No Need for a Defense
My wife and I were reading a devotion the other night out of Dennis Kinlaw's This Day with the Master. The title of the devotion was called "Freedom to be Different" and included comments on a text out of the book of Daniel. In the text we hear the response given by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego upon King Nebuchadnezzar's mandate to worship his idol. They proclaim,
"O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up." (Daniel 3:17-18 NRSV)
How amazing is it that the faith of these three men was not even contingent upon whether or not God would save them from the fiery furnace? These men had a faith in God that was built upon their understanding of his character and lived out through personal relationship. The revelation of God's character to these men produced a faith in the person of God that gave them the freedom to accept whatever event God allowed to come their way. How often do Christians today embrace or call upon God but only if it suits their immediate personal needs? We could learn a message from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We could learn to have a faith that is oriented around the person of God and not around our circumstances or perceived needs. We could have a faith that is oblivious to where it may lead us, or to what harm it may present us. We could believe in God in the midst of a hostile and corrupt generation with boldness and determination - a belief that is its own defense.
"If God is for us, who is against us?" (Romans 8:31b NRSV) These are words that flow naturally from the mouths of those who know that God did not even spare His own Son in His endeavor to be known and loved by man. It is because of who God is that we can be in this world for the sake of others.
"O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up." (Daniel 3:17-18 NRSV)
How amazing is it that the faith of these three men was not even contingent upon whether or not God would save them from the fiery furnace? These men had a faith in God that was built upon their understanding of his character and lived out through personal relationship. The revelation of God's character to these men produced a faith in the person of God that gave them the freedom to accept whatever event God allowed to come their way. How often do Christians today embrace or call upon God but only if it suits their immediate personal needs? We could learn a message from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We could learn to have a faith that is oriented around the person of God and not around our circumstances or perceived needs. We could have a faith that is oblivious to where it may lead us, or to what harm it may present us. We could believe in God in the midst of a hostile and corrupt generation with boldness and determination - a belief that is its own defense.
"If God is for us, who is against us?" (Romans 8:31b NRSV) These are words that flow naturally from the mouths of those who know that God did not even spare His own Son in His endeavor to be known and loved by man. It is because of who God is that we can be in this world for the sake of others.
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