A Righteous Conversation

Today I had an interesting conversation with someone who came into my workplace. Unfortunately, work kept the conversation from going too deep (blast you, work!). He had a book with him about Judaism, so I asked him about it. As it turned out, he attends a "Christian" college in Kansas City (I say "Christian" because I have no idea what that means to him). He told me that he is reading the book because he not only finds Jewish culture interesting, but he is intrigued by their views of righteousness. 

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, how do you really know you're righteous?" He replied. "Lots of people say, 'Oh, I believe in Jesus!', but what then? I prayed for 15 minutes today, but I prayed for 30 minutes yesterday, so I must not be as righteous today as I was yesterday. I read my Bible for one hour today, but was that enough?"

I then went on to say to him that Jesus told us that what He really desires is a transformation of our hearts and minds. That the Pharisees had gotten stuck on their own righteousness and allowed their hearts to grow corrupt, and Jesus had called them out on it.

I really wish that we had had more time to talk. I would have told him what Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30). And Paul said, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). When we meditate on what Christ has done for us on the cross and allow His grace to overwhelm us, we can (as we learn about and grow closer to Him through His Word) see God and see ourselves clearly. We can see that through His death, we were freed from sin and its penalties. We are no longer slaves to sin! This means that we are no longer slaves to a righteousness we could never attain!

I'll say that again.

We are no longer slaves to a righteousness we could never attain.

Hallelujah! Romans 6 is an awesome passage for this. It actually says that, as Christians, we do become slaves to righteousness...not to obedience, but slaves to God leading to the fruit of sanctification, i.e. righteousness. What is really amazing about this is that it is not an outward show of goodness, but an inward transformation. God can mold us into "little Christs"--the real meaning of the word "Christian". And as we become more like His Son, we see more of our loving Father; as our hearts begin to desire what His desires, we see more of His purpose and plan; and as our lives reflect Him and our lives align with His will, we begin to see fruit in our lives and a joy that comes from true contentment in being and doing exactly what we were created for--glorifying God by being satisfied in Him. 

Wow.

Well, maybe I'll just print this out and put it in my pocket in case I ever run into this person again. :) Or, maybe I should just pray.

God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it.... He that testifies his idea of God's glory [does not] glorify God so much as he testifies also his approbation of it and his delight in it. --Jonathan Edwards