Grumblers Don't Make It

"Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain."  Philippians 2:14-16

There is so much that could be said about this passage, but in my journal I mediated on two things: one pastoral and one personal.

First the pastoral:  If I lead a ministry that is filled with grumblers, it is very likely that my ministry is in vain.  When Paul calls them to do all things without grumbling and questioning one of the reason he gives is that he would not be put to shame on the final day when the quality of his ministry is examined (I Corinthians 3:11-15).  Paul knows that if the churches he plants are full of grumblers it is very likely that they are just works of man with no enduring value.  I am so thankful that grumbling does not characterize the people in Kaleo, they are some of the easiest, most gracious people to lead.  I rejoice not just because this quality makes my life easier but because it is a sign that God is truly at work in their hearts.  Where the Spirit is at work transforming hearts by the Gospel grumbling and questioning diminish.

Secondly, the personal:  If my life is characterized by grumbling and questioning I need be deeply concerned and take immediate and aggressive measures to repent of it.  Simply put: Grumblers don't make it.  We see this in the story of the Israelites in the wilderness.  In I Corinthians 10:10, Paul warns us not to be like the Israelites who grumbled and were destroyed.  They did not make it to the Promised Land.  The unregenerate religious person's heart and words are characterized by grumbling (Hebrews 3:17-19).  When that characterizes my heart and words I had better immediately repent and plead with God to transform my heart by the Gospel.  I need to ask him to reveal the sin beneath the sin (Psalm 139:23-24).  Why am I grumbling?  What idol am I feeling deprived of (or fearing the loss of)?  Is it the idol of comfort/safety, pleasure, control, or power/influence?  I need to recognize, own, and repent of how I am valuing this idol more than what I have in Jesus (the Gospel).  That is what it comes down to, the grumbler is valuing some underlying idol more that the Gospel.  Finally, I need to see that there is One who never grumbled (Isaiah 53:7) and he is my righteousness before God!  How could I what anything more than Jesus?  He took the penalty for my grumbling without complaint.  How could I grumble along the way to receiving the fellowship of such a Savior?   

 

by Erick