Proof in the Pudding
“Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the LORD God,” 1 Chronicles 22:19
Arise – How do you know if someone is truly seeking God? If your worldview is Hebraic, the answer is obvious. Look at what they do! While only God can see into the heart and soul of a man, everyone can see the external behavior. Anyone who claims to follow the path of YHWH, demonstrates it in actions! If you don’t see the proof in the pudding, you are not required to believe the claim.
Notice what David says to his son Solomon. “Set your heart and your soul to seek God.” That’s great advice. The Hebrew words are lev and nephesh. That covers the whole range of everything that makes a person who he is. David says, “Put everything that you are into seeking God.” How is Solomon supposed to demonstrate this internal commitment? ARISE! Get up and get going! The Hebrew verb is qum. Stand up! Take a stand! Establish! It’s great to set your heart on God, but it must result in action. “Solomon, if you want me to see that you have turned everything over to the pursuit of the Lord, then show it! Get going!”
Are you tired of the thousands of “believers” who speak Christian platitudes and claim Christian experience but do not exhibit the radically transformed life that Jesus requires? I am. I’m tired of celebrity Christians whose lives betray their professions of faith. I’m tired of churches that are more interested in membership growth than in desperate lives in the gutter. I’m tired of millions for bricks instead of millions for benevolence. I’m tired of fighting the good fight among those who think religion is the same as relationship. Oh, I’m not going to quit – and neither should you, but Proverbs advises us not to waste our time on those who refuse to repent and return to a life of demonstrated obedience. I want to gather with those who profess with their lips and their lives. You know what I’m talkin’ about.
Our culture willingly accommodates religion. Religion is absolutely no threat to dark side values. Why? Because religion is an entirely internal matter. Believe anything you want, as long as you keep it to yourself. This is not the biblical direction. If you’re going to set your heart and your soul on seeking God, you will have to step up to the firing line. You will have to live life with a bang! This is war, my friend. Act accordingly. You can live according to the world’s systems and be loved as one of the many, or you can arise and take a stand for God’s purpose and plan and accept the glorious consequences. There really is no in-between.
Let’s arise and change our ways. Ask yourself if every breath you take isn’t being watched by someone who wants to see Jesus’ hands and feet. Be those hands and feet. That’s all you need to do today. That’s all you need to do any day.
Topical Index: Action
