March 31 – … Walking by Faith Means We Accept the Whole Christ and Mission
Romans 12
Moses clearly did not want to go to Egypt. In fact, two chapters of Exodus include Moses arguing with God, revealing his deep reservations. If Moses was compromising on circumcision with his wife or her family, he was also simultaneously not abiding by God’s wishes.
These tensions percolate in many households: to avoid conflict, the faithful often miscalculate and try to take the role of “peacemakers” by sacrificing the path they know is the Lord’s will.
When the path of God is clear, it needs to be taken.
It is one thing to have weak faith; it is another to have “2 faiths.” [Sounds like “two-faced!”]
The fact that only one of Moses’ sons was circumcised is an example of syncretism. Here were two Old Testament incompatible spiritual truths: God’s people were marked with the sign of circumcision. And only ½ of Moses’ sons had that mark. Would Moses also compromise with Pharaoh and take only ½ of His people out of Egypt?
St. John wrote the book of Revelation while banished on a remote prison island because of the Word of the Lord. He refused to dilute the Law or Gospel. Jesus would reveal to John in prison that He would spit out those who were “lukewarm.” (Rev. 3:15-16) Moses and his child were on the verge of being “spit out.”
After His incarnation, Jesus was fully God and fully man. God was all-in on the redemption plan! Ours is a faith grounded in creation and humanity. A real man had to die, while shedding blood, in order to redeem. (Heb. 9:22b).
To follow Christ, we live a life of loss and sacrifice, “… take up your cross and follow Me.”Yetthis life of sacrifice, like Easter, has a daily and eternal “newness.” Baptism is that new birth now. We can’t be “half baptized.” God calls us to be “living sacrifices” for Him. (Rom. 12:1) Not easy, but good!
Prayer: Lord, thank You for being all-in on redemption. You shed Your living blood for all of my sin.
Let me accept fully — by trust in Your word — a path I do not fully understand.
