Self-Made Men
October 23, 2005
Dear Friends,
Horace Greeley, the politician and founder of the New York Tribune, met a congressman one day who boasted that he was a self-made man. Mr. Greeley responded, “That, sir, relieves the Almighty of a great responsibility.â€
Are we self-made men?
A brother once told me that worry was “the illusion of control.†It sure looks like we have control of things, doesn’t it? If I work hard, do the right thing, push the right levers, everything works out OK….or does it? Every once in a while we get one of those wake-up calls that reminds us ever so subtly (or even not so subtly) that we aren’t in control of things as much as we thought we were.
Pride, coupled with ignorance, is a great contributor to this illusion of being self-made men. First, we think we are doing it ourselves with our immense talents (intelligence, wealth, strength, etc.), not realizing where we got them in the first place. The Apostle Paul reminded the proud Corinthians of the origin of their blessings. “What hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?†(1 Cor. 4:7) Second, we overestimate the value of these achievements – especially in the eyes of God. We place tremendous confidence in our silver and gold. God, who is “the possessor of heaven and earth†and all things in them is not overawed. We marvel that we put a man on the moon. The Creator of the moon and all of the starry host is not impressed. All of our impressive scholarship, discoveries and knowledge are but foolishness before Him.
We are told in the first chapter of Genesis that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.†(v.27) After the fall of man, this image was marred by sinful flesh. It took God Himself to fix our predicament and recreate us in His image. God sent His son to make a new creation of mankind in the image of God. It took a descendant of Adam encumbered with the flesh to subject himself so fully and completely that it could be said of him that he was “the image of the invisible God.†(Col. 1:15). It took a complete subjection of the flesh such that Jesus could tell his disciples “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.†(John 14:9)
There are self-made men in this world. They make themselves after the manner of this world. They reap the reward that this world has to offer – death. Solomon speaks of this reward when he says “Naked from his mother’s womb he came; as naked as he came will he depart; not one of his achievements can he take with him.†(Ecc. 5:15 NJB)
In Christ, there are no self-made men. It is only those who realize it is not in their power that can then recreate themselves in the image of God. They humbly know that they “hold this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God’s and not our own.†(2 Cor 4:7 NJB) Yet, they rejoice in the transforming process of the new creation which is changing them into the image of their Creator.
>And all of us, with our unveiled faces like mirrors reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the image that we reflect in brighter and brighter glory; this is the working of the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18 NJB)
We patiently wait for the day when both the self-made men and those recreated in God’s image will be revealed.
>In my estimation, all that we suffer in the present time is nothing in comparison with the glory which is destined to be disclosed for us, for the whole creation is waiting with eagerness for the children of God to be revealed. (Rom. 8:18-19 NJB)
Have a great week!
Comments»
No comments yet.