Accepting God's Test

The farewell of Samuel, the great servant of God, has a note of satisfaction. This, because he can exhibit before his people an impeccable life, without rebuke: "Here am I; testify against me before the Lord", he says confidently (1 Sam. 12:3). Then he confronts the people with his own righteousness, saying: "Witness ... if I have taken anyone's ox, if I have slandered anyone, if I have wronged anyone, or if I have taken a bribe from anyone to blind my eyes with him; and I will restore it to you". The people cannot but confirm it: "Thou hast never slandered us, nor wronged us, nor taken anything out of any man's hand".

Is this a vain self-righteousness, or is it the righteousness that God expects and even demands of his servants? It is, of course, not a vain self-righteousness, for Scripture testifies that the day will come when we will all be judged, no longer before men, but before God for what we did while in the body (2 Cor. 5:10). It will be a righteousness that comes from our works, after we have been saved by faith and have seen the futility of our efforts to please God. It will be a righteousness from faith, obtained in the spirit of Christ's resurrection.

Our concern should be, then, how to conclude our own race as well. When we look at Joshua and Paul we perceive in their farewell speeches the same satisfaction (Joshua 24 and Acts 20). Joshua speaks with the authority of a mission accomplished. Paul, for his part, places before the elders of Ephesus his entire career on the scales: "You know how I have conducted myself among you all the time since the first day I came into Asia... I testify to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all...".

How can one reach this goal? Undoubtedly, their faith enabled God to sustain and keep them. Their faith was great, and their consecration complete. Samuel could say: "I have walked before you from my youth until this day". And Paul says: "I have shunned nothing that was profitable, but have forsaken to preach unto you, and to teach you publicly and in every house".

However, there is something else. They must have been exercised in receiving God's examination and correction. To be sure, there were many occasions when they willingly submitted to His light in order to be reproved by it. In that noble exercise, they learned to judge themselves, not to trust in themselves, to ask God for grace and strength to live blamelessly.

Surely they recognized their littleness, and their frailty, and received timely help from above. It is by submitting ourselves to the light, judging ourselves, stripping ourselves of all sin and stain, and drawing upon the power of God's grace, that we advance along the path of perfection. May the Lord grant us the grace to live in this way, and to please him completely.

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