No Person Alive Has—C-O-N-T-I-N-U-A-L-L-Y “Done Good”
Years ago, I was a student in college, and while there, I fell in love. No, not with my husband; we were already “in love” and married when I decided to return to college and pursue a degree of teaching. Thus, when I returned to the university, I was a married woman who felt compelled to return to my studies, to seek what I knew deep within me God was calling me to do. It was there, within the pursuit of my calling that I fell in love—with my instructor—the woman of purple.
Now, I know that description of my beloved professor sounds, well, just weird, but she was known as “the professor who loved purple,” and every day her students were given the chance to study under her direction: this beautiful lady, this professor of English, this instructor who continually spoke her famous statement whenever her students performed well. She would say: “You Done Good.”
- Fast forward thirty-two years.
- Yesterday I stood before my students as their English instructor.
- The conversation for the class: What constitutes “Good” (when writing & reading).
- Today, I found myself asking the same question: What constitutes “Good” (when considering a person’s righteousness).
The man who was granted more wisdom than any other man on the face of the earth wrote:
“Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.”
(Ecclesiastes 7: 20 NASB)
The man who was once known as the supreme leader of Hebrew Scripture, this man who was feared beyond all men because of the way he persecuted the early Christians, this man once called Saul: who heard the voice of God one day on the road to Damascus, who accepted Christ Jesus as his personal Savior, & who preached Christ first to the Gentiles living in Europe wrote:
“What then? Are we better than they? Not at all;
for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
as it is written,
THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
. . .
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; . . .”
(Romans 3: 9-12 & 23-24 NASB)
Courtnie Ramirez sings “Walls,” a most-wonderful melody we may need to pause and listen to on this day. May we listen and be reminded of what we construct around our lives, as we show the world what we “want” them to see, what we “hope” they believe about us, and what we “strive to hide” from their eyes.
MAY WE NOT be HYPOCRITES, as we STRIVE to be MORE LIKE JESUS!
Truly, “hypocrite” is such a harsh word that, truthfully, all people flee, but this morning, the words of Jesus Christ spoke directly to my heart.
Yes, the Messiah! the Redeemer! the Savior! & the Son of God—permeated directly to the core of my being.
I know you will understand God’s Truth—No Person Alive Has—
C-O-N-T-I-N-U-A-L-L-Y “Done Good” APART FROM CHRIST JESUS!
- May we not walk throughout life as the Pharisees did, wanting to be “seen” as good, when really God knows the truth about how we are—NOT GOOD APART FROM HIM!
- May we remember every day we awake—It’s just JESUS & me walking together!
- May we desire an outward life that reflects an inward change!
- May we be totally “TRANSFORMED” from the inside-out!
May we desire THAT!
Ben Fuller sings “If I Got Jesus”
reminding us EXACTLY WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN TO US!
So, in closing, may we see Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, the Redeemer as He spoke to His disciples, helping them see how—the part no one sees is more important than the part seen by the world—BECAUSE—what no one sees is who you really are in the eyes of God.
“Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,
saying:
“The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds;
for they say things and do not do them.
They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.
But they [the scribes and the Pharisees] do all their deeds to be noticed by men;
for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.
They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,
and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.
But do not be called Rabbi;
for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.
Do not call anyone on earth your father;
for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
Do not be called leaders;
for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.
But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled;
and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”
(Matthew 23: 1-12 NASB)