STUDY IN GALATIANS of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass" (Matthew 21:5). (Yet, reading on, we see that some of His ac tions on that particular occasion were not too weak!) He had a bold stand against sin which ultimately led Him to go before Pilate suffer ing the indignities of ridicule, per secution and finally crucifixion. He was obedient to the Father, for His desire was, "Not My will, but Thine be done." In Acts 7 we read about Stephen whose faith cost him martyrdom. Yet his dying breath was for the forgiveness of his murderers (Acts 7:60). He too, was submissive to God. He did not assert his own will. Perhaps you recall Acts 26 where Paul stands before Agrippa and testifies of how he had met the Lord on the road to Damascus. He could avow, "I was not disobe dient unto the heavenly vision" (vs. 19). Here he was before a mighty ruler telling simply of his commitment to Christ. Despite the peril and danger his meekness led him to the place where he could shine in confidence for the Saviour. SELF-CO N TRO L We are urged in many different ways and instances that if we would survive in this "pressurized" soci ety we should simply relax and do whatever seems to bring us the most pleasure. Though this sounds tempting, it could quickly lead to even greater problems. Such a phi losophy cannot be accepted on face value. It is a royal privilege, through salvation, to be free from God's
Meekness has nothing to do with weakness from the standpoint of any inability to act boldly for God. All our God-given strength, power and effectiveness ultimately must be demonstrated or we are meek in this Biblical sense. From the Reformation we can recall Martin Luther and few would call him meek. Yet in April of 1521 he was asked to report for a special trial held at Worms. Here he was told to turn his back upon his com mitment to live a life of faith. After careful and prayerful thought, he refused to do so. He had come to the conclusion that his faith in the Lord was essential and all that was absolutely essential before God. He is reported to have confirmed his belief by saying, "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." Luther was certainly sub missive to what he believed God had called him to do. Here Luther demonstrated both meekness and boldness. Meekness, I again submit, is not weakness. Rather, it characterizes a person's life when he has given his all to Jesus Christ. condemnation. We are not under an obligation to prove to God how good we are. We conduct our lives in a manner pleasing to Him be cause of our love for the Saviour, and this calls for discipline. Free dom and discipline are combined in the Christian life. Galatians 5 majestically begins, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke
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