March 28, 2011
Resume of the Heart
I’m one of five people who are reading through a huge stack of resumes with directions for each of us to choose the best 12. Our choices will later be reviewed by others and the best of the 12 will be reduced to 5 or 6 and eventually one candidate will rise above the others. Jesus had an advantage in selecting His top 12 disciple candidates…he read their hearts. I’m trying to picture ranking a stack of believer’s resumes…makes me glad Jesus is still in the business of reading resumes of the heart.
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2 comments:
Gail;
-----Jesus is a big guy; He can handle it. I am sure it is as automatic to Him as speaking English is to us. And by Paul’s words, “For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ and another, ‘I belong to Apollos,’ are you not merely men? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building,” (I Cor 3:4-9) it would seem we have little need to sort through resumes. Paul went on to say, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God. I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.” (I Cor 4:3-6) Maybe sorting through the resumes of the fellowship is not even a good thing to do.
-----But I think that would be making the mistake of concluding the general case by a particular situation. The instructions Paul gave Timothy and Titus for selecting elders very much involves resumes. Certain behavioral and attitudinal traits are noted for observation, and even the public’s attestation of the person’s character is called into consideration. However, that should narrow the resume sorting down to limited number of folks during a small part of the year.
-----Well, maybe not so fast! We are given a reason to at least somewhat assess the spiritual characters of everyone we know in the Lord. “Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you have an example in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ.” (Phil 3:17-18) Although we must not judge for condemnation, we are given a compatriotic purpose to judge. Judging for condemnation seeks to determine who is in or out of the body of Christ. We neither know enough nor are good enough to make that determination, and everyone in Christ is in the fellowship. So fellowship is required of us as well. But what will construe that fellowship? Paul warns of various characters who can be caustic to our lives. With some we are not to even associate. Others we are simply to avoid. In I Corinthians 14, he admonishes us to simply disregard those who deny that he writes the commands of the Lord. All of these we are yet to love by kind and gentle admonishment, while those we find living according to the examples the Apostles portrayed we are to admire, heed, and imitate. For all this discernment, we must be cognizant of resumes.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
"Resume of the heart."
I like it.
Grace and peace.
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