He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? [Micah 6:8]
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. [Romans 12:2]
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him [Hebrews 11:6]
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. [Mark 10:18]
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. [Matt 5:48]
Me:
Good morning Father!
ABBA:
Good morning Jon!
Me:
One could get the impression that You want us to seek to walk with You, having faith that You can change us into what You want us to be.
ABBA:
Imagine that… Have you considered how Jesus’ words about no one but God being good squares with these other verses telling you not only to be good, but to be perfect?
Me:
I believe Jesus was trying to convince us that we are incapable of being good enough on our own to live up to the standard required to have a rewarding relationship with Holy God. I have often wondered, though, about Jesus question “Why do you call Me good?”, since He is good.
ABBA:
The answer to “why” is because He is God and I Am good. The one he was questioning did not get that, either.
Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy and that is what you are. [1 Corinthians 3:16-17] This is the secret to the paradox in these verses we are considering together. Having accepted Jesus and received the Spirit, you can say with Paul:
But if while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. [Galatians 2: 17-21]
So then, you have grace to walk with Me while you are submitting your life to the transforming power of the Truth. You still have the choice today: be transformed by the renewing of your mind, or destroy the temple of God with the things of the world. If you did not have this choice, would I have given you so many helps to aid you on your way?
Me:
Thank You Father, for patiently explaining the scriptures and for sharing Your heart to save us. Thank You for the grace to walk in Christ that all is not lost at any misstep! I love You!
ABBA:
You are welcome! I love You! I have gone to great lengths to show you that I Am your loving Father.
Missionary Sojourn 