Grace and Knowledge Against Lawlessness
Sarah Didier Jefferson, Guest Writer
TODAY’S TREASURE
Take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:17-18).
It was a day that started like many others, the morning rush to get the boys to school, the carpool line, and a list of errands to be accomplished. The post office was the first stop. I decided to take a shortcut through the quaint little city where I grew up. As I looked up just beyond the light at the intersection, there it stood. For most, this is just another new court building in this historic little town, but for me, it was a tower of pain.
This courthouse, though beautiful in design and new throughout, resurfaced pain I hadn’t felt in a while. My parent’s marriage of nearly 50 years ended by trial, both literally and figuratively. All too quickly, I remembered the truths uncovered, hurts detailed, and ultimately the great severing that took place within. With immense pain, I found myself saying, “Lord, how did this happen? Why did it have to happen like that? Wasn’t there any other way?” The questions I suppose many ask as they sit in the wake of their father’s sins, when one lays aside God’s best for his life, and chooses what feels right at the moment.
Often, I would look at my boys desperately, wanting to break the generational sins that plagued my family. Overwhelmed by what that would look like, I would pray, sometimes even plead, 1 Corinthians 16:13 over them, “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong.” Asking God, “what does it look like to not be carried away by lawless people? Not to lose my own stability? To grow in grace and knowledge?”
As God would have it, we were deep diving into Genesis during Bible study. The details of the story of Noah drew me in anew. Noah lived in the midst of wicked, sinful people — however, Noah found favor with the Lord (Gen 6:8). How? “…Noah walked with God.” (v9). How simple, yet profound. Surely, this is the only way to overcome the generational sins, selfish desires, and wickedness that is so pervasive today.
Are you walking with God? Are you feasting upon His word?
At the end of chapter 6, God warns Noah of the impending flood and demise of His creation. He also explains to Noah how to build an ark to save his family and two of every living creature. “And Noah did this. He did everything God had commanded him,” Genesis 6:22.
Would you say your life is marked by radical obedience to God’s word and specific direction for your life in the midst of lawlessness?
Here’s the thing, at some point, Noah had to make a decision to get about the Father’s business, obeying God’s word in order to save his family. You see, the dividing point between all people is their response to God and His word. If we are to ever live intentionally for Christ, to radically obey God’s word, to walk with Him, be careful to avoid the error of lawless people — we must get back to the foundations of our theology. We must make application to what we say we believe.
The children’s shorter catechism underscores so much in the first three questions:
- Who made you? God.
- What else did God make? God made all things.
- Why did God make all things? For His own glory.
Watchman Nee says in his book Sit. Walk. Stand, “God never asks us to do anything we can do. He asks us to live a life that we can never live and do work that we can never do. Yet, by His grace, we are living it and doing it. The life we live is the life Christ lived in the power of God, and the work we do is the work of Christ carried on through us by His Spirit, whom we obey. Self is the only obstruction to that life and to that work. May we each one pray from our hearts: ‘O Lord, deal with me!’ Finally, the end and object of all work to which God can commit Himself must be His glory. … There is no room for glory to man in the work of God.”
My parent's divorce rocked me to my core. It shattered everything I believed to be true, revealing idols I didn’t even know I had. Yet all along, God planned to use that pain in order to realign my thinking in my own life, my marriage, and ultimately my parenting. God so lovingly reminds us:
The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations (Psalm 33:11).
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Ann Voskamp writes, “That which tears open our souls, those holes that splatter our sight, may actually become the thin, open places to see through the mess of this place to see through to God.”
Would we dare to gaze into our pain long enough to see through to God? To trust that the purposes of His heart are good? Would we be willing to believe that those purposes will not only stand through our lifetime but also accomplish His purposes for the generations to come? And then, get about the Father’s business doing everything God commands. This is how we live a victorious life. This is how we break generational sins. This is how we live with God’s glory in mind for the third generation.
PRAYER
Jesus, we are living in sinful, lawless times. Would You empower us to be a people like Noah who walk with You, doing everything You have commanded us? And when we are tempted to be lazy with generational sins, O Lord God, deal with us! Help us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All of this for Your glory and our good. Let it begin with us, O God.
More free resources for help hope & healing:
Treasures of Encouragement, Women Helping Women
By Sharon W. Betters
Treasuresofencouragement.org Learn how God sends treasures of encouragement to help turn hearts toward Jesus and how the beauty, privilege, and power of biblical encouragement is a means to invite others to trust the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness in the mundane moments and especially in the broken places of life. Free supplemental resources.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sarah Didier Jefferson is married to Curtis Jefferson and the mother to Grey, Sanders, and Collins. Before she was a mom, Sarah worked in public relations in the sports industry. Since having her children, Sarah has written web content for a variety of companies and ministries. She is an Atlanta native, but calls Franklin, Tennessee home. Sarah is a member of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee. When she's not writing or blogging, Sarah enjoys running and hiking the trails of middle Tennessee and spending time with her busy family.
Readers can follow me on the following platforms: @sarahjeffersonwrites on Instagram and Facebook sarahjeffersonwrites.com
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Thursday, 25 May 2023.
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