Devotional 83
Aug 18, 2014 1448
“Should a man like me run away? Or should a man like me go into temple to save his life?” (Nehemiah 6:11).
A false prophet had counselled Nehemiah to stop what he was doing and seek refuge in the temple because enemies were seeking to kill him. Most people would probably be glad of such advice. Not this man. God had given Nehemiah a job to do; hence the repeated phrase, “a man like me.” All of Jesus’ followers have a task to do as well. Though the world is hostile to them, they cannot hide in church. Church is not the place for “people like us”; not our workplace. Not until Martin Luther left the cloister did he enter upon his great work which God had for him to do. To use the temple or the institution as a means of avoiding responsibility for the community outside it is a misuse of God.
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