Friday, October 7, 2022

 

Friday, October 7, 2022


Psalm 90

Zechariah 1:18-2:13

Philemon 1-14


I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus.


A retired bishop was running a silent retreat, and one morning he began the reflection by challenging the retreatants: “if you were arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”


In a world of custom email signatures, creatively embellished resumes, and letters after names, it is very easy to get a big head. If this life is all that there is, the esteem of our fellow humans is indeed highly to be desired. But this life is not all there is, and if we think for more than two seconds about the standards of our culture and what is required to receive its praise, we are reminded of the words of the man when he received a poor reception at a convention of thieves: “your boos mean nothing, I’ve seen what makes you cheer!”


On a cosmic, infinite scale, there is only one objective to work for above all else: the praise of the Lord Jesus. Philemon, the recipient of today's epistle, has found his name entered into the eternal word of God for the work he did for our Master. He would have had his own struggles, he would have felt the pull of sinful lusts and harboured dark thoughts at times. But he loved the Lord Jesus and Jesus’ sheep strongly enough that his name has been on the lips of faithful Christians now for two thousand years.


Whatever we think of ourselves, God looks at us as if we were Christ: righteous and lovely, and perfectly holy. If we care about what other people think of us, let them think of us as people desperately in love with Jesus, who serve Him with all that we have. And we pray that when we enter into eternity, we will hear the blessed words from our Master and Friend: “well done, good and faithful servant”. God knows of our love for all the saints, and our faith toward the Lord Jesus. Whatever other people think, God’s opinion is enough.



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