“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
God honours honour being given within the body one to another as being the default setting we operate from.
There seems to be a louder voice of discord, of aggressive criticism arising than the sweet sound of worship in our body. It brings with it offence, hurt and rejection which has a foul aroma instead of sweet. We have become wise to criticism from unbelievers and the world and have assurance of being blessed when we stand firm and fast in this persecution. The enemy in this age is particularly taking advantage of the attack of offence.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
In Christ we are a new creation and are to be viewed as God would see us in the spirit. Accessed by His way of thinking we are honoured.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”
If we are feeling any lack of safety or sense of belonging we are experiencing an outcome of not knowing what or whom we can put our trust in any more. A feeling of disconnection and scattering.
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.”
Those who are vulnerable and our younger generation especially are under attack of feeling unsafe as this insidious attack of lack of honour in their culture takes hold.
Blame giving, criticism, fault accusing, lack of trust, dishonouring, pulling down As seeds sown reap a harvest of disappointment, dissatisfaction, fear and withdrawal.
We have the solution to sow the seeds on the earth of respect, wisdom, faith, building up, empowering, righteous role modelling, honouring, to reap a harvest of hope, security, well-being and corporate compassion.
Even Jesus was disempowered by dishonouring and there were no miracles as a result. God can’t or won’t work in a culture where we do not prefer one another or where we sow poison. Where people feel undermined they shut down, the Holy Spirit does not flow.
“And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.””
Some ways can be healed, some be given grace for another try but dishonouring must be cut out, separated from and removed.
It is sobering to ask God if we personally have been tolerant of unrighteousness and unknowingly part of the problem and not the solution.
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
We will all find occasions where we have not honoured God or mirrored Christ as we should have all the time.
The illustration shows our tongue needing to be honouring as it speaks out our heart that must reflect God and Christ in our midst to emanate light that pushes back the darkness.
Five Scriptures that come to mind:
“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:16-19 ESV
““Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Matthew 5:11 ESV
““Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.”Zechariah 13:7 ESV
“And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” Mark 6:4 ESV
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 ESV
The song Gratitude. Brandon Lake
Lessisgreater 