Let Them Follow and Please the Lord for Themselves!
Let Them Follow and Please the Lord for Themselves!
Pastor Brian
Last Sunday afternoon I noted that singleness provides a unique advantage in pleasing the Lord. I quoted 1 Cor. 7:32-34.
One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord that she may be holy, both in body and spirit, but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
This morning I am at home sick, reading a pre-publication copy of
As I read and think about pleasing the Lord, it occurs to me that so often we do not want to extend grace and liberty to others who are doing their best to please the Lord. We want to lord it over others in how they please the Lord. In other words, we want them to please the Lord in ways that please us. A clear violation of Romans 14!
This is especially true when it comes to our children who are either entering adulthood or who are in adulthood. We raise our kids to follow Christ, to live a life that is pleasing to Him, and then we try to play the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding them. If we have raised them right, we should yield to the Lord’s leading in their lives and not try to control them under some misguided concept of parental authority. If we have raised them right, they will seek our counsel and even the counsel of other godly people. If they are seeking to please the Lord and serve Him, then by all means let them! Do more than that, rejoice! It is sheer grace, not the wisdom of your parenting that brought them to that point.