Revolutionary Integrity

Day 9

Revolutionary Integrity

 

In the beginning, God created the world. He brought everything into existence simply by His word.

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.’ Genesis 1:1-3

Where other ancient creation stories commonly had the world come about as the result of a great cosmic battle, in the story of Genesis, the story of our genesis, God’s simple spoken word brings everything into being.

And then with the same breath that He spoke those words and worlds into being, God then made a covenant promise to the world He created (Genesis 9). He bound Himself to His creation with a promise. And then He made a covenant with a family (Genesis 12), and then a promise to a people, Israel (Exodus 24). And though they constantly wavered in their commitment to Him, God constantly, consistently remained faithful. Faithful to them and faithful to His promises to them.

Our God is a God who makes promises and keeps them. And when He makes promises to His people, He hangs it on nothing but His word. His word is solid and trustworthy and true. It creates the realities it speaks into being. Our Father’s word is the path He walks. And He calls us His children.

 

‘For the word of the Lord is right and true;

    he is faithful in all he does.

The Lord loves righteousness and justice;

    the earth is full of his unfailing love.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

    their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;

    he puts the deep into storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

    let all the people of the world revere him.

For he spoke, and it came to be;

    he commanded, and it stood firm.’

Psalm 33:4-9

 

We were created for trusting authentic relationships connected with threads of truth, trust and intimacy with each other and with God. In the beginning we knew where we stood and who we were as children of our heavenly Father.

But that all changed. Every lie spoken into this world, from the first hissing lie in the garden to every white lie up until now, every promise broken and every oath unfulfilled, have been eroding the foundation of trust that healthy human life stands on.

This age we now live in has been called the ‘post truth’ era… a time in human history when fake news sits alongside the ‘facts’ and it’s difficult to tell the two apart.

In this world whirling with words spoken by broken human beings who constantly ‘spin’ reality in expedient directions and twist truth to make a point, and break promises without a thought, and manipulate emotions to a desired ends, is it any wonder that we find it hard to trust? Is it any wonder that we’re stumbling around in the dark?

So when God incarnate, whose first recorded words were ‘Let there be light’, sits down on this mountainside and says to His followers… ‘You are the light of the world.’ (Matthew 5:14) He means it.

Every luminescent word…

‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’ Matthew 5:14-16

But how are we to be a light on a stand? How do we shine like a city on a Hill? How do we let our light shine before others?

We shine by standing out, light against the dark. We light the world by being in it, but being different to it.

‘Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not break your oath, but fulfil to the Lord the oaths you have made.” But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply “Yes,” or “No”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.’

Matthew 5:33-37

We live a life of radical integrity.

We keep our word, in a world that doesn’t. 

Like our Heavenly Father keeps His.

The Hebrew word for truth is Emet. It means firmness, faithfulness, stability and trustworthiness. Something firmly set in place, reliable, dependable and steadfast. And the verb of truth in Hebrew (He’emin) is trust. Because that is what truth produces. Truth and trust go together. One creates the other, the second is a product of the first.

God wants to restore the foundation of trust in the human community and He is calling us, His people to live in His image within us by letting our “Yes” be yes! and our “No” be No. He calls us to let our word be the path we walk, to make promises and keep them and let those promises hang on nothing but our given word. His word created all life. Ours must not undermine it.

Jesus is calling God’s children to keep their word by living according to His. He calls us not to prop up our promises with swearing by external objects, but to do the work internally so truth forms the very basis of our character. To walk in such a way that our lives of integrity and the trustworthiness of our actions  shine like stars against a dark sky. Let there be light!

In the beginning, God created the world. And He brought everything into existence simply by His word.

And now He invites us to partner with Him in the re-creation of His world, restoring everything in existence… Living His words by the keeping of ours.

 

More About God’s Faithfulness and Trustworthiness 

 

 

Journaling the Journey 

How does this passage speak to you?

What does radical and authentic integrity look like? Do you currently look like this?

Name the areas in your life that you sense Jesus is calling you to have more integrity in. What action does this require of you?

 

Today’s Mountainside Photograph is taken on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, UK.