All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being. 1 Corinthians 10: 23, 24, NKJV.
Dear God, what a joy it is to come into Your presence and learn of You, and from You. We pray that You will speak to our hearts at this time. This we ask, in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The attitude: I can, but I will not – requires quite a bit of self control. I believe this attitude in Jesus, is what makes His sacrifice so awe-full. He could have decided not to die, but He did not – He submitted to the will of the Father (Mark 14: 36; John 18: 11), for you and me. He could have asked the Father for more than twelve legions of angels to come to His rescue, but He did not – He allowed them to arrest Him (Matthew 26: 53).
He could have saved Himself, but he did not – He chose to save us (Matthew 27: 42a). He could have come down from the cross, but He did not – He hung there and bore the shame of the cross (42b), to save us from eternal separation from the Father. He could have retained His status of equality with God, but He did not – He chose to take the form of a servant and share the lot of humanity (Philippians 2: 5-8; John 1: 14; Hebrews 4: 15).
In our Scripture for today, in his letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle encouraged the believers to allow the well-being of others, to influence all their decisions, by doing everything “to the glory of God” (31). I have found that to be a rather safe way of living, for the Christian. As human beings our natural tendency is to please me first; myself second; and I, third. Paul seems to be saying, I can, but I will not! The issue here, is not clean or unclean (we may look at the dynamics of this Scripture sometime in the future). It was about caring for each other, by living for God’s glory.
The best way to do this is by putting “God first, last, and best, in everything we do” (The Upward Look, p. 81); by not living to bring glory to self. Christ is our perfect example of how to live a selfless life. He gave of Himself, to the very end. He emptied Himself, so that we might be filled with everything necessary for our salvation. In the very announcement of His birth we find the purpose of His life, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2: 14). In bringing glory to the Father, He brought us peace and salvation!
Let us look to Him to live and learn!