Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3, 4
Mercy: kindness (especially as extended to the lowly, needy and miserable)
Truth: faithfulness, reliableness
Forsake: leave, abandon
Bind: conspire, join together
tablet of your heart: tablet of the memory
Find: attain to thing sought
Favor: acceptance
High esteem: insight, understanding
Sight: in the view, opinion of
God: Yahweh is God in truth
Man: mankind
Forget. Abandon. Leave. Forsake. We all forget things. Many of us have gone to the grocery store for a particular item, and leave with a grocery cart full of stuff, only to get home and realize that we forgot that one item we wanted.
How do we NOT forget, we write it down. Shopping lists, right?
God knows that we will forget His mercy and truth, therefore He tells us... bind it, conspire then around your neck, like a necklace, write them on your memory. Keep them handy at ALL times.
Why to we need to keep mercy and truth handy? So that our lives would be first and foremost acceptable to God, and then fellow man can see God through us.
Each morning when we get dressed, we need to make sure we bind, put on mercy and truth. We need to make sure that we have written God's truth and mercy upon our hearts so that they are in plain view of everyone who sees us.
What do people see when they look at me? Do they see God's mercy and truth? Or do they see a person who is self-centered, hateful, prideful...... the list continues.
Even more importantly, than what do people see, what does God see? He not only sees my actions, but also the motive behind the actions. Am I living out His mercy and truth? Am I allowing His mercy and truth permeate my heart so that my motives and actions are in accordance with His will?
In sight, in plain view—God and people will see. The question is WHAT are they seeing? Only when my heart is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG), will I want to know God's mercy and truth and display them for everyone to see. Do not abandon mercy and truth — for your life is in plain view!
No comments:
Post a Comment