Good Monday morning! My walking battle with the mosquitoes is done for the day and it's time to get on with something new. Yesterday, we enjoyed a good lesson on the Creation. Once again though we are faced with the choice - the Earth as about 6,000 years old or the earth as 4.3 billion years old. It seems that at no point can you have both the Theory of Evolution and the Creation. I choose what the Bible says, and as Henry William Sydow pointed out to us yesterday, there is in fact scientific evidence to back that up. And you thought his names were 'Billy' and 'Bob'... shame on you!
What if your name wasn't as important as your reputation? Suppose you walked up to someone you didn't know and he called you a man of integrity? What if that someone was in fact the Messiah and he described you as a man of complete integrity? That would be quite the compliment. You might run out to have that quote printed on your business cards: Nathanael, 14 Market St., Bethsaida: "A Man of Complete Integrity," - Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah. You wouldn't need to put a job description or title on the cards; that quote from the Messiah would be quite enough to bring customers flocking to any store you wanted to open. Everyone wants to deal with a man or woman of complete integrity when doing their shopping or business.
Unfortunately, in this world we have little assurance of integrity in most cases. Jesus pointed out something valuable in Nathanael in today's Bible verse: Integrity.
As they approached, Jesus said, "Now here is a genuine son of Israel - a man of complete integrity." (John 1:47)
Depending upon what baggage you bring on the journey, you might assume that Jesus is saying something sarcastic, perhaps in response to what Nathanael had said about Nazareth. However, as the Holy Spirit has been my guide to the scriptures, I do not see anything that would cause me to take Jesus' statement for anything other than its face value. Nathanael had more than just a reputation among friends and relatives; he had the open acknowledgment of his integrity by none other than the Son of God! That is quite the ultimate stamp of approval.
Notice that Jesus also called Nathanael a genuine son of Israel. This statement tells me that not all of Nathanael's fellow citizen's could be described that way. When someone has to describe something as genuine, that means that there are fakes to be found as well. In products or in people, some can be found to be genuine and others to be false. The problem is: we don't have the vision of Jesus in our own strength; we can easily be fooled. Trust in God to give you the ability to spot the false pastors and prophets through His Holy Spirit. The Bible reminds us that as the end times approach in this world, we will see many false prophets who will set out to deceive as many as possible. For our own part: strive to be a man or woman of integrity. Hold your reputation for integrity as precious.
Have a wonderful new week in Christ!
Bucky
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