October 10, 2022
Tabitha took a break and went home. She received a letter in the mail saying that she had an opportunity for a job in a town that was not local to her, and that if she made the trip for an interview, her lodging would be provided. The letter detailed things she needed to do to be prepared for the interview. When she arrived at her destination, she saw that she was lodging with another woman who seemed to be an attendant assigned to her. The owner of the company showed up as she was settling in. He said, “What are you planning to wear for the interview tomorrow?” She sported a business-attire feminine suit with pants. The man said, “That won’t do; you need a skirt.” Tabitha had the impression that without a skirt, she would not be even considered. She remembered that the letter had clearly outlined the requirement for a skirt, but she had set the letter aside and failed to review it. She panicked until she realized that there was actually a mall attached to her lodging. She and her attendant began to browse through the first department store. As she looked at the price tags, she realized she had hit it lucky! It was a discount store! $10 or less for clothes seemed too good to be true! Her attendant picked up a skirt from one of the racks. It was the only one left in that section and was a nice, classy business-looking skirt with a ruffle at the bottom, but it was very short. She looked at the size: medium. “Hmm, that’s probably too small, but it’s the only one left,” Tabitha mused. She usually wore large. Then she realized it had a very stretchy elastic waist. It fit, but she was uncomfortable with how short it was, far above the knee. She decided to keep browsing while wondering if her “attendant” was more of a test than a help. She finally found in an obscure corner a number of peasant-looking cotton skirts. She chose a cream-colored one so it would go with whatever top she selected. This wasn’t ideal; it was far from a business-style skirt, but it was the only modest one she could find.
Tabitha suddenly had a realization. This was another lesson in holiness. She had failed to take seriously the written instructions that had been sent to her to be ready for the job interview. She went to all the trouble to travel to the right location, pack a bag, and prepare her life for a significant change, but she couldn’t even take the time to double-check the one source of information she had to ensure she was ready by the standards of her prospective employer. This was like eternal life. God had sent a letter–the holy Scriptures–to His prospective employees, that is, those who would accept His terms and agree to be used by Him to do the work He had ordained on the earth. To be His employee was the highest honor and received great reward, but how many had so easily tossed aside the one tangible piece of information (the Bible) that the King had given to make sure they were prepared for His interview by His standards? What is the interview? It is the tribunal when God weighs the heart and determines whether or not one is true or fake. The truth is, we never know when that moment is–when God decides that our time for reckoning has come, and it may not be at the time of death. It may be sooner, when God has had enough of our flippant spurning of His grace and our failure to be zealous for the truth. At one word from His mouth, the grace that gave us any measure of desire for Him or earnestness for repentance or sorrow for sin can be removed, so that, like Pharaoh against Moses, we become utterly blind in our stubbornness against the truth (see Romans 1 or Hebrews 6).
2 Thess 2:9-12: “The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder, 10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. 11For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, 12in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.”
Tabitha thought of the parable Jesus gave of the Ten Virgins who were waiting on the Bridegroom to come, but five of them were foolish because they had not prepared by bringing with them extra oil to keep their lamps burning. When they went to try to buy more oil at the sound of the bridegroom’s near arrival, it was too late; they could not be properly prepared on time. The door was shut to them. This was Tabitha’s dilemma now. The clothes might be cheap, but what good is that if she didn’t have the right ones? There was no time now; it was evening, and the interview was the next morning. Oh to have been more alert when there was time! And yet, the very fact that a mall was so available to her seemed to be a final opportunity for grace. While her “attendant” had a smooth way of coming across friendly, she was actually a snare. Was this a hint at what many professing “Christians” are–snares to the truth among the sons of God? Are we on our guard? Tabitha realized the trap because she had enough training in the truth of Scripture to recognize holiness. She knew the short skirt wasn’t acceptable. She also knew that she had a long way to go in shaping up her wardrobe, even with the peasant skirt. But the letter didn’t say that a peasant skirt was unacceptable. Maybe she would have to face some shame compared to one more prepared, but she would still meet the basic requirements (1 Cor 3:12-15).
The primary qualification Jesus has given His prospective employees is genuine love. When He boiled down what Judgment Day would look like, He used love as His measuring stick:
Matt 25:31-46:
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’
37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Jesus knows a faker. The heart of a true son of God deeply desires to love and give, always looking for a way to do so, because that is God’s heart in the glory of His love–to give of Himself fully. The fakers can put on a show of love for God and even deceive themselves, as 2 Thess 2 (above) reminds us, that the working of the devil is accompanied with wonders and power and signs, just as the coming of Jesus was accompanied by wonders and power and signs in His apostles. They almost look alike! Did not Pharaoh’s magicians do much of the same wonders that Moses did before Pharaoh? What will tell apart the fake from the true?
Matt 7:15-23:
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
What is the fruit of which Jesus is speaking? “Lawlessness” versus “law keeping.” And what is the keeping of the law? Is it the obedience of outward rules? If that were so, Paul would not have said, “If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.
7But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. 8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith” (Phil 3:4-9).
And Jesus would not have said, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:20). You see, Jesus is aiming at the heart. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:27-28). But who can change the lustful desires of the heart??
Now that is the right question. This question is what brings Paul to boast only in the righteousness of Christ that comes by faith. Only when one comes to a complete end of one’s own human efforts at righteousness, casts himself at the feet of Jesus, and cries, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner” will he find freedom. For it is God who changes the heart. “I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances” (Ezek 36:25-27). You see, God Himself changes the core of our being–our very desires. We are transformed from sons of the devil to sons of God! Then, what flows out of our hearts is what is righteous. We cannot help but fall over ourselves to give of the love that we have been given!
Let us conclude with a practical example of this: physical giving to supply the needs of the children of God where God has set a clear need before each of us.
James 2:15-17: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? 17So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.”
Notice in James that it is by faith that the action of love is dispensed. There are a billion continual needs in the world, but faith lays hold of that which God is setting before an individual personally, in his day-to-day life, and seeks to fulfill the assignment as a son of God–as the body part of Jesus Himself that is working out of Jesus’ own love. This is the privilege of being God’s “employee.” How badly do we want the job?
Test yourself. Do you want to love? Or are you finding practical and personal love toward those God puts before you burdensome, if it doesn’t help you in some way? People love for practical reasons that are ultimately selfish. They love because they think it will come back to them later (good Karma). They love because they have a warm, fuzzy feeling toward someone. They love because it’s their duty (such as to their family, children, wife or because it's what they “should” do as a Christian). They love because they know life is just plain easier and happier if people like them. They love because it makes them feel good inside. They love because they like the sense of power that the product of their loves gives them when they are exalted with praise. I’m sure there are plenty of other reasons why people love in the flesh. The question is, do you love by the Spirit of God? Do you love because you are overwhelmed with love for Jesus because of His love toward you, because of who He is in His awesome wonder, because you want to spread that love to others, and because you deeply care about what Jesus deeply cares about? If not, make sure you are properly dressed! Go back to the foot of the cross and plead with God for His garments of salvation!
Luke 10:27-29: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind’ and ‘Your neighbor as yourself.’”
28And He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”
29But desiring to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The devil likes to give you excuses, and he uses your own heart tendencies–the bait that you will bite. He will try to bind up those who are truly God’s children by bogging them down with seemingly wise counsel, using their old-man sin nature tendencies, and fogging up the Word that is the Light. God’s children must fight back and cut through all the red tape of the adulterated love of God!
Let’s get practical. A homeless man sits at the street corner; day after day you pass him. You hear the droning echoes of the voices of “wise” church people say, “Don’t empower him to be lazy,” “Don’t give him money so he can use it to hurt himself with drugs,” etc., etc. You pass him by for the umteenth time. But how badly do you really want to love? If you really want to love, will you not get down with him, get to know him, and seek to find the best way to truly help him? Perhaps knowing him, you will find out why he is homeless. You will be able to empower him so that he can finally get a job. Or you will disciple him so that the power of the gospel will free him from addictions. What did Peter and John do? (Acts 3:1-10) The one who doesn’t really want to love will just keep listening to the excuses and pass by the need staring him in the face. Look at the priest and the Levite who both passed by the broken man on the road (Luke 10:30-37). True sons of God will burn with desire to love and will eventually have to do something because God’s light will break through the darkness of lies. “If I say, ‘I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,’ His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail” (Jer 20:9). As God’s children, we can break through what is holding us back by combatting the devil’s nice-sounding excuses with truth in the proposed two ways:
-First, have we taken the matter personally to the Lord until a clear answer is given on the best way to respond to the need before us? This includes taking time in Scripture to see what God has to say about giving to the needy (https://www.openbible.info/topics/generosity), as well as not ignoring the prompting that is upon our heart, which is one means God uses to confirm His desires in us. Cast out thoughts of fear, which come from Satan, by replacing fear with facts, and asking God for clear answers to any questions of doubt. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). A true desire to know the truth, God will indeed reward with clarity.
-Secondly, are we awake to the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged? "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12). If we act in faith and obedience to the prompting of the Spirit of Jesus ("for without faith it is impossible to please God" - Heb 11:6), then we can have full assurance that God's own power is working in and through our obedience by faith to augment it's fruitfulness to the same degree as the power of God Himself. This is because He has chosen to use us as His vessels to do His work in the world, not because we have any merit in ourselves for boasting. This power works mightily to not only overcome physical needs but also to address the causes (spiritual powers of evil or heart refining that God sees is needed) behind those needs. So even if the Spirit prompts us to give money to someone who ends up scamming that money, the prayers we have offered with our gift of love will turn against them as heaping coals of judgment upon their heads. There is no love that returns void by the Spirit of Christ. It will shed light on their darkness unto their repentance, or it will judge unto their just damnation.
Matt 5:43-45: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor' and 'Hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
Let’s not be like Tabitha–unprepared for the Master’s assignments because we’re not wearing His garments of salvation.
*All Scripture is taken from the BSB (Berean Study Bible) unless otherwise noted.