"Fellowship With ..."
July 30, 2011
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
In my files I have a story that is supposedly true. Sadly, I cannot give location or date.
It's the story of a policeman who placed himself in a perfect spot to encourage motorists to obey the rules of the road. The average motorist would say the officer had set up a "speed trap." Surprisingly, after an hour had passed, his radar gun hadn't picked up a single speeder. (Depending on your point of view, this is a good thing or a bad thing.)
An investigative spirit showed the policeman why. About a mile up the road, a ten-year-old boy was standing by the side of the road. The boy was holding up a hand-painted sign that read SPEED TRAP AHEAD. At the next traffic light there was another boy who was also holding up a sign. His sign read TIPS FOR POINTING OUT THE SPEED TRAP. That lad had a small bucket, a bucket that contained some change and a lot of dollar bills.
Now the question I put before you is this: were those boys in fellowship with the forces of good or the forces of evil?
On the one hand, they were encouraging motorists to drive within the speed limit, but on the other hand, their work was helping lawbreakers avoid a well-deserved ticket.
Now I've asked around and the opinions on the question are divided. Thankfully, most of the time there is no such division concerning our actions. Most of the things we do and say are pretty obviously good or evil. Yes, we can try to justify ourselves when we do wrong, but that fact alone already shows our doubt.
The apostle John was pretty clear about the lifestyles of Christians when he said we should walk in the light and have fellowship with one another.
When we are in harmony with the wishes of the Savior who gave His life for our eternal salvation, when the Holy Spirit moves us from the realm of darkness to the kingdom of light, we leave behind all that which Satan and the world desire of us.
When that happens you can be sure nobody will ask, "Are they on the side of good or evil." People will know: this person is a servant of the Christ.
July 30, 2011
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7In my files I have a story that is supposedly true. Sadly, I cannot give location or date.
It's the story of a policeman who placed himself in a perfect spot to encourage motorists to obey the rules of the road. The average motorist would say the officer had set up a "speed trap." Surprisingly, after an hour had passed, his radar gun hadn't picked up a single speeder. (Depending on your point of view, this is a good thing or a bad thing.)
An investigative spirit showed the policeman why. About a mile up the road, a ten-year-old boy was standing by the side of the road. The boy was holding up a hand-painted sign that read SPEED TRAP AHEAD. At the next traffic light there was another boy who was also holding up a sign. His sign read TIPS FOR POINTING OUT THE SPEED TRAP. That lad had a small bucket, a bucket that contained some change and a lot of dollar bills.
Now the question I put before you is this: were those boys in fellowship with the forces of good or the forces of evil?
On the one hand, they were encouraging motorists to drive within the speed limit, but on the other hand, their work was helping lawbreakers avoid a well-deserved ticket.
Now I've asked around and the opinions on the question are divided. Thankfully, most of the time there is no such division concerning our actions. Most of the things we do and say are pretty obviously good or evil. Yes, we can try to justify ourselves when we do wrong, but that fact alone already shows our doubt.
The apostle John was pretty clear about the lifestyles of Christians when he said we should walk in the light and have fellowship with one another.
When we are in harmony with the wishes of the Savior who gave His life for our eternal salvation, when the Holy Spirit moves us from the realm of darkness to the kingdom of light, we leave behind all that which Satan and the world desire of us.
When that happens you can be sure nobody will ask, "Are they on the side of good or evil." People will know: this person is a servant of the Christ.
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