Clothed

In that first garden, long ago,
Our parents walked with You unclothed.
They were sinless and unashamed
To see and to be seen and known.

Into the garden the tempter came,
Sin brought with it all its shame.
Fig leaves were not clothes enough,
Hiding when you called their names.

The tree of knowledge with it brought
Death to all who knowledge sought.
You found them there, and sent them out,
Clothed in the death their sins had bought.

Another parent, another day,
In the manger gently lay
Her sleeping boy, snugly wrapped,
In swaddling clothes upon the hay.

He grew to face another tree
On the mount of Gethsemane,
Naked hung in our sin and shame,
Unclothed for all humanity.

One day soon will come to sight,
Our Savior returning in robes of white,
Clothed in His righteousness we’ll be,
To dwell in His eternal light.

May we seek to live as those
Who will be in perfection robed,
Free from every sin and shame,
Bowing now before His throne.

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness: (Isaiah 61:10a).

 

© 2023 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

The Right Harvest

Have you ever read a familiar Scripture and suddenly realized you’ve never really paid attention to it before? That happened to me this week with 2 Corinthians 9:10 (ESV):

“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”

In the context of the chapter, it’s easy to focus on the ideas of giving and tithing and to overlook the last few words. One commentary notes, “Righteousness shall be itself the reward, even as it is the thing rewarded.” Do we really believe that righteousness is a desirable reward, or are we interested only in more tangible rewards? Are we working to cultivate righteousness? The prophet Hosea wrote, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and rain righteousness upon you” (Hosea 10:12). Righteousness does not grow where it is not cultivated.

As I think about some of the challenges of life in the world today, perhaps we’ve been asking the wrong questions at times.

• Not “what is legal,” but “what would contribute to righteousness?”
• Not “how can we protect our children,” but “how can we teach them to love righteousness?”
• Not “how can I avoid sin,” but “how can I develop a greater desire for righteousness?”

If the pursuit of righteousness were our first priority, how might that influence our daily choices? I’m always convicted when I read Psalm 101:3a, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” There are plenty of worthless things all around us. We could resolve not to look at any form of media, but avoidance is not necessarily the same as seeking righteousness and holiness. (Here’s an article that differentiates these two similar terms.) We can also do all kinds of religious activities without having any real interest in righteousness. I fear that the modern church often contributes to religiosity and self-righteousness without relationship to God.

If I’m honest, most days I’m more concerned with doing my job to the best of my ability and simply surviving another day or week or year. If someone asked, “What are we here for?” I would probably say something about glorifying God, but I wouldn’t even think about cultivating righteousness. And yet Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). I suspect most of us are more interested in “all these things” than we are in the kingdom of God and His righteousness. For many people, the image of eternal life is more about our own hobbies and pleasures than it is about the promise of “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:12).

The Apostle John reminded his readers, “Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous… Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God” (1 John 3:7, 10). Thankfully, the practice of righteousness does not depend on our perfect obedience to the law, because we are incapable of doing that. We receive the righteousness of Christ (imputed righteousness), and we live it out by the power of the Holy Spirit (progressive righteousness). John Piper said,

“[We] can’t make any progress in practical, lived-out righteousness until we are accepted by God, forgiven for our sins, and declared to be perfectly righteous with the imputed righteousness of God in Christ. That’s tremendously important to see because it means that the effort that we make by faith through the Holy Spirit to put to death sins and become more and more practically righteous is not the basis of our right standing with God. It is the consequence or effect of our right standing with God.

How do we pursue righteousness? It’s not by trying harder to avoid sin, but by nurturing our relationship with God. The more we get to know and love Him, the more we will desire to please Him. We will seek His power to overcome temptation, and we’ll become more sensitive to the Spirit’s leading in our lives. None of that can happen apart from the spiritual disciplines of Bible reading, prayer, and involvement with the Body of Christ. We become Christians by simply accepting what Christ has done for us, but it takes a lifelong process to be transformed by the renewal of the mind and to be conformed to the image of Christ (see Romans 8:29 and 12:1-2).

May we never be satisfied with a faith that doesn’t cause us to change and grow, but may we seek a harvest of righteousness for the glory of God.  

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Firmly Planted

I find it encouraging and instructive to read through the book of Psalms on a regular basis. The following are a few thoughts from Psalm 1.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers” (v. 1, ESV).

There is a progression in this verse from walking to standing to sitting. A person can get increasingly comfortable with sin in their life if they aren’t actively pursuing righteousness. Christians need to be cautious when they start looking at the path of sinners. It is all too easy to drift away. “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night” (v. 2).

How many churchgoers can honestly say that they love God’s Word? How many actually spend time in it during the week? The person who doesn’t know the Word can’t delight in the Word, and can’t truly know if they are walking in the counsel of the wicked or standing in the path of sinners. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (v. 3).

The believer who is watered by the Word of God will prosper by bearing the right kind and amount of fruit in the right season. We are not identical seeds, but parts of a body with specific functions. “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:23).

 “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away” (v. 4).

Rather than being deeply rooted and laden down with fruit, the unrighteous have no spiritual substance. They drift away into pursuits that may entertain them for a while, but one day will cause eternal regrets. “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it… How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1, 3a).

“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (v. 5).

Many of those who will not stand in the judgment are those who have already ceased to assemble with the Body of Christ on a regular basis. Today’s choice to skip the church gathering may become tomorrow’s choice to turn their back on the church entirely. “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).

“For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (v. 6).

The one who started out by walking in the counsel of the wicked and standing in the path of sinners goes on to drift away on the wind and perish with the wicked. The consequences of carelessness and inattentiveness can be deadly. I pray that all those who claim to be Christians would pay attention to the path ahead of them and would turn back if they are starting to drift away. I also pray that all who are rooted and grounded in Christ will do everything in their power to warn those who are headed down the wrong path. Only God can change hearts, but He may well use us to stir the consciences of loved ones who need to wake up.

“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).

© 2019 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

What Are You Seeking?

As I was reading through the Sermon on the Mount this week, I noted Matthew 6:33 in particular: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (ESV). While we often hear sermons about seeking the kingdom first, I don’t recall ever hearing anyone explain what it means to seek His righteousness. The first Scripture that came to mind when I asked myself that question was Philippians 3:8b-9: “in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

It’s probably natural that when we hear an instruction to “pursue righteousness,” our first thought is how to avoid sin and be a better person. I can attest to the fact that that can only take us so far. We might clean up a few obvious sins, but that doesn’t really change who we are. The Apostle Paul points out that the righteousness that comes from obedience to the law doesn’t really save us. The righteousness that we need is Christ’s perfect righteousness, which is only received by faith. Paul reinforces Jesus’s statement that it is God’s righteousness we are to be seeking, not our own self-righteousness.

Looking at the context of both the Sermon on the Mount and Philippians 3, there are other notable parallels between Jesus’s words and Paul’s words. Jesus says:

“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. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also… Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Matthew 6:19-21, 31-32).

Paul then elaborates:

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share in his sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8-11).

It seems that Paul took Jesus’s teachings quite literally. He not only gave up his possessions and status, but he counted them as rubbish. He didn’t spend time worrying about where his next meal was coming from (and indeed went hungry at times), but he willingly walked into dangerous situations in his pursuit of the kingdom. He suffered for Christ and died knowing that it was worth every minute of pain (see 1 Corinthians 11:24-28 and Philippians 1:21).

It’s tempting to take Matthew 6 out of context and say, “Okay, I’m going to try really hard not to be anxious but to seek God first in my life.” But that’s a pretty anemic response to the greater context of Scripture. Just a few verses later in Matthew 7 Jesus warns that many so-called Christians will be told in the end, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (7:23). Then in Matthew 10 Jesus says that persecution will come and “whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me” (10:38). Paul’s life is a pretty good example of the commitment that’s required. (The A.D. television series has at the very least been a good reminder of what opposition really looks like.)

Christianity in 21^st century America may seem far removed from the experience of the early church, but I think we’re beginning to get a sense of the danger that could be in store for us when governments are actively promoting non-Christian values, when terrorists seek out Christian targets, and nominal Christians are leaving the church in droves. Those who remain faithful to the end will learn what it means to “seek first His kingdom” and “share in His sufferings.” Some day in the not-so-distant future, it won’t be about choosing not to worry about the fashion trends or saving for retirement, but about choosing to follow Jesus against every logical argument for taking the easy way out. It’s happened before and it will happen again.

“Choose this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).