Philippians 2:18-30; Honored Servants

The text talks about honoring those who serve well in the name of Jesus. In my life, there have been people that definitely have served well and deserve honor.

I think of Wilfredo in San Felix, Venezuela. I do not know anyone more gentle and humble than him. He has shown me how to turn away wrath with a gentle answer. He has lived out his faith even at gunpoint. When others failed to keep their promises, he has kept his even when it cost him greatly on a personal basis.

I think of Ronald in San Jose, Costa Rica. It would be hard for me to think of anyone who has dedicated themselves to the work of the Lord more than Ronald. He is a tireless servant whose intensity of compassion has touched the lives of everyone around him. Anyone that meets him soon respects him.

I also think of Wendell Broom. His gentleness and depth of joy impress me. I can honestly say that I know of no one who will finish life more robustly and joyfully than Wendell.

My hope and prayer is to live so that one day someone writes my name in a list of people they believe worthy of honor.

Romans 13:1-7; Honor

It is an old theme from the Torah, i.e., "I treat people with honor because they bear the image of God within them." Creation is treated well because God made it. Authority is respected because God established it. People are honored because God placed his image in them.

Yet I sit here today struggling with respecting some authorities. In the past month, two friends have become unemployed because of ridiculous laws or rules. They were highly competent and yet lost their position. Somewhere along the way, the authorities lost focus on treating people as images of the Creator God. The result was that law was respected but the image of God was dishonored. The actions of the authorities did not reflect the hand of God.

The scary part is that I can so easily do the same thing. All it takes is focusing upon rules instead of people. Is he right or wrong? Is she a Christian or not? Do they measure up to my standards or not? All are rules based evaluations of people to whom I owe a debt of honor as bearers of the image of God.

May God be merciful to my efforts and may my efforts be to honor rather than judge others.

Romans 2:17-24; Hard teachings

I wonder what this section would sound like to North American Christians today? Maybe it would like this.

"Now you, if you call yourself a Christian and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you grew up in Sunday school; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, a teacher of infants because you have in the Bible the embodiment of knowledge and truth -- you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you cheat on your taxes? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you lust after other people's spouses? You who abhor false religion, do you keep your own free from nationalism? You who brag about the Bible, do you actually try to live every aspect of your life by it? As it is written, "God's reputation is smeared among unbelievers because of you."

Rather than taking this as a rallying cry for preaching, I pray that I take it as a personal cry for repentance. May I live today so that God's reputation is honored among unbelievers because of me.

Romans 2:1-11; Seeking

The concept of wrath flows over into this section. Yet again, Paul does not paint God as being an angry divinity waiting to jump on us all. Rather, wrath comes only upon those who have rejected God and decided to be self-seeking.

I seems from the passage that Bob Dylan was right in his old song. "You're gonna have to serve somebody. Well it may be the devil or it may be the Lord but your gonna have to serve somebody." The scripture does not come out and say we would actually serve the devil; however, it does parallel serving self with seeking evil.

So when it is all said and done, everybody is a seeker, either of self (which results in evil) or of God. There are only two options at the end of the day. No doubt everyone wants the end of glory, honor and immortality. Yet the question is am I willing to seek God rather than self in order to get there?

Luke 14:1-15; Right thing vs reputation

All three stories in the house of the prominent pharisee raise the same question, i.e., why am I doing that which I am doing? Is the primary concern of life to do the right thing to those who have the image of God in them, regardless of their social status? Or is life about kissing up to those higher up on the social ladder so that I can climb as well.

It is interesting to me that Jesus was even in the home of a prominent Pharisee. How did he get there? Why did they invite him? It seems a logical conclusion that he was invited in order to raise their status somehow. Yet his teaching in the house were no different than his teaching on the streets. Jesus did not change who he was or how he lived based upon the people around him.

It is hard in this life to not become concerned about social standing. From an early age we learn that "who you know" is a major feature of obtaining prominence. Yet the one who knew everyone, did not promote that teaching. He treated everyone with respect and honor because he saw the image of his father inside them.

What do my eyes see?