Called To Be The Odd Voice Out

November 28, 2014

Called To Be The Odd Voice Out

Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.

Psalm 15:1-2

This passage from Psalm 15 has both good news, and maybe not so good news. First, the good news. The Psalm provides three criteria for entering into the presence of God. The truth is that I don’t know anyone, including myself who can past this test. The good news is that Jesus’ self-sacrificing life has made it possible for us to enter into the presence of God. We are made right with God not because we have lived blameless lives, done what is right, and spoken the truth from sincere hearts, but because Jesus made us right by his life, death, resurrection and ascension.

Secondly, the maybe not so good news. God’s expectation for us, as announced by the psalmist, remains the same. However, our mission is not as seemingly impossible as it must have seemed to the psalmist’ congregation. While we can never accomplish such righteous living on our own, we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we have the most wonderful promise of God on our side: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).

In the light of our right standing with God and with the assurance that God is indeed working within us, (He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Psalm 23:3), it is appropriate for us to examine ourselves periodically and ask, “Just how much truth am I speaking from a sincere heart?” Even though the Apostle Paul commissions us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), many Christians are reluctant to be a voice for God in their community because, as I have previously noted, when we chose to be a voice for God in our community, we will find ourselves standing alone. It is exceedingly difficult to be the odd voice out, to be the one whose voice is an expression of the truth of who we are --- not of who we think we should be or whom others think we should be.

Speaking the truth with sincere hearts may be the most heroic act of love we can ever offer to the world.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.