"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." ~ Deuteronomy14:2

Monday, November 19, 2012

Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: November 19

“Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” ~ Acts 13:46

Here is an interesting “many-colored stone” which looked so much like its historical surroundings in the book of Acts, that I [Eugenia Price, the author] passed it by as having practically nothing to do with me. And then I caught a new flash of color on it near the end of the verse: “… but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life …”

In one sense there is humor here.

Most persons who reject Christ, do it in an arrogant manner. For some reason they manage to feel superior about the whole thing. It is “child’s stuff” or “old woman’s stuff” or fantastic or not logical. It has no “verifiable data.” No scientific proof, etc. etc. Whatever the reason given for rejecting Him, it is usually for some felt sense of personal esteem. So it was with the Jews in Paul’s day. They were “sons of Abraham.” They knew God’s plan and it had nothing whatever to do with this crucified carpenter Paul talked about!

But here God’s Word strikes to the heart of such rejection, in a surprising way. God says they judge themselves unworthy of everlasting life. Actually they prove themselves unworthy. Unworthy because unable to receive a gift. There is always a moment of humility involved when something is truly received. We may “take” a gift, or “grab” it, but if we receive it, there is always that moment when we really mean that we “just don’t know what to say.”

“… before honor is humility.”

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