Psalm 85:13 Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

Righteousness, that is, right living, is inextricably connected with God and a good relationship with Him. The Japanese translates the second half of this verse as, “Righteousness takes the Lord’s footprints as a road.” That seems slightly incongruent with the first half, that says righteousness goes before the Lord, but the connection between the Lord and righteousness is inescapable. I recently heard a very thought-provoking message over the Internet that talked about the relationship of righteousness to salvation. We are saved by grace through faith, without question, (Ephesians 2:8-9) but someone who is saved is going to live righteously, with increasing consistency. (1 John 5:18) My grandfather called the lie that is currently referred to as “hyper grace” as “Into bliss and out of blister.” In other words, it’s the idea that if we say a few choice words we are given a ticket to heaven and nothing else matters. That position can indeed be “proof texted,” but it ignores the rest of the Bible. We cannot earn our salvation, but salvation calls for a level of commitment, of obedience to God, that is ignored or even denied by some. We are commanded to love God and love our neighbors, (Matthew 22:37-40) and Jesus made it perfectly clear that loving Him means obedience to Him. (John 14:21, 23) One of the attractions of heaven is that there, we will finally be able to obey God perfectly, but the desire and the intent should certainly be present from the moment of salvation. Life on this earth is training in letting go of everything that doesn’t conform to Christ and taking hold of everything we have been given in Christ. As C. S. Lewis said, we all have some wrong ideas as to what those two things involve, but if that is our heart’s desire, the Holy Spirit will lead us with perfect faithfulness.

My life is certainly evidence that this is a process, and not digital (either on or off). I declared my love for Jesus at a very young age, well before I was baptized, but I have walked in pride and self-love more than I like to think about. It is encouraging and comforting to see that I have grown, and continue to grow, in consistency in my obedience to Christ, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still slip up at times. I have no high horse from which to look down on anyone! I am to be an example to the believers, (1 Corinthians 11:1) certainly, but that doesn’t mean I’m a perfect one, and it gives me no license to be a dictator.

Father, thank You that You are growing me to the point that I can say with Paul that I would like everyone to be like me, with a few exceptions. (Acts 26:29) Thank You for all the reminders that I can have no pride in that. Help me so live that nothing will get in the way of others seeing Christ in and through me, drawing them to You for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!