Open Our Eyes!
I have been encouraged by a little book by R.C. Sproul titled, “Pleasing God: Discovering the Meaning and Importance of Sanctification.” In the book, Sproul emphasizes the role that God plays in our sanctification. We get to join in because this is God’s work. He describes this process as being like the healing of the blind man recorded in John 9…Jesus described our spiritual blindness, which is even more important than physical blindness.
“The Lord is intensely interested in our welfare and our maturing. He wants us to learn more and more about God and how to please Him. He wants us to find joy in pleasing Him. He wants us to change, like the healed blind man, so that our vision clears, so that we grow in how we perceive the world and act in it. Growth and change in such perception mean learning more and more about what pleases the holy God.” (R.C. Sproul) The thought that comes to my mind is, God, I want you to open my eyes to help me to see the areas you are working on. If I am under construction (and I believe I am), I want to begin by humbly admitting that there is a significant amount of work which needs to be done. I want to prayerfully remind myself on a moment-by-moment basis, that this need to grow has nothing to do with how I compare with anyone other than Jesus. Jesus is the standard, and when I compare my feeble attempts at holiness to His righteousness…I am reminded that I have a long way to go!
I think that beginning with an honest evaluation of the current state of things is a wonderful way for us to begin this construction project. I love the words of King David when he humbly said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24 ESV) What a wonderful place to begin…asking God to reveal to us what He knows about us. This prayer is not only appropriate, it is necessary.
I have often thought that the statement Jesus made at the end of the story of the prodigal son was strange. He said, "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7 ESV) After a little reflection, I have come to believe Jesus is saying something quite profound. We know that no one has “arrived yet” – no one except for Jesus who is perfect in their earthly lives. So everyone needs to repent, even the most righteous among us. It is the person who realizes their need to repent that leads to so much rejoicing. The older brother’s arrogance and self-righteousness in the prodigal son story help us to understand why it is dangerous to believe we are righteous if we compare ourselves with other people. Instead, our standard must be Jesus’ perfect righteousness which can only lead us to the need to make some changes.
Join me this week in asking the Lord to help us identify the areas where He is working on us. Ask yourself, What sin does God want me to take seriously today?
Expectantly,
Shawn
