Sincerity

Here is a devotional that I ran across which compliments my message in last night's service from Zechariah 7... Hope it blesses!

“Be sincere... until the day of Christ.”– Philippians 1:10 (NAS)

The word sincere comes from a Latin word meaning “without wax”. In the original Greek it means “sun-tested”. In Bible times merchants sold very fine porcelain that was greatly valued and therefore expensive. Sometimes when it was fired in the kiln tiny cracks would appear. Dishonest merchants would smear pearly-white wax over these cracks, which would pass for unblemished porcelain – unless it was held up to the light of the sun. Honest merchants marked their wares sine cera – “without wax”. That’s a picture of genuine sincerity. No sham, no hypocrisy, no hidden cracks to be covered over.

You say, “How can I live this way?” By keeping your eyes on Christ, not Christians! Paul writes, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Eph 4:1 NIV). When Paul wrote this he was under house arrest in Rome, yet he didn’t regard himself as a prisoner of the Romans. No, he was a prisoner of Jesus, a voluntary slave, totally in subjection to the Lord. There’s a metaphorical meaning to this word “prisoner”. It can mean “binding as with a spell”. Paul was literally captivated by Jesus Christ! He thought and talked about nothing else. He got up every morning determined to please Him. Some days he didn’t do too well. We all have those days. But the next morning he was up and at it again, more determined and more committed than ever.

Paul’s sincerity wasn’t based on keeping certain religious rules or trying to look good. It was based on a deep love relationship with Christ: “Whatever we do, it is... because Christ’s love controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14 TLB).

from The Word for Today, February 5, 2008; www.thewordfortoday.com.au