Watchmen for the Children of God

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:22 am Post subject: Watchmen for the Children of God

So you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel: therefore you shall hear the word from my mouth, and shall tell it to them from me. When I say to the wicked: O wicked man, you shall surely die: if you do not speak to warn the wicked man from his way: that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at your hand. But if you tell the wicked man, that he may be converted from his ways, and he be not converted from his way: he shall die in his iniquity: but you have delivered your soul. (Ezekiel 33:7-9)

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another. For he that loves his neighbor, has fulfilled the law. For you shall not commit adultery: you shall not kill: you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness: you shall not covet: and if there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word, you shall love you neighbor as yourself. The love of our neighbor works no evil. Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)

But if your brother shall offend against you, go, and rebuke him between you and him alone. If he shall hear you, you shall gain you brother. And if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to you as the heathen and publican. Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.

Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven. For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:15-20)

Blessed are we if the Word of the Lord settles in our heart, but how can we believe in the Word if we but hear it and do not share it? God speaks to all His children, not so they will remain silent of the good news, but so they shall tell of it for the salvation of all. As the commandments of love fill our heart, so too does the responsibility to spread our understanding so that love will grow and evil will diminish.

It is not ours to coerce the behavior of our neighbor, but neither can we remain silent when others follow in the way of evil. It is not ours to judge, for our sin leaves us in fault; but, as we support each other to turn from sin, evil finds fewer hearts in which to flourish. In prayer, we should ask for the wisdom and understanding of the Word so that we might find ways for more of the world to live in love and peace; a way which is pleasing to the Lord.

If we were to watch a man who walked near a snake which was coiled and ready to strike, would we not warn him so that he might not take another step nearer to his doom? If we remained silent and the man became bit, could we claim we had no responsibility; after all, it was his choice to walk into what he did not see? The man may not take heed of our warning, and if we are ignored, the responsibility for what will come is now completely upon him; but, if he listens and walks clear of the danger, would we not take satisfaction in saving our brother?

And so it is with the commandments of love, it is not always what we do, but what we fail to do of which sin is made. The question we must ask of ourselves is what may come of my action or inaction? If we fail to give warning where harm might be avoided, then, our inaction becomes part of the harm which is to follow. It is easy to see where what we do may lead to harm, but we are challenged to see where our silence may result in worse. Many tragedies of the world are the result of good people remaining silent.

We are also told of the great harm which may be caused by the wagging tongue, the judgment of gossip, words spoken which are sharper than any arrow. In self-righteousness we speak, but do not see the destruction and pain which follows in its wake. How is it that such could be called love? And so it is that we must decide when we must speak and when we should remain silent. The means by which we are to chose correctly is found in the wisdom which can only be granted by God. In prayer, we should ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us so that we make choices of love and that what we do and what we withhold fulfills through us the will of God.

If we live in love, then, we do no harm to one another. If we follow the commandments of love, then, it will follow that we will not violate the law; for sin is not found in what is done in love, rather, it is found in what is done in harm, even unto ourselves.

This, then, becomes the test by which false prophets are revealed. Though scripture may flow off the tongue, if what follows is not love, then, scripture is being used to camouflage evil. We were given a new commandment by our Savior, a commandment to love one another as He loves us. How is it, then, that one can weave into that commandment divisions and calls to hate? Where hate is found on the tongue or in the actions of those who profess to explain the Word of God, we should not take heed, we should not follow such words for they are not the true words of our Lord.

When we hear the words of false prophets, we should pray for wisdom and understanding of what we should do. Our challenge is to reveal that which is deceiving and guide those who are purveyors of false words to understand the harm in what they preach so that they have the opportunity to see how they may be falling to the deceptions encouraged by the evil one. It is not ours to force the ways of others, but to lead in the example of the Word.

It is easy to stand in judgment of the faults of our neighbor and overlook our own. As we would desire to be treated for our faults, so should we seek to treat those about us. How is it we can lash out in anger when we are tarnished by others if we do not constrain our own tongues? It is not that we should conceal the faults of the tempted, but we should approach them in love so they may be reconciled with God so that we contain harm and all may live in peace.

If we perceive wrong, we must first ask ourselves, for what reason do we seek to reveal it? If it is vengeance or so that we may position ourselves in superiority, we have become part of the wrong and the spread of evil for love is not in our hearts. Should we vilify others without their chance of explanation, we become ourselves the doers of harm.

If we seek from our brothers and sisters in Christ the opportunity for them to understand what was done to hurt and to reconcile and repent, then, we become the gentle guide to the light of the Word of God. We walk a fine line when evil is in our midst for we cannot turn a blind eye, but, we must be careful as to how we remove it lest we too shall fall into its trap. It is for this reason we were told we should not judge lest we be judged; yet, neither should we leave our neighbor to remain in the clutches of evil without extending a loving hand to the light.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier