Analyze motivation !

05.05.2021

Wednesday 5 May 2021

Hebrews 11:31 - By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the rebels, because she had received the spies kindly.

Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, is on Hebrews 11 list of heroes of faith. She hid the Hebrew spies and lied to save their lives. Lie being a sin, how could this woman save her life, that of her family, be part of the lineage of the Lord Jesus and be “honored” for her faith ? Ananias and Sapphira also lied and they died on the spot (Acts 5: 1 to 11). How can the same sin have two such different "outcomes" ?

The only logical answer that comes to mind is that God does not assess a situation on the basis of the act but of the motivation. Even though the act of Rahab and the Ananias-Saphira couple was the same, the motivation was quite different. Rahab did things in faith separating himself from his people to join the people of God. Ananias and Sapphira wanted to deceive the Lord by pretending to be model Christians !

Don't say that I said the Lord is "tolerant" with lies. Sin remains sin and he found his punishment on the cross, an excruciating punishment. But, in His full knowledge, the Lord knows exactly why we are doing things. He knows our degree of knowledge, the deep feelings of our heart, the extent of our weakness... Which means that God is always absolutely just in his judgments.

Beloved Ones, we should take an example from our Lord and not position ourselves in a situation based simply on the actions of a person. What a person says or does does not always reveal what is going on in that person's heart but one thing is certain, what they do or say is not what they are ! Rahab was lying but was a woman of faith, Ananias and his wife gave money but were deceitful and dishonest. Paul himself said : “For I do not do the good that I want, and I do the bad that I do not want” (Romans 7:19). Paul “was” a child of God in the service of his Lord, what he did or did not do did not determine who he was.

Before throwing a stone, making a radical decision, condemning without mercy, let us take the time to consider grace : a door that always remains open !

Good reflection.

Source (Ezekiel 37 Ministry)