He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly – 2 Chr 25:2
Do you sometimes wonder what the
summary statement of your life might look like? I am sure most of us would like
to fall into the category of having done what was right in the eyes of the
Lord, but what might doing right wholeheartedly mean?
God never does anything
half-heartedly, the entire Bible testifies to this. In Zech 8 the Lord Almighty
says: “I am very jealous for Zion
However, God’s wholehearted
approach to us goes even further: in order to redeem his people he does what he
would never ask of anyone else: he sacrifices his only son, Jesus Christ, whose
blood seals a new covenant with us (Jer 31:31-34; Luke 22:20). Also, through
Jesus’ death on the cross our enemy, Satan, is defeated. In Rev 12 we read what
will happen next: he will be hurled to earth, where he will unleash a period of
final hostility towards the people of God (Rev 12:12), before he is finally
thrown in the lake of burning sulphur (Rev 20:10).
God is always interested in our
hearts, not our outside appearance (Hos 6:6). Doing something wholeheartedly
means willingly, not forced. In his letter to the Romans Paul writes that
simply observing the law doesn’t make anyone righteous in God’s sight, it only
makes us aware of sin (Ro 3:20). In contrast, there is a righteousness from God
which doesn’t come from obeying the law, but which “comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (v22).
Wholeheartedly obeying Christ’s teaching means we are set free from sin and
become willing servants (‘slaves’) to righteousness (Ro 6:17-18).
Peter further tells us what we have
to do, to receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pe1:3-11): “make
every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness knowledge; and to
knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness, love”. As we learnt in the
Freedom in Christ course: God’s goal for our life, which can never be blocked,
is for our character to become like Christ’s.
Heavenly Father, thank you that you
have predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of your Son (Ro 8:29). Help
us to wholeheartedly pursue your goal for our lives. Amen.
(friend of Christ Church