BELOVED ESTEEMED BRETHREN

 

 

If we only knew how beloved and esteemed we are:

·       Colossians 2:8–10 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

If you are like me, you are often turned-off by yourself and your many failures and weaknesses and even those of your brethren in Christ. We are supposed to be new creations in Christ, but we often look like the toxic waste dump. Consequently, we conclude that something has gone wrong with our relationship with Jesus and become susceptible to alternative philosophies and therapies and highly esteem what we shouldn’t esteem.

In my family, we highly esteemed the learned—the physicists and even the psychiatrists and psychologists. They became our trusted gurus. However, over the years, as a Christian, the Lord has taught me to esteem a different group of people—those whom God esteems, the likes of Abraham and Lot who had lived messy lives. But God regards Abraham as a man of unwavering faith:

·       Romans 4:18–20 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.

However, in the Genesis accounts, we see something very different about Abraham. He did waiver in his faith:

·       Instead of trusting in his God for the promised Isaac, he named his servant Eliezer as his heir.

·       Later, he impregnated Hagar in hope of acquiring an heir through her.

•      Customarily, during his sojournings, he required his wife Sarah to claim that she was his sister so that it would “go well” for Abraham, even as she suffered disgrace.
  

Lot had been living a highly compromised life in Sodom and thereafter. However, God regards him as “righteous”:

·       2 Peter 2:7–8 …he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard.

Paradoxical? Indeed! However, we find the same paradox throughout the Scriptures. From an earthly standpoint, we are spiritual failures. However, in God estimation, we are beloved and highly regarded, above anything we can imagine. Paul labored so that we might know the extent to which God loves us:

·       Ephesians 3:19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

However, His love and esteem for us go far beyond what we can imagine. He has made us into a conduit of God’s blessings and courses, as He had promised Abraham:

·       Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Consequently, we do not need to defend our own honor. Our Savior will

·       1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

We have become His channel for the sanctification of our families and also of our cities and nations. Our Lord even promised Abraham that He would spare Sodom if only 10 righteous people were found in this city (Genesis 18; Even one righteous was enough—Jeremiah 5:1).

Forget about building your self-esteem! Since God esteems us, no other opinions matter!