WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them." Numbers 13:1-2 (NKJV)

These were not cowards among the people. These guys were leaders. They were the brave, the honest, the true. Fearless. Wise. All that leaders should be. They followed orders. They went and spied out the land. They did what they were told. Then they failed. They forgot one very important part of what the Lord had said.

...which I am giving to the children of Israel...

When they returned, all but two, gave a fear filled report. We can't do it. It is too much. We won't win. They were looking for the wrong things.

I would like to think I would have been one of the two who stood firm.
I have a feeling I would not have been.

Stay with me here.

The MCs and I are reading the Silver Chair by CS Lewis. A statement by one of the characters has been with me a couple of days now. The main characters are in search of a missing prince. Aslan, the lion who is King, has given them specific signs to look for on their journey. They think they have just witnessed one, which involves releasing a savage young man.

"Do you mean you think everything will come right if we untie him?" said Scrubb.

"I don't know about that," said Puddleglum. "You see, Aslan didn't tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. That fellow will be the death of us once he's up, I shouldn't wonder. But that doesn't let us off following the sign."

The Lord told the Israelites the land was theirs. He made no other promises. No promises of ease. No promises of a conflict free take over. He just told them He was giving the land to them. All they had to do was follow the signs.

Find yourself in the same spot? The Lord has clearly called you to do something and you are wavering. The Lord has told you what to look for and to move when you find it. He makes no guarantee of an easy Christian walk, an easy marriage, an easy relationship with the other people walking around this planet with us, both inside and outside the church walls. If you say, no, He has not called me to anything, I would respectfully disagree. He has called us to love, our neighbors and our enemies. He has called us to care for others, the others we know and the ones we don't. He has called us to share the gospel, even when it is uncomfortable. He has called us to be a light in this darkness. So maybe you don't have a specific ministry calling. Our Christian walk is specific enough. He has told us what to look for and what to do. He has made no other promises. Except one....

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." John 10: 27-30 (NKJV)

Death may be upon us. Death of old ideologies. Death of pride. Death of relationships. Death to self. Death of our plans. In some cases, literally death.

But that doesn't let us off following the sign.

What are we looking for? The easy way out? The effortless victories? The approval of man? The right to be right? The path on which nothing that I want has to be sacrificed?

But that doesn't let us off following the sign.

May we, especially me, be deliberate in doing so.

WHAT DO I KNOW?

Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
Exodus 2:11 (NKJV)

For the first time while reading this, I actually wondered if he knew. It seems he did. It reads as if Moses knew he was not an Egyptian. He knew he was a Hebrew. How long did he know? Who told him? How did he respond? How did he stay in the palace knowing what was happening?
It also got me to thinking about us.
Do we know who we are?
Do we pretend to be something else?
Perhaps something perfect, as Pharaoh's often marketed themselves.
Letting everyone at work, at school, and at church know we have it all together.
Our lives are great.
Our kids are perfect.
Our marriage is flawless.
We never struggle.
We never battle.
We never war.
We rarely stumble, much less fall.

For we all stumble in many things...James 3:2

Maybe someone wealthy, when we spend and buy and go and do to keep up with culture while driving ourselves deeper and deeper into slavery to the master called money.
Making sure we have the coolest clothes.
The coolest car.
The latest gadget.
For school.
For girl's night out.
For church.

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon... Luke 16:13

Maybe we try to pretend to be just like the world.
We don't want to offend.
We don't want to challenge.
We want to conform, just a little bit.
Just enough to not seem different.
We want to blend and have reasoned that by blending we can witness and draw others to Jesus.
Because Jesus Freaks scare people.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God....Romans 12:2

I have.
I know I have.
I have forgotten who I am.
I have forgotten that my little sin is just as much sin as her big one.

for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.....Romans 3:23

I have gotten caught up in the stuff.
The need for the stuff.
Stuff that breaks.
Or gets lost.
Tears up.
Gets stolen.
The stuff that is not going with me in the end.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal....Matthew 6:19-20

I have forgotten that when I gave my life to Christ I was called out.
I was pulled to the side.
I was set apart.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light....1 Peter 2:9

No, we don't go around lamenting publicly all our shortcomings.
Yes, when things are good we rejoice.
We don't forget, however, Who gives us all good things.
No, I am not against having nice things.
Yes, I like nice things.
We don't, however, let the desire for those nice things usurp our desire to serve Christ.
No, I do not believe we should isolate ourselves from the world.
Yes, I was called to be salt and light in this darkness, as were you if you are a believer in Jesus Christ.
We don't, however, let the world change us. We don't blend. Things that blend don't stand out. They don't witness. They are just there.

The question today is do you and I know who we are?
Who we really are?
Do we act like it?
Are we being deliberate about it?
We should.
He was and is and will be.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3:1