Reasons to be Kind

 
Yesterday I had several conversations with people who do not attend church. Several times I was able to tell them what God was doing in my life. They were receptive, even curious. It reinforced something that has been on my heart for some time — that we Christians tend to tell others what they should believe and do rather than share our experiences with them. Not in a boasting way or a holier than thou way, but with the humility and excitement that He brings with every answer to prayer and all His acts of kindness and grace.

It is good to remember that Scripture says this about the heart and mind of those without Jesus in their lives:

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

In one of those conversations, the other person told me how much she appreciated spontaneous words from the heart. This does not identify her as a believer in Jesus Christ, but it does show me that at least some those outside the family of God are able to discern the sincerity of heart in Christians. That means having integrity, no pretense, no ‘going through the motions’ but instead being real.

This ‘being real’ means being able to admit weakness, mistakes, even sin. I told one person about purging my house and how good it felt to get rid of the clutter, then added, “It is something like confessing sin.” She laughed and said, “Yes, getting that taken care of and out of the way feels good.” She understood that principle and I wondered if she knew this verse:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

I’ve said many times that keeping short accounts with God is the way to stay on track, to being filled with the Spirit, and to be growing in godliness. This unsaved person may not know Jesus (yet) but she knows what it means to admit sin. Perhaps she even knows the practical truth of forgiveness and being cleansed yet has never labeled it or shared it in Christian terminology.

All that said, as I speak with people who do not profess Christ, I can see that they are not as ignorant about spiritual truth as I might think. We heard a sermon this week that addressed that issue in NT times. Some were on the verse of making a commitment to Christ but had not yet done it. There were warnings about turning back to old ways, but encouragement to press on rather than think, “Oh, never mind.”

For me, that thought of ‘this looks too hard’ can enter my mind often. It is a signal to pray, to ask God for strength and all I need for the difficulties that threaten to stall me. His promises also come to mind, and I can rely on Him to keep them.

Is this true for my unsaved friends? Can they call out to God and receive from Him what they need to keep going? To be a blessing to others, even to those who know Christ? I’m finding that if I am honest with anyone about my struggles, even with my uncertainties about my Christian responsibilities, God will use others to encourage me, even unsaved others. This is the amazing grace of God and worth giving thanks for, to Him and to them.

PRAY: Lord, I’ve know Christians whose interaction with unsaved people is “turn or burn” but that rarely results in repentance. You say, “Do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4) Since Your kindness serves to bring sinners into a new life with You, then showing kindness to others is really important, especially in these days when it seems a rare commodity.

Jesus is not an angel

 

Today’s cults and other religions identify Jesus as only a man, a good teacher, or a prophet. Some say He was an angel. For me and all others who have experienced that change of life that Jesus brings, the knowledge of His identity is far more important than guessing, or than deciding He is just like us, or that He is an angel. If He was any of those things, then there are many more like Him. Further, those who identify Him as such have not read the entire Bible or dismiss the parts that say something contrary to their definition.

One of those contrary passages backs up other passages that say He was the Word of God made flesh and that He created and rules all things — including angels:

Of the angels he (God) says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:7–8) 

Note that this says angels are His; they belong to Him and do what He tells them to do. 

The word angel means a messenger and the Bible would agree that Jesus is also a messenger from the Father, but that is about function, not nature. Angels are said to be: “angels of God” and “angels of the Lord” and “My angels” and some disobeyed God and are called “destroying angels” with Satan being one of them. Jesus is not described in the same way. He is described like this:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-3; 14) 

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3) 

The greatest difference in the biblical descriptions of the nature of angels and of Christ is that He is the eternal God. The Father says to the Son, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever” — a powerful statement about the deity of Christ. Yet this is also a revealed truth. John wrote:

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20) 

Jesus demonstrated and claimed equality with God. He did what His Father told Him to do and was sinless. No other can claim that perfect obedience and also die for the sin of mankind without first needing to settle His own sin-debt with God. Not one angel claims to be our Lord and Savior, only Jesus, who is God who became a man to give His life so we could have eternal life. Yet without this being revealed, we just don’t get it!

PRAY: Jesus, the prayer suggested for today is to ask God for a greater understanding of the reality that You are God. I would not be here if You had not already done that. I know this: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) My prayer is that You would reveal who You are to those who need to know it so they can experience what You have done to save them from sin and grant them new life, something an angel cannot do, only You do this by the power of Your Spirit and because of Your amazing grace.

PONDER: Read John 1:1–18 again, and rejoice in knowing who Jesus is and what He has done.