Friday, January 13, 2023

 

Friday, January 13, 2023


Psalm 35

Genesis 3:20-4:16

John 7:14-24


Observance: Hilary of Poitiers, bishop and teacher (d. 367)


Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of Him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him.


We know that God is entirely generous. There is nothing good that He keeps from us. It is truly a blessed life that we live as His children.


But His generosity is not to be taken advantage of. He does not spoil His children. We do not throw a tantrum just to get Him to take us through the Drive-Thru for an ice cream. His generosity comes from a deep well of love, and love is an active force, exercised in a relationship that goes two ways.


Cain offered fruit, while Abel offered the firstlings of the flock, the fat portions. God did not disregard Cain’s offering because He prefers meat, but because Abel, by giving the best of what he had, showed greater love. We also read about this in the prophets and the New Testament: that God wants us to give ourselves to Him as much as He has given Himself to us. This is true love.


Jesus speaks at the Festival of Booths on one of His many forays into the Temple in Jerusalem. He is giving us a practical lesson on what we are looking at in Genesis. If we really want to know if what someone is saying is true, that is, of God, then their words will be God-glorifying. If someone truly loves God and has the ability and the opportunity to speak in public, then they will use their gifts to speak about that love. Jesus can make this claim honestly because no-one loves the Father more than His only Son.


So when Jesus ends the lesson by telling us to judge not by appearances, but by right judgement, this is what He means. He is speaking to those of us who truly love God, and want to make Him happy, just as He makes us happy. When we hear people talking about how God thinks such or thus about this issue or that, we must judge with right judgement: is this teaching glorifying God? Is it directing us to the object and source of our love?



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