Today’s Reading: Joshua 3; Joshua 4; Joshua 5; Joshua 6; 1 Corinthians 4
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:4-5
4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
Observation: The truth that Paul expresses here is so important. The human conscience, as important as it is, is flawed. I can be totally convinced of my innocence and be totally wrong. My conscience is not infallible — it can and does lie to me. So the fact that I am OK with my life doesn’t mean much. God’s opinion is the only one that really matters. Time will tell — lots of folks can look good in cameos and short vignettes but you really can’t tell what’s actually going on in their lives over the long haul. There will be a time when truth will be revealed. The Lord will come and shine His amazing truth detecting light on our lives and what’s really been going on in our hearts will be seen. I think that it could be a real surprise or even a shock because we lie to ourselves a lot.
Application: Keep clear on who and what you are. Sin is a fundamental element of our human condition and is one that we can never fully rid ourselves of in this life. Because of that, I must be careful not to fully trust my perceptions. I need to account for the possibility of self-deception that could, if I allowed it, justify some marginal living. Step back and let God be God — seek His approval, and (to make it truly practical) get some others who share your values to speak into your life which can help you get a true and reliable evaluation of how you are doing.
Prayer: Lord, help me to never forget my fallibility. I want to live a truly righteous life and I know that I can not do that without Your light shining on me. Bring me into truth and thank You for those who help me by speaking Your truth into my life.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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