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Aug 04, 2023 18:30pm

Right With God

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Have you ever met one of “those people” who, when you say the sky is blue, they want to argue with you?

They believe they are always right. Their way is the only way. In their minds, they are justified in all they do and no one can tell them any different.

Even if they are wrong.

I know these people. Because, whether I want to admit it or not, there are times when it’s me.

Surely I’m not alone.

While it’s not something to be proud of, there is one group that certainly is this same way: the Pharisees.

“And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children.”
Luke 7:29-35

So, what on earth is this passage talking about? The Pharisees were faultfinding in John the Baptist and Jesus, but they were inconsistent. They believed their way was right because it suited them. When something came along that challenged their belief and their rituals, they were furious! They were constantly trying to prove their way was right and anyone who dared to go against it was of the devil.

Truth be told, they didn’t like that their hypocrisy was revealed.

Jesus called them out in His final statement to them, “But wisdom is justified of all her children”. This meant, those that are sons and daughters of God will be proven true. The Pharisees could put on a show here on earth, but the truth would be revealed. They would be judged.

Questions come to my mind this morning – Does my “wisdom” line up with God’s?

I want my life to be pleasing to the Lord and not just fulfilling my selfish desires. I don’t want to try to justify my actions or words, I want to be justified in Christ and what He has already done.

This morning, let’s lay aside our need for being right, for control, and for self-serving justification. We fall on our face before the Lord, allowing Him to search our hearts. Be willing to let Him direct you in His righteousness, His truth, so that we are unified in wisdom.

I don’t just want to be right. That’s the Pharisee way.

I want to be right with God. That’s the only perfect way, and it’s through Jesus Christ.