I was channel surfing!

We choose to not have cable or satellite at our house so there are not 250 gazillion channels to find nothing to watch (you do that I know). I found a channel with a rerun of All in the Family. I stopped for a moment. I don’t know what the episode was titled or anything really. What was happening was Mike and Gloria had introduced some friends a couple to Archie and Edith. They were “hippies” bell bottom pants, long hair, barefoot etc. Archie’s favorite. They needed a place to stay the night but were not married. That did not set well with Archie. So, there is a discussion about morals and Mike asks if Archie is the authority. Archie replies no his authority comes from there and points across the room. Gloria replies, “The TV?” To which Archie responds, “No the good book sitting on the TV.” Archie then fusses at Edith for putting the Bible on the TV to which she responds “it kept falling off the refrigerator.” That is when I turned the channel.

I turned because I didn’t want to see the train wreck happen. It would be just too painful because it is all too often true.  Have you been in Archie’s position wanting to take the moral high ground because it is right but trying to prove it with a Bible you have no idea where it is and a life that is not quit as high as the high moral standing you spout? From there we often are left holding the bag so to speak. Children have a way of bringing our inconsistencies to light at the most in opportune time.

They are “calling it like they see it.” Now inconsistencies are found in each of our lives, it is true even for believers. We are in the process of being saved, transformed into the image of Christ and that WILL get done but it’s not finished yet. What to do?

If we refuse to admit that we are sinners, then we live in a world of illusion and truth becomes a stranger to us. But if we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable and straightforward—he forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil. For if we take up the attitude “we have not sinned”, we flatly deny God’s diagnosis of our condition and cut ourselves off from what he has to say to us. 1 John 1:9-10 J.B. Phillips

Admit when your life does not parallel the moral plane that you are purporting. That does not make it any less true or valuable but our inconsistencies do diminish the authority which we speak not the Bible.  The inconsistencies do not negate the responsibility to speak. It does mean we will have to defend ourselves more and spend twice as much time living the Gospel in front of those we seek to influence. The inconsistencies reveal we are in need of grace.

Our living example is the loudest voice we have. It brings authority and respect to the declaration from our mouths. It may not bring conformity in the other party but it rings of truth lived in one life.  Faithfulness is the key to our salvation and the salvation of others.

It is only when we obey God’s laws that we can be quite sure that we really know him. The man who claims to know God but does not obey his laws is not only a liar but lives in self-delusion. In practice, the more a man learns to obey God’s laws the more truly and fully does he express his love for him. Obedience is the test of whether we really live “in God” or not. The life of a man who professes to be living in God must bear the stamp of Christ. 1 John 2:3-6 J.B. Phillips

Faithfulness helps us avoid train wrecks in which we are the engineer.  Christ is our first responder in the event of an accident. You see the grace we receive from Christ is the same others require from us. Our faithfulness to the Gospel reveals that grace.  

God is faithful how about you?   

In HIS Service and Yours,

 

BroG