UNBOXING GOD
"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." John 7:24
As you guys might be aware, this is the start of a devotional series that we will be having for you guys as a way of continuing to grow. In preparation for writing this devotional, Cris and I were talking, and the idea came up about confining God with our beliefs and actions.
The original question was that if a person professes to be a believer and yet they chose to live a life of sin will they go to heaven. In contrast to that example, the question was asked about how some of the Patriarchs of the Bible having multiple wives such as Abraham, David, and Solomon to name a few. While there are several verses that condemn having multiple wives just in the Old Testament alone, such as: Genesis 2:24, Deuteronomy 17:14-20, 1 Kings 11:4; there were still some Patriarchs that practiced polygamy. If these men, these stables of the Old Testament were out right living a lifestyle that the Bible condemns, how were they still used so greatly and held to such a high regard by many believers? Does God show partiality to certain people? Does God really hate these sins?
Regarding whether God shows partiality to anyone, there are many examples in the Bible that state contrary to that idea. Romans 2:11-13 clearly tells us that God doesn’t show partiality and even why He doesn’t, ”For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law.” We can have confidence in the fact that God will still use us no matter what gender, race, or upbringing we may have.
One thing that came to mind right away is that just because God allows for something to happen, doesn’t mean that He approves of it and doesn’t hate sin. We all have a free will where we can make our own choices to do certain things and really to live however we want to, whether that is in line with how God calls us to live or not. God is sovereign and above all, but He still chooses to allow for us to not be robots that just follow orders. When we choose to follow God, He takes us as we are and starts to work in us to make us more like His Son Jesus Christ; He sanctifies us. This process of sanctification continues throughout our whole lives and no matter how holy or “perfect” we may seem to be, we can never be 100% without sin because we still have bodies that crave sin. Romans 7:15 tells us,” For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”
These men, even though they weren’t perfect, were still able to be used by the Lord in the same way that we are able to be. We have to remind ourselves that these people were just people, they weren’t special or better than anyone else, their hearts were open to the Lord working and they pursued Him. Yes they still messed and yes we will still screw up, but that didn’t disqualify them and it doesn’t disqualify you from God being able to use us.
We can’t be so quick to judge based upon surface level facts, we must look at things the way God sees them. We also can’t be so quick to assume that God is going to work in a certain way because He may have done something specific in someone’s life. God is holy, righteous, and just. He knows far more than we can ever imagine knowing. Be reminded of what was said in Deuteronomy 32:4, which states, "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.”