Saturday, August 20, 2022

 

Saturday, August 20, 2022


Psalms 114; 115

2 Chronicles 31:17-32:8

Romans 14:1-12


Observance: Bernard of Clairvaux, abbot and teacher (d. 1153)


Those who make them shall be like them: so shall everyone that trusts in them.


The Psalmist is painting a vivid image of the malleability of our human nature. It is like the idiom “you are what you eat” rephrased in spiritual terms: “you become what you worship”.


It is interesting to contrast King Hezekiah's response to war with his less faithful predecessors. The history of the nation of Israel is littered with governments making the mistake of looking for alliances with powerful nations in order to protect themselves, only to be undone by the supreme power of God. Hezekiah manages to get away with building defences, yet his will hold firm, because of where his priorities lie: “Do not be afraid or dismayed... with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” Hezekiah has not built defences because he doesn't trust God. He has built defences so that he can be involved with the victory that God will win.


We see the call to participate in our own sanctification in Paul's teaching today. He refers to some recent converts from Judaism, who felt it was still necessary to observe special feast days, like the Sabbath. Paul then points to recent Gentile converts, who couldn't bring themselves to buy the discount meat in the markets (discounted because the meat had first been offered to pagan gods). He reminds us of the God we worship to pull us back in line. The conscience of a particular individual is to be respected, because it is the one God who will judge each of us according to that conscience. A Godly conscience is a powerful thing. If we become what we worship, then a conscience dedicated to God brings us closer in line with God's way of thinking. The consciences of other Christians may lead them somewhere different to where ours lead us. But we can still respect the priority: to be right with God, to align our thinking with His, and to love Him more and more every day.



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