FEBRUARY 3 - Righteousness

FEBRUARY 3 - Righ teous ness

 

If you love me, you will obey what I command. . . . He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. — JOHN 14:15, 24

 

He’s a righ teous man!” I once commented about a pastor friend. Immediately the group I was with gave a funny look. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?” one of them laughed. They assumed I meant he was stiff and rigid, legalistic, and not at all spiritual. In other words, self-righteous. Nothing could have been further from the truth. My pastor friend has a buoyant, happy love for the Lord Jesus; because of this, his goal in life is to pursue righteousness.

 

God expects evidence of the love we profess to have for him. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” To pursue his righteousness is to live rightly. It is to obey his commands. Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and mind . . . honor your father and your mother . . . look out for the interests of others . . . love your enemies . . . rejoice always . . . do not lie . . . don’t grumble or complain. If our lives reflect no significant difference from our old ways, we should seriously ask, “Do I really know Jesus?”

 

We call Chris tians “spiritual” or “committed,” but we rarely speak of believers as “righ teous.” We’ve become influenced by our culture, which hates true righ teous ness. Why such an aversion to the biblical word righ teous ness? John 3:19 – 20 explains, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” Seek first his kingdom and his righ teous ness — first means in order of priority. As you live right today, you will shine his light into the world’s darkness.

 

Lord of Righ teous ness, I take delight in obeying your commands. Today and always, I want to live differently than the world lives. May my life be an evidence of my faith.