, not in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our own amazement that we have the power to stay wonderfully poised even in the center of it all.
My Utmost For his Highest - Oswald Chambers - 9/20/2012

As I read this, I was struck by the thought how much of my life is spent pursuing affections that have little or no impact upon my spiritual and Godly life, i.e., God’s life in me. As I read the Bible, I find the term ‘one another,’ at least 55 times! Why so often? If I am to take seriously God’s purpose and design for the life I’m to live, I need someone to guide me as I meet a world filled with ‘strangers,’ among whom I am a stranger as well.

I believe God had a purpose in our meeting, (you and I) and there will be more meetings of this kind in your life in the future. Our world (and you’re part of it) is filled with hurting and wounded people, and God is concerned about them.  That is where you and I come in. If God is to be seen or experienced, than it may not be in some ‘supernatural’ way. It will most likely because they have crossed paths you you and me.

The only God most people will ever meet is when they are blessed to meet you! In today’s devotional, O.C. calls us to “The example our Lord gave us here is not that of a good person, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. “. . . be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” In other words, simply show to the other person what God has shown to you.” What has He shown me, (us)? His grace, His unmerited love and mercy. He wants to use you to demonstrate this to ‘them.’

It is almost a delight to show love and grace to the beautiful, etc., people, why they have almost come to expect that as their right. But what about that co-worker, who eats alone, or sits quietly off to himself so often; those who you meet as we stand in line at the . . . We so often meet and work with people and we don’t take a moment to say Hi! We’re not looking for a ‘date’ or a ‘relationship,’ of some kind; but here is what I believe the Lord wants to share with me and you as well, ‘they’ are someone for whom He shed his life’s blood for and wants to enter into a personal and lifelong (eternal) relationship with. He’s asking you to ‘be my voice, my presence’ to them sometimes by just being present.

God loves you! Even if you don’t believe it, sorry, it matters not, You have the interest of God Himself. As a result, He wants to share Himself with people so very much like you. Perhaps shy or afraid of being misunderstood; just be available and watch Him work. Jesus simply ask that, “you be me to them.” But Lord, . . . sorry, you are not responsible for their reaction if any,
“ . . . you be me to them.” the rest is up to me, by the Holy Spirit.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” (KJV) For me, the ‘eth’ implies, He continues to strengthen, enable and empower. This walk we share isn’t one based on, if I like you or not, or that you’re my friend, but in our relationship to Christ who chose to die for us. So go out today into your world and be a blessing, ‘they’ are waiting (without knowing it) for you.

Love ya, T
 
“Ubuntu”