Are You Out?
It’s official - winter is on the way - actually got a jumper on today - so I trust that this season of winter will be one where you will enjoy good health, and of course the warmth of Christ’s love.
Have you ever wondered what an unenviable job umpires have? We've all heard the saying that you can please some of the people most of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time? Well that certainly applies to umpires. Hardly a weekend goes by when the media does not highlight criticism of an umpire - especially when it’s an out-of-town match, and the umpire is from the state of the opposing team. I must digress here and relate a time when my wife was asked to umpire a girl’s soccer match at her school. Can you believe that? My wife was asked to umpire a soccer match!! Well, yes you are right, she didn't have a clue about how to umpire a soccer match, so she simply said to the girls - "Tell me when you do something wrong, and then I’ll blow the whistle"!!!
In cricket, the poor umpires often make calls that the fans don’t like, but I'd hate to think of a game without some objective official deciding whether the batsman is home safe or actually run out, when running between wickets. Yes at such times, everyone holds their breath as the umpire signals his verdict "Safe!" or "Out!"
The umpire decides what's safe or out - a decision which should not be left to the players themselves. As far as the fans are concerned, it is a very important decision. Now of course, cricket is just a game. It's in the decisions we make in our everyday lives that we could use a good umpire - one who could make a call and so inform us whether what we're considering - is safe for us or whether we’ll be called "out". Now of course I am talking about seeing things from God's perspective - the only perspective that is never wrong and is always best.
If you say you love the Lord, you will want to do what is right - you will know the importance of finding out what the "will of God" is in the decisions you make. Now, that's easier said than done. Not because God is trying to hide His plan from us, but because we have a hard time discerning what's His will and what's our will. While we know His plans are much better than ours, there are times (many times?) when we are not interested in doing the Lord’s will, but simply in doing what we want - - to follow the world’s ways, instead of God’s ways. And if by chance we hear the faint call by the Lord: "You are out!- what you are doing is against my Word", we just ignore it.
But God has provided his umpire to guide us, to help us know His will, to make the call about whether we are "safe" or "out". And that is the very Word of God. In Colossians 3:15-16 we read this: "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." That word "rule" carries an interesting connotation in the original Greek language of the New Testament. It suggests someone officiating at an athletic contest. "Let the peace of Christ 'be the umpire' in your hearts." Or, let Christ's peace decide whether something is "safe" for you or "out" for you.
When you're struggling with a decision, let the umpire make the decision for you. Through prayer and the knowledge of God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will guide you into His will. One helpful guideline in getting it right is this: in the decision you have made, do you have the peace of Christ? In other words, when you have prayed fervently about that decision, are you at peace?
However we need to stress again, that the "peace of Christ" is tied directly to having the "word of Christ" permeating your life. We must know the Word of God, if the umpire is to make the right call in our life - safe or out - "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly!" The Psalmist writes: "O how I love your law (God’s Word)! It is my meditation all the day" (Ps 119:97). The psalmist doesn't just glance at the Word of God now and then. He meditates, dwells, "chews" on it all day! Those who don't spend regular time in the Word of God are unlikely to recognize the will of God. As are those who come seeking God's direction, full of their own will and intentions. Many have missed God's best because they tried to manipulate God or His Word so that their will would be God's will. Well it doesn't work that way.
God promised that He would "...instruct you and teach you in the way you should go" (Psalm 32:8). And if you believe Him for the answers He promised in His Word, and are led by the Holy Spirit’s guidance, you will experience the peace of Christ over the directions He wants you to take. Remember to allow God's infallible umpire to let you know if it's "safe" or "out". Then you will know true...grace and peace.....