Meditations

Matthew 25:31-46

The Son of man shall come (Matthew 25:31). That means He hasn’t come yet. That means we still have opportunity to change any of our ways that need amending or discarding.

He who is greatest has a kingdom prepared for those who are far less than He is (Matthew 25:34). We could think of that as part of His service for us who are least before Him. Fittingly, this kingdom is for those who served the least in the name of Jesus.

The good done by the righteous is primarily born out of compassion for the needy, not out of a desire for reward. Matthew 25:37 sounds like they didn’t even think about it in terms of doing good to Christ!

Don’t overlook the opportunities to do good to the King (Matthew 25:40). Read it all

Job 32:1-3; 33:8-14; 34:2-9

I’m impressed that Elihu dared speak. He seemed undeterred by Job’s misery. Or by his self-confidence. Or by his unassailable ability to defend himself. I admit to allowing another man’s misery or position or logic to silence me when I believe he needs correction.

How do we know when we should speak up as Elihu did?

In addition to being courageous (or brash), was Elihu also self-righteous? Was his reproof God-inspired?

Job 40:1-8 seems to show Elihu was on the right track in his assessment of God. And notice that God left Elihu out of the picture in Job 42:7-9.

I’m challenged to be open to reproof from a younger person. Or from someone “below” me on the church totem pole. Or from someone with a bad attitude toward me.

Job’s three friends quit answering him because of his self-righteousness (Job 32:1). I wonder how many people have quit talking to me because I was self-righteous. Read it all

Luke 10:25-37

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27).

That was the Law; that was the requirement.

In fact, that still is the requirement. “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14; cf, Romans 13:10). Everything else hangs on that (Matthew 22:40).

The lawyer had ulterior, insincere motivation driving his question, but he still knew the right answer! Alas, his desire to justify himself indicates that he wasn’t living up to his knowledge of the Law.

I wonder if he knew the right answer to the second question as well. And I wonder just who he thought of as his neighbor. He learned a definition far wider than he anticipated!

By the end of Jesus’ story, the lawyer knew the right answer to the second question as well. But I wonder if he wanted eternal life enough to “Go, and do.” I wonder if he loved God enough.

Do I? Read it all

Job 28:1, 2, 10-28

As surely as silver and iron have their sources, so wisdom has its Source.

Whatever wisdom is in us intrinsically, God must refine and smelt it. Or maybe it’s better to say that He infuses it with the wisdom from above. Or better yet, that He wants us to accept His wisdom in place of our own.

Where do I get my wisdom? Is the Bible too boring? Do I turn to the godly for wisdom or do I content myself with earthly wisdom? Earthly wisdom is more sinister and perilous than it might sound: “This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:15). Read it all

Daniel 1:5, 8-17; Matthew 6:16-18

We don’t know that the king had evil intent in nourishing them from his own provision. Perhaps all he wanted was healthy, strong young men. But maybe he was also wanting to detach them from the God of their fathers by violating their dietary laws. Whatever the intent of the king, Daniel had no intent of defiling himself in that way.

Daniel offered a test that showed he didn’t just have his own self interests at heart. His trust in God gave him an humble spirit. He would accept whatever verdict his master rendered.

God honored the faith and faithfulness of Daniel and his friends. Not only did He make them healthy and strong, He invested in them “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom” (Daniel 1:17). Read it all