IN THE SIGHT OF GOD

Ecclesiastes 2:26a: For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight:

People see things in different ways. A study was once carried out in a classroom. Some students were asked to look at a cup half filled with water and say what they saw. Some of the students saw the cup as half full while others saw it as half empty. This goes to prove that we see things differently. Most of the times we use our own standards to measure other people or use our own yardsticks to measure others. From studying Ecclesiastes 2:26a, we come to the conclusion that there is a way God sees things and at times it could be different from the way man sees things. It is possible for a man to be good in the sight of men but bad in the sight of God. Isaiah 64:6 talks about our righteousness before we became born again as filthy rags before the Holy One of Israel. Before we met Christ, all the righteous acts men have inputted unto us before God are as filthy rags! God sees things quite different from the way we see things. In Luke 21:1-4 is a classical example of this. While the rich were putting bags of gifts into the treasury, a certain widow put in two mites. To the whole world she gave the least but to God she gave the most because the rich gave out of their abundance but the poor widow gave out her poverty, she gave all her livelihood. Another instance is in 1 Samuel 16:1-13. God told Prophet Samuel to go to the house of Jesse and He would show him who to anoint. When Eliab came, the man of God exclaimed “surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” the Lord simply told him not to look at appearance or physical stature because He has refused him. The Lord further told him, that man busies themselves with looking at the physical appearance but He –the Almighty considers the heart.

Do you know before God, an offering is not an offering until we have first reconciled with our brethren or anyone who has offended us or who we have offended before we give  – Matthew 5:23-24? A sacrifice to God is not really a sacrifice until it cost us? In 2 Samuel 24:18-25, David wanted to offer Sacrifice to the Most High God so he approached Araunah about his piece of land to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Araunah wanted the king to take the land for free to offer sacrifices but David who knew the meaning of sacrifices refused. He told Araunah , “No , but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing”. Do you know we have not really praise God until we dance with all our might? In 2 Samuel 6:14, when David wanted to dance, the bible records that He danced with all his might. In the sight of God, a man is not wise until He begins to evangelize and win souls. Proverbs 11:30 says He who wins soul is wise. We are not really a Christian until the whole world can look at us and not see our achievements, our wealth, our qualification or beautiful attire but Jesus. In Acts 11:26, the citizens of Antioch looked at the disciples, when all they could see in the way these men dressed and carried themselves was Jesus. They began to call them Christ-like i.e. Christian.

PRAYER POINT: Father,  help me to live my life in a way that is pleasing before You.