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Walk Upright
The time which our nation has set aside for the giving of thanks is soon
approaching. For what do you give thanks? How many of us have considered giving
thanks because we are man? Have you every really thought about what you are?
Genesis 1:27 reads, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them." Verse 31 reads, "And God saw
everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." Most of you can
probably quote these passages by heart. BUT have you ever really thought about
who YOU are?
If we are created in the image of and likeness of a Creator, then does it
not follow that we, too, should be creators? Indeed, we see the physical
creations of man all about us in the world in which we live. We see the various
technologies such as space exploration and computer science being used for the
betterment of man's physical world. But there is another facet of our creative
ability which is often overlooked -- the ability to create our own manner of the
acceptance of the circumstances of our life. Someone has said that the resources
of the human mind have not been taped. No one really knows what our minds are
capable of achieving.
Do you realize that you have within yourself the ability to create the
world in which you live? It is true that we cannot always control the
circumstances affecting our lives, but we CAN control their effect on our lives.
We CAN create the world in which we live! No, I am not one of those people who
has never tasted of heartache, and who looks at the world through rose-colored
glasses. Nor am I one who thinks that trouble will disappear if it is ignored.
It will seldom do so. I have been a victim of a world few people realize exists.
I have known abuse; I have known bitterness, and I have known grief. But as a
child of God, created in His image, I am learning that abuse, bitterness and
grief are not my masters! As a child, I had no control of the circumstances
which placed me in a home where I was not wanted. I had no control over the
verbal and psychological abuse which I received. But I did have control over the
effect it had on me. I am the one who created the bitterness in my own heart. I
am the one who permitted it to be lord over me long after the circumstances had
changed. Suppose that, instead of bitterness, I had created love for my enemies.
Suppose I had created blessings for those who cursed me. No, it would not have
changed the circumstances of my life, for I was cursed not for that which I did.
Rather, I was cursed for my mere existence in a place where I was not wanted. It
would have, however, made those circumstances easier to bear. What additional
pain we create for ourselves!
Romans 8:35-37 reads, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution or famine, or nakedness, or
peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long;
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us." Generally, when I have heard
this passage discussed the emphasis has been on what has been done for us. What
has been done for us is indeed wonderful, but let us look closer at what we are
to do. Examining the Greek text in verse 37, we find the verb hupernikomen,
which is translated "we are more than conquerors." Hupernikomen is in the
present tense and in the active voice. When a Greek verb is in the present
tense, it means that the action of the verb is continuous. When the active voice
is used, it means that the subject of the verb is the one performing the action.
The subject of a Greek verb is designated in the verb's personal pronoun ending.
The personal pronoun ending of hupernikomen is first person plural. WE are the
ones performing the action we are more than conquerors through him that loved
us. We are NOW more than conquerors, and we will continue to be more than
conquerors!
All creation reflects the glory of God, but man is His only creation that
reflects it by choice! For if God created us of His own will, after His image
and likeness, does it not follow that one created after His image and likeness
would likewise have his own will? Man has the ability to create and to serve
other gods. Deuteronomy 5:7 reads, "Thou shalt have none other gods before me."
Since we know that there are no other gods besides God, then the gods referred
to must be of man's own creation. Romans 6:16 reads, "Know ye not, that to whom
ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether
of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Shall we permit
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword to become our masters? Shall we yield to them to serve them? Yet how often
we permit the circumstances of our lives to conquer us! Ecclesiastes 7:29 reads,
"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have
sought out many inventions." The Greek word hamartia, which is translated "sin"
means "to miss the mark." When we do not walk upright as God intended that man
should walk, do we not miss the mark? When we choose other masters, we walk with
our heads bowed in servitude to those masters. We no longer walk upright. We
miss the mark.
Yes, I am thankful that I am man, created in the image and likeness of God. Thankful that I have the power to walk upright and glorify God out of a free will and out of love. Acts 2:36 reads, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." As a Christian, you have made Jesus your Savior by obeying the gospel, but have you made Him your Lord? Or do you still serve other lords? Does the Scripture teach you that you can serve more than one lord? You already know the answer to that! Through the one who loves you, become conqueror of that which would make you walk with your head bowed in servitude! Let Jesus be Lord of your life. Walk upright before our God. Walk as a man. Walk as God intended man to walk! If you have not believed the Gospel, confessed Jesus to be the Christ, and followed him in Baptism, why have you not done so? Is there something that you think is your master that you can not overcome? Read Romans 8:35-37 again. You have the ability within yourself, through Jesus, to become master of the circumstances of your life. If you have chosen to create and serve other gods, let me ask you, will they be able to save you from wrath in the day of judgment?
Sandra F. Cobble
(http://www.oldpaths.com)