Sunday, February 8, 2015

Busy (Part 2)


In my last post, I maintained that our Lord does not call us to be busy: He calls us to be diligent.  I noted Solomon’s instruction to his son in Proverbs 6: “Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise.”  Ants, though tiny, are diligent workers.  They are persistent, focused, and not easily distracted from their goal.

In order for us to be diligent, we must first define our goal.  Q&A 1 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism succinctly and memorably summarizes the goal – or “chief end” – of man as found in the Holy Scriptures:  “What is the chief end of man?  Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

God alone is God and worthy of all praise.  He created you and me for His glory.  (Isaiah 43: 7 and 21).  Psalm 50:23 says, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me: and to him that ordereth his conversation [his daily walk] aright will I show the salvation of God.”

When or how do we praise and glorify God?  God is glorified when we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27).  By nature we hate God: we would rather serve self and sin.  But those who are converted to God have the indwelling Holy Spirit.  “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).  One who loves God:

·          has faith in Him, like Abraham, who “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20).
·          is thankful to Him and shows that thankfulness by praying to Him: “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: and call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:14-15).
·          obeys His Word.  “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (I Sam. 15:22).

These are fruits that one must bring forth if he is a believer.  They are the fruits to which Jesus refers in John 15:8:  “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”

Those fruits are described in greater detail in 2 Peter 1:5-10.  Let’s consider that text again:

 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure…”

 Consider also the remainder of verse 10 and verse 11: “For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

It is in the way of diligently living a life that glorifies God that we experience His presence during this life and enter heaven when die, there to enjoy Him forever. 

Now, what does all that have to do with being busy?  I'll attempt to tackle that next time!

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