Complimentary Story
I know of a young college man, we will call him Stephan to protect his identity. Stephan was asked, and expected, to attend a dance with his girlfriend who somewhat lovingly informed him that his usual attire of cargo pants would not be sufficient for the event. Albeit reluctantly, Stephan went to the store to buy new pants, appropriate for the event. The day of the dance arrives and Stephan looks the part of dashing boyfriend, thanks to his new pants! His girlfriend, delighted to see him in his new look, is a bit disappointed when he informs her that the tags are still attached -- and he plans to return the pants as soon as the event is done. She reminds him that there is another dance in a few months which he will need the pants for again. He is not concerned…he says he will just buy the pants again!
Now, we might not be surprised by these antics from a college boy trying to make ends meet, but what about in our own lives? The Christian often cries out to the Giver of Good Gifts for His provision for the events of our lives, only to then discard the gift as soon as our moment of need has past. I guess we reckon that we can just ask again. And Scripture does tell us to come confidently to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Like Stephan, God encourages us to cry out to him to ‘cover’ us in our times of need, those often difficult or important moments in life.
Psalm 91:4 (English Standard Version) “He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”
But Scripture also tells us that God desires us to engage Him beyond our temporary crisis in life. He is not a genie in a bottle to be called upon for our wishes and set upon the shelf until the next moment of need.
We can look to the example of the Israelites to see God’s desire to be among His people and lead His people. In the desert, He manifested Himself to them as a pillar of cloud and fire; He provided for them with manna and quail; their sandals didn’t wear out…These Biblical facts reveal to us the heart of our God -- to be among His people, to interact with them and lead them; but we can also look to Scripture to teach us how God desires that we respond to His efforts to provide and guide us in this life.
1 Cor 10:1-2 (English Standard Version) “…our fathers were ALL under the cloud, and ALL passed through the sea, and ALL were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and ALL ate the same spiritual food and ALL drank the same spiritual drink…Nevertheless, with MOST of them God was not pleased…” (emphasis mine)
The Israelites were all in the same spiritual environment. Each and every one were delivered from Egypt by God, guided through the Red Sea by God, and provided for in the desert by God. And yet, although all those elements of their environment were the same for each of them, their response to that miraculous grace from God was quite different. And as we read in the first two verses of 1 Corinthians 10, God was not pleased with some of their responses. We read further to see why…
Verses 7-16 tell us “…do not be idolaters as some of them were…we must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did…we must not put Christ to the test…nor grumble…flee from idolatry…The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?”
Just being part of a religious group or environment is not a guarantee that we will please God. We often look to God, as the Israelites did, for provision but not for participation. We want what He has to offer, the provision; but we don’t want to invest ourselves in what He is doing, our part -- the daily participation in His Kingdom work. God is obviously displeased when we are sexually immoral, have idols, grumble, and test Christ. But it also does not please Him when we simply abstain from these things in a religious environment. God wants the life of the Christian to be more than simply void of grievous sins… He wants it to be full of His grace. He wants us to ask for His ‘cover,’ His grace in our times of need; but also to recognize that this grace does more than rescue us in a crisis; it enables us to live in a way that pleases God, day to day. Often times, like Stephen, we treat grace like a pair of pants…on today and gone tomorrow! We only look to God for provision, not for participation. We want God’s grace for our needs and purposes, but then we discard it before we can put it to use for His desires and purpose.
So whether we are abstaining from sin or engaging in righteousness….may it all glorify God. Let us not borrow God’s grace for our own convenience and then discard it like a pair of pants; but let us use it daily for our sanctification and HIS GLORY!
1 Corinthians 10:31 (English Standard Version) “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
