One Thing Right
Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
I got stopped the other day. An officer who is charged with making sure everything is ‘right’ on our neighborhood roads observed something out of order with my vehicle. I had failed to notice the outdated registration sticker on the window, and, not having received a renewal notice, never took care of the yearly requirement. As I slowly moved to the side of the road and to a stop, though, I found out that my officer had become very wary of other possible discrepancies in my character. As I leaned to one side to remove my wallet from the back pocket of my jeans, I was told with a loud voice to stop moving around in my vehicle. The young man then approached my window very cautiously while his partner snuck up on the right side peering suspiciously through the windows. I was told to keep my hands in view and a screw driver that I had left on the dash was removed to insure the officer’s protection until my identification could be verified. I had apparently quickly become a person of very shady character and unworthiness to pass this way. One detail out of order had opened a whole door to other possible disqualifications- if I’d only taken care of that sticker. I could have actually been all those other things they had become suspicious of, but they would have never been given the opportunity to discover it if I’d had that one thing in order.
While there is definitely a high level of ‘rightness’ that is required with vehicles and how they’re driven on our streets, there is an infinitely greater amount of righteousness that is necessary to live and move in the kingdom of our God. He requires that everything be just so according to His specifications so He may rightly bless and protect. It is really impossible to fulfill everything that would qualify us for passage, but unlike the officer in my case looking for one thing out of order, God is looking for one thing to be in order- our belief. There will most certainly be a whole slew of things in me that would otherwise keep me from passing through to His presence, but by simply observing and embracing with belief a simple promise He’s made all those other shortcomings are made to be right before Him. By simply believing, according to I Peter 2:24, that Jesus took all our sins with Him to the cross so that we could have the free gift of His righteousness, we are set free from the penalties and restrictions that should restrict and condemn us. For some this promise might be comparable in its magnitude to the promise of Abraham’s seed. Could this actually be, that all those things that should surely disqualify us from His presence are actually forgiven and made to be right in Christ? This is, in fact, true, and when it is really believed, a whole new way of living is made possible as all those other ways of living are actually put to death with Christ.
It sure felt good to get my registration in order. I can drive confidently once more, without the worry of coming under the scrutiny of my ‘friendly’ local COPS-influenced courtesy officer. How much greater, though, is this incredible sense of peace and security that I’ve found in letting all those things that I know are completely exposed before God in their unrighteousness, be totally made right in Christ. I can boldly come before the throne of grace, not because of what I’ve done right, but because of the righteousness of Christ that’s been freely given to me by His love. Really believing this opens up endless doors of opportunity for blessing, favor, and victory in the Kingdom, as belief in every other promise He’s made is also naturally embraced in Him. In that belief is found all that is needed to remove the punishment and replace it with fellowship and acceptance by the Father of righteousness Himself. Getting that one thing right changes everything.
Romans 5:17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
