Seeing as God Sees!

Seeing as God sees!

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Hebrews 12:14 KJV

The Context:

The writer here, which most people assume is Paul, but of whom nothing is said in the whole book, speaks to all believers, as it can be seen from the first two verses of today's extract. He addresses us who have a great cloud of witnesses who experienced God's mighty works in their time, and walked by faith, but did not get the fullness of all that God wanted to reveal in and through Christ. The chapter before today's piece spoke about the heroes of faith; men and women who moved mountains, shut the mouth of lions and performed great miracles, yet never experienced the dispensation of Christ. Now, these heroes look at us as the ones privileged to have the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, who does the mighty things in our own time now. That crowd of witnesses in heaven watch as we walk the path God has laid out for us, and we will do well to watch our lives and pattern them after the will of God. 

In fact, the first two verses lay out what is required of me, if I am indeed subject to the authority of the Holy Spirit and willing to be guided by Him: let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. In running this race, a lot of things will happen: trials, tribulations, tough times, but we have the assurance of God's presence with us in all things and at all times. Nowhere does He promise a life free of trials; but He promises that nothing will happen to us without His permission. That is why his discipline is dispensed in the right measure; for our good, both in this present life and in the life to come. 

The Message:

It is in this light that today's extract makes sense. When I have sorted out my control point, I don't struggle with the instructions from the control centre. Even though I receive daily instructions from the divine, I am able to impact the earthly. Most times, we are focused on how to make impressions on people, without first getting our anchor right. The other extreme is to be so focused on making heaven that we just can seem to be relevant down here. Today's extract is about that balance between earthly impact and eternal life with God. You can't have one without the other; both are part of God's package for the life He has brought me to. 

In impacting the earth, I must follow peace with all men. It is not a mere suggestion but a command from my control centre, if indeed God is at the control centre. If I will impact the earth, I can't blend in with the world; I have to stand out. I cannot seek to please the world by doing what it promotes, but I have to do that which God promotes. Following peace means following God, who is the Prince of Peace. You can't have peace, God's version, without having God. And it is targeted at ALL men, not only those who you are nice to you. You don't get to pick and choose the people you will love; I stand by grace because God didn't wait for me to be lovable before He died for me. If I am indeed a follower of Jesus, I have to do the same. How do people determine I am a follower of Jesus if nothing about Him is evident upon my life? 

There is a AND before holiness, which means that in addition to the peace I must promote, I must also walk in holiness, which is God's nature. It is also God's command. It is quite clear that whether it is the horizontal relationship with men like myself or the vertical relationship with God, both are important for a life that wants to please God down here and reign with Him in heaven. I must not settle for a life that men down here applaud but which has no relevance with God. 

The Response:

Does my life have that right balance? What are my present pursuits and priorities? I note the end of all things is to see God. If a man lives to be 969 years on earth, yet at the end is not fit for eternal life, isn't that life a waste? Would God invest so much in me: his Son, His Spirit, His church, His gifts, His earth, for no reason?  Would He do all He has done just for fun? Considering the price He paid for redeeming man, God does not joke with my eternal reality. I must keep right at the front of my mind where I am headed. All that I do daily must draw me closer to that final destination. If it is not, I am living dangerously. The price for missing out on the eternal is huge; nothing down here can adequately compensate you for that loss. 

While there is time, I must sort out the eternal. If death happens before I secure eternity, it is too late. All I walk and work for down here is to walk on the streets of gold where God dwells. And in following, it means that I am always aligning with the example before me. I am not the pacesetter; I am just a disciple of the pacesetter. I do not chart a course for myself; I simply follow after the One who sets the perfect example of life and Godliness. He will soon return for all who are following in His footsteps. If He returns today, right now, would I see Him? Would you? If you can read this, it's not too late. Seek after God right now; follow after Him. Your eternity will be glad you did. His time of favour is here.