Troublesome Topic: Make It Holy
KEEP THAT TIME EXCLUSIVELY FOR GOD!
The Tabernacle and Temple had a number of tools or utensils that the priests could only use in the service of the Lord. They could not take them home for a family barbeque. These were not special tools, just ordinary tools with a special purpose.
We are not special people, at least not in the sense of being better than others, we are just ordinary people with a special use and a special purpose. That special purpose is fulfilled as we strive to live exclusively for Him and not for ourselves.
Our culture is getting away from the exclusivity of commitments. Too many people make a commitment thinking that, if they need to, they can break that commitment without consequence. In Bible times, the consequence of violating a covenant was death.
What we are depends on what rest is to us. If we truly value our connection to God we will allow nothing to infringe on that time. Nothing! In the life of the spirit, the principle of rest has the same authority as the law of gravitation in nature. It is fundamental; it is unalterable. You may rebel against gravity, and try to defy it, but that does not change its force. The same is true of rest. Therefore, however you make it work for you, enjoy time with God and family daily, weekly and yearly. Keep it exclusively for God—make it holy!
MAKE THE LINES CLEAR!
As our culture blurs the lines in many ways, we must mark them more clearly and hold to them more tenaciously.
Here are two examples of how our culture is blurring those lines: Sex is no longer exclusive to marriage. Because our culture has gone this direction, we need to make the line clearer than ever, and hold that line more tenaciously.
Religion, it is thought, should be inclusive, not exclusive. It seems that having people like our religion has become the top priority in many peoples’ minds. Therefore, everything seems to be subject to popular consent. However, Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6). That’s pretty exclusive.
One way for us to make the lines clear is to retain that one day a week as special, as different from the others.
The next lesson is Don’t Judge Others