One of my favorite characters in the Bible is Caleb. He was a man of great faith and was not afraid to stand for what was right and true, even if it meant going against popular opinion. When the twelve spies came back from checking out the promised land, it was only Caleb and Joshua who gave the positive report and the assessment that the size of the opposition was not important as long as God was with them.
One phrase is applied at least six times to Caleb in the Bible. It is said of him that he "followed the Lord fully," literally "completed (or filled) after the Lord." He had one motive in life: to be completely committed to God and his purposes. For this one extreme characteristic God rewarded Caleb by letting him choose his inheritance in the land.
We read in (2 Chronicles 16:9) that God's eyes are surveying the whole earth so that he can find and support anyone whose heart is completely his. That is what he found when he looked for the king from whom would come the Savior. He found David, "a man after his own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14).
When Paul writes to slaves who have become believers, this is the main thing he exhorts them to do: they should serve their masters with all their heart. He does not tell them to rebel, to hold demonstrations against the injustices of the institution of slavery. If they have the opportunity to be released from slavery, he says in another place (1 Corinthians 7:21), they should take their freedom. But as long as they are slaves, they should apply themselves to be the best slaves they can be, with a whole and sincere heart.
How often I find it difficult to give a whole and sincere heart to things that are far less distasteful than slavery. But God is looking for the fully committed heart. And ultimately, whatever we are doing here on this earth, we should be doing it for him and not in a discontented manner as those who are only trying to please people.
- 10 NOVEMBER -