Look diligently

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;” (Hebrews 12:14-15)

Good day, my friend…

It is good to be with you again today. We need each other more and more each day. We need positive people in our lives to offset the tension all around us. I encourage you – if you don’t already have a church home – to please find a local body of believers with whom you can bond, assimilate, and become active. Not only will you be strengthened and encouraged, but the more you work to help others through service, the more you will be helped. As a side-note/example, years ago my mom was having trouble with an ear infection. She had been anointed and prayed for by our pastor for two or three weeks and had spent hours praying that God would heal her – all to no avail. One Sunday a man came forward for healing. While pastor was praying for him, several members of the congregation joined together around him, joining their faith to his. As mom gathered with them and prayed for that gentleman, suddenly her ear popped, fluid drained out of it, and she was healed before she returned to her seat. As we give to others, God returns to us.

Having said that, our scripture today challenges us to follow peace with all men, and holiness. Do you have any idea how hard that is to do? I have made many enemies over the years – including two ex-wives. I’m not proud of that, but simply stating facts. As a former federal law enforcement officer, I have made quite a few enemies from former perpetrators. I have met only a few since face-to-face. Sadly, a couple of them refused to reconcile that I was only doing my job, that it was nothing personal. In today’s environment, it is especially easy to make enemies out of total strangers! Political views, cultural views, racial views, even religious views – all of these have been weaponized by Satan to separate us, to keep us apart, to spread discontent.

The phrase that follows is the one that should grab our attention. “Without which no man shall see the Lord.” Meditate on that for a moment. Without peace with all men, without a holy attitude toward others, I will not see the Lord. Wow! Without loving others with the love of God, without extending forgiveness and mercy, without showing God’s grace to others, we lock ourselves out of His mercy, forgiveness, and grace. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, one line He taught them was, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” In another passage, Jesus teaches that if we don’t forgive others, neither will our Father in heaven forgive us. Ouch. Now, I can hold a grudge as well as the next man, but there is nobody on this earth I have anything against that is worth my eternal salvation. You may choose to interpret this another way (and that’s fine), but it is my duty to tell you what I believe the Bible clearly states. Just something to think about.

We are told to “look diligently.” This phrase means to actively, aggressively seek out our hearts to find anything that may cause us to be separated from the love and grace of God. I think of the parable of the lost coin, wherein the lady of the house lost one of her ten coins. She immediately set about cleaning her house, sweeping every corner, moving furniture, digging in the couch cushions, etc, until she found it. She was relentless in her search. Along that same area in scripture we are told of Jesus seeking out the lost sheep. One out of 100 was enough for Him to go search the wilderness areas, to go to the dark places, looking, listening, searching for that one lost sheep. As was the woman in her search, as Jesus is in His search, so must we be relentless, untiring, thorough in our soul-check, seeking out those “lost” areas that lie hidden. Though they be buried deep and even not even consciously in our minds, they carry great weight and bear influence in our dealings with each other.

Left buried, they begin to grow roots, to branch out, to grow until they are massive and overshadow every area of our lives. No longer are they simply an aggravation. The Bible says they become bitterness – unresolved anger, resentment, unforgiveness. Everywhere we look we see the one who wronged us. In every interaction with others, we hold back, awaiting their betrayal. The spring of our hearts becomes poisoned and the words of our mouths become hateful, damaging, condemning. First to us, then to others.

That’s why the next line in our verse tells us, “…many be defiled.” My friend, the challenge to you and me today is to clean out the closets of our minds, to sweep out our spiritual houses, to inspect the hidden corners of our hearts – to see if we have any unresolved issues in our lives. Is there anyone in your past (or present) that, when you hear their name, makes your blood boil? Have you forgiven your exes, those friends who betrayed you or turned against you? Have you turned it over to the Lord (maybe several times) and let Him handle it? If not, please do so today. Do it right now while it’s fresh in your mind. That way if we never get to meet here in this life, I will get to meet you in person in heaven. Allow the love of God to flow through you and in you, that others will be refreshed. And you as well.

Be blessed.