For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
When I was very young in the ministry, a preacher named Don Smith and I planted Platteville Baptist Church together in Platteville, CO. Pastor Smith was ten years my senior.
We had had a young man, I think 18 years old, visit our services. We followed up with a visit to his place the next week. He invited us in, offered us coffee (which we accepted), and led us into the kitchen. He took two cups from the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, rinsed them, and set them in front of the coffee pot. He then put some fresh grounds on top of the old grounds still in the pot, added water to the old coffee in the pot, set it to brewing, and excused himself to put on some clothes. (He had greeted us at the door in shorts and no shirt.) Pastor quickly claimed Mark 16:18[1] and prayed while he was out of the room. We “enjoyed” our coffee and visit when he returned.
I got home that night to regale my wife with the tale of our “daring deeds” that day, semi-mocking the young man. Anita reminded me that when she met me, I often wore embarrassingly short shorts and went without a shirt. She reminded me that I would add water to my old coffee and pour it back through the maker. And she said she never used a dish or cup in my home that she had not personally washed because I tended to take them out of the sink and simply “rinse and re-use.” Only three years earlier, I had been exactly like that young man I was now mocking. I had forgotten what manner of man I had been.
God knows that the natural man can look himself straight in the face, put on a clean act, and soon forget what manner of man he was.
It does us well to remember from whence we came and to be diligent in the Word of God so that we do not slip back.
[1] Mark 16:18 (KJV)
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
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