“I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.”
2 Corinthians 12:1-2 ESV
Quite often we fail to see the truth – the full truth – of something due to our inability to recognize what’s missing. The strangest thing might happen but we look right past it. For all the talk these days of “misinformation” and “gaslighting,” for example, we fail to remember that the Devil disguises himself as a literal angel of light. This is obviously metaphorical in the everyday sense. In other words, we’re living in a world of lies, half-truths, and obfuscation. The truth will set us free because it is Christ who is the truth.
Think of what Jesus said of Nathaniel:
“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.””
John 1:45-48 ESV
It was to this simple “miracle” of Jesus telling Nathaniel what he was just doing that inspired him to say:
“Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.””
John 1:49-51 ESV
This is the context of our lives. It’s the way we really ought to live. But instead of following in the footsteps and pattern of Nathaniel, we often get led astray. We aspire to be this hero or that…all according to worldly standards, rather than the Lord’s. Think about it: what Jesus said about Nathaniel – that he was a true Israelite, a true descendant of Jacob! Why? Because he was super talented? Because he was a great business leader or military man? Because he was a creative genius or a man of immense personal talent? Surely, Jesus met many others along His path to the cross that met those distinctions. He met the fabulously wealthy Nicodemus but ended up saying this:
“Jesus replied, “You are the [great and well-known] teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things [from Scripture]?”
John 3:10 AMP
How many leaders – especially those with a fledgling ministry like Jesus had – would have spent their time in awe of Nicodemus’ position, wealth, and authority? How many would have flattered him to curry favor and good will? But Jesus rebuked him and yet praised the lowly Nathaniel.
And there was a time when a wealthy official begged him to heal his son.
“As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die. Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?” The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.” Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.”
John 4:46-50 NLT
Was Jesus impressed with the official’s power and wealth? Did He treat the man differently because of his status? On the contrary! Our Lord is no shallow leader trying to impress men! He sees the heart and it’s the heart He’s after. And without fail it’s the pure heart without duplicity, ego, or agenda, that He praises.
To our point at hand, notice that Paul sees boasting as not merely a fool’s errand, but contrary to the life of the Christian. Pride is stubbornness before Him; pride consumes our thoughts with self, not God and, therefore, sees the world through a dark lens of selfish desire. Nathaniel’s simple faith is what Paul has here. He doesn’t see it as something important, or anything to brag about, that he was carried into “the third heaven” – literally, God’s throne. He saw and heard things of which he wasn’t allowed to speak but this was nothing to Paul compared to the unsurpassed knowledge that he was saved.
Oh, how we hurl ourselves into divers troubles because we care more for our ways than the Lord’s. Oh, how we toil for that food that never satisfies when the plain truth is right before us: to seek first the Lord and His Kingdom, not the worldly things we can’t hold anyway. To hear from the Lord, “good job, good and faithful servant…” or, “ah…a true Christian, in whom there’s no duplicity or guile…just genuine faith!” What a treasure to seek.
This is the “secret” to our lives indeed. It isn’t in any other thing. But it’s so painfully simple that we look right past it. What we seek will either destroy or save us in that if it’s anything of the world, we will perish, but if it’s Christ we are most blessed. Paul says that the whole idea of boasting is so very nonsensical exactly because who should boast of anything before Christ? Who has given a gift to the Lord that needs to be repaid from Heaven? What utter nonsense and yet we who would never say such a monstrous and illogical thing nevertheless live in a manner of that principle. Oh, that we would heed the call to love God in Christ Jesus and put away our petty ambitions.
Do we truly want our own paper-mache kingdom or Him? What are we truly living for and who do we love most of all – ourselves or our Savior?
He speaks to us even now in Scripture. He calls us from the barren wastelands of spiritual dead-ends.
Blessed are the poor in spirit (those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed (forgiven and refreshed by God’s grace) are those who mourn (over their sins and truly repent), for they will be comforted (when the burden of sin is lifted).
Blessed (inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure) are the gentle (the kind-hearted and self-controlled) for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed (joyful and nourished by God) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (those who seek right standing with God through faith in Christ), for they will be completely satisfied. Matthew 5:3-6
What we boast about tells us what we truly believe, deep down, is most important. Likewise, what angers and frustrates us is usually that which strikes at the stronghold of our pride and self-confidence. Paul’s lesson about boasting is clear: he was carried into heaven, not by his own power, but by the Lord’s, and it means nothing compared to the truth of the gospel. The greatest thing for any man or woman, boy or girl, no matter where they are or what they do, is to live in joyous and robust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, indeed, we should seek Him first in every way and in everything and He will then give us the “other things” He wants us to have.
What will He give you? I have no idea and neither do you. Yet. But we know that Heaven is our eternal home and He will get us there. That’s the part of living in faith. Let us submit to Him and He will then give us the desires that will build us up in His kingdom (Psalm 37:4). That’s the goal of life. From faith, for faith – those of us made righteous through faith live in it (Romans 1:17). In joys and sorrows; in triumphs and defeats; atop great peaks and in the darkness, most dreary wood. To be in Christ in life’s greatest goal and the one that puts all others in perspective. To lose this order is to literally lose our soul.
But wait, does this mean that living by faith means we can be sloppy in the day’s “real stuff?” By no means! On the contrary, living in faith means knowing Christ as both our Savior and our Lord. Like with everything else, it’s easy to miss the powerful blessing this is. The Lord isn’t only good (righteous and holy) and full of love toward us, but He’s absolutely and unequivocally sovereign too. This is to say that we live out our faith in our daily vocations precisely because that’s where He’s placed us (Ecclesiastes 3:1). No matter what, you are not experiencing a period of life in which the Lord is absent or has lost track of you. So much navel gazing and wasted time is avoided by accepting the great doctrine of the sovereignty of God.
So, in all, it’s simple, though not easy. If you’re a student, that’s your vocation right now. Be a great student in the Lord, submitting to your teachers faithfully and applying your mind to your studies to the glory of God (Ecclesiastes 9:10; Colossians 3:23-24). If you work for someone, no matter the job, do it heartily as unto the Lord (1 Timothy 6:1…though this directly mentions “bond servants” it’s quite applicable to employees in our modern day economy). If you own a business, or you work independently, remember that it’s the Lord that provides and we must be careful not to become puffed up with pride, nor to seek wealth first, but Him.
In all, idleness is a grave danger.
“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
1 Timothy 5:8 ESV
It isn’t faithfulness to be lazy, which is arrogance and lack of love in that we end up making others serve and provide for us.
“For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 ESV
So, we see that far from faithfulness leading to a life of a heavenly-minded do nothing, it rather makes us pursue excellence due to our gratitude to the Lord who saves us. This is the antidote to so many sins! It’s the blessing of faith that rescues us here and in the age to come. The blessing is that we know we are redeemed in every way a person can be saved and, therefore, we turn our every task into worship and loving obedience. We see His loving and sovereign hand in all things, knowing this great and deep truth in our heart:
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
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