|
A Heart Without Guile
by Francis Frangipane
The
promised land for a Christian is a life
lived in the fullness of God. Just as there
was an exodus of the Jews from Egypt, so
there is an exodus for our human souls,
where we leave our bondage to self-deception
and truly enter the reality of a Christlike
life. In our exodus, as in Israel's, self-deception
must be exposed and sin must die in the
wilderness. Only then are we truly qualified
to possess our inheritance. During this
process, we will wrestle with God. In truth,
only those whom God transforms can possess
what God has promised.
Every
follower of Christ needs to conquer self-deception.
Self-deception protects all our other sins
from repentance. Indeed, how can we "ascend
into the hill of the Lord" if we have
"lifted up [our] soul to falsehood"
or "sworn deceitfully" (Ps. 24:3-4)?
One
might argue, "But I know the truth."
Knowing
doctrinal truth of what Christ accomplished
is absolutely essential, but for us to experience
personal transformation, we must possess
truth about ourselves. How shall we change
what we cannot see? This process is not
as simple as it seems. For "the heart
is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked; who can know it? (Jer. 17:9 NKJV).
We have internal mechanisms that automatically
justify our failures and excuse our wrong
behavior. We can see self-deception plainly
in others, but are often blind to the deceitfulness
of our own hearts.
If
I can speak candidly, most people live in
strongholds of self-deception. Thus, to
be free from deception is a remarkable achievement.
It does not mean we have become perfect,
but that we have become capable of seeing
where we are imperfect. It means we can
now embrace the process of change.
An
Israelite Indeed
A heart free from deceit, beloved, attracts
the gaze of God. It means we are serious
concerning our transformation. Consider
Jesus' words about Nathaniel: "Behold,
an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"
(John 1:47). Guile means, "craftiness,
deceitful manipulation." In one brief
statement our Master described a true Israelite
as one in whom there was no guile.
If
you are going to become a follower of Jesus
Christ, a true Israelite, you will not only
learn truths about God, you will discover
the truth about yourself. God will confront
you. You may desire only that God would
bless you, but instead, you find God poised
to fight you. It is this confrontation,
this discipline from God, that validates
us as His children (see Heb. 12:5-8).
Perhaps
the most obvious example of this divine
confrontation is seen in the life of Jacob.
Jacob was a deceiver. His name actually
meant supplanter. And, as his name
was, so was he. Jacob deceived his brother
Esau, trading a bowl of pottage for Esau's
birthright. Jacob also lied to his father,
Isaac, in order to defraud Esau of Isaac's
blessing (See Gen. 27:36).
Yet,
Jacob was also greatly loved by God; he
was called to a singular place of historic
significance. God had visited Jacob in visions,
He renewed covenants with him and gave Jacob
promises. In modern terminology, Jacob had
been "born-again" for nearly thirty
years. He knew the Lord and believed in
Him, yet Jacob remained detached from God
concerning his sin.
After
Jacob deceived Esau and Isaac, he fled to
his uncle Laban. Yet, Laban was a deceiver
as well, and ten times over the next twenty
years Laban sought to defraud Jacob (see
Gen. 31:7). As distressing as this relationship
became, it was part of the dealings of God.
For as Jacob had deceived others, so Laban
was dishonest toward him, just as Jesus
later taught: "by your standard of
measure, it will be measured to you"
(Matt. 7:2). God was making Jacob hate deception.
Finally,
just as the Lord promised, the time arrived
for Jacob to return to his childhood home.
Yet, to do so meant Jacob would have to
face Esau, whom he had defrauded twice and
who intended to kill Jacob. Still, God was
orchestrating the events of Jacob's life.
By divine providence, Esau and 400 armed
men with him were approaching the route
Jacob was traveling home.
There is a time when our fears serve the
purposes of God, and Jacob was greatly afraid.
Indeed, the Lord used Jacob's fear not only
to deal with Jacob's sin, but to deal with
His servant's nature. God had given Jacob
the promise of prosperity, life and family,
but the way to that destiny meant passing
through the very thing that threatened it
the most: Esau.
As
Jacob drew closer to his home, he sent hundreds
of livestock ahead to Esau as gifts. He
then brought his encampment to rest, while
Jacob remained alone. In this most fearful
night, God Himself appeared to Jacob. But
in what manner does the Lord appear? Is
He gently cradling Jacob? Is He reassuring
him of His promises? No! The Lord confronts
Jacob and wrestles with him.
In
this meeting with God two things ultimately
happened: the Lord blessed Jacob and then
renamed this former deceiver "Israel,"
Prince of God. The Angel of the Lord then
struck Jacob and dislocated his thigh so
that, for the rest of Jacob's life, he walked
with a limp. Yes, Jacob was blessed, but
he was also broken. Every time Jacob was
tempted to rely upon deceit, his limp would
remind him that his strength was not in
manipulation, but in the Lord. This is the
nature of Israel.
Two
Natures
Many of us today are in the exact place
Jacob was: we want reassurance and peace.
Yet God is requiring instead that we deal
honestly and humbly concerning the areas
we were wrong or hurtful in the past. Many
of us think we are wrestling with the devil,
but perhaps the One striving with us is
God!
You
see, two natures exist in us: an old "Jacob"
nature and a new nature, blessed and called
"Israel" by God. Just as the oak
tree grows in the grave of the acorn, so
as we die to self, that which is new rises
within us.
Jacob
named the place where he wrestled with the
Angel, "Peniel," which means "face
of God." He said, "I have seen
God face to face, yet my life has been preserved"
(Gen. 32:30). The fight had ended. The sun
arose and Jacob lifted his eyes. There on
the horizon, standing with his armed men,
was Jacob's greatest fear: Esau. Jacob sent
his servants, maids and wives ahead, each
bowing low to the ground before Esau. Finally,
Jacob himself went forward, bowing low to
the ground, rising and bowing again seven
times before Esau. As he knelt in repentance
before Esau, he called his brother "lord."
Amazingly, Esau ran to Jacob and, for perhaps
the first time in their lives, they embraced
and wept together (Gen. 33:3-4).
A
New Creation
Why didn't Esau kill Jacob? Because God
already had. In the twenty years of trials
with Laban, in the night wrestling with
the Lord, Jacob had died to himself. The
person Esau met was not Jacob, but Israel.
The deceiver was dead - at least, crippled.
When we truly trust God, we do not need
self-deception or manipulation to protect
us. Such is the nature of the true Israel.
Beloved,
as we reach for our destiny, we may discover
that the door to our future lies in our
past. Perhaps there are people we have defrauded
or hurt. It may be a child with whom you
were repeatedly impatient or a spouse toward
whom you’ve been harsh. There might
be a church where you caused strife and
division. While we should not dig up issues
that are truly buried, let us ask the Lord
to search us and see if there be any hurtful
way within us (Ps. 139: 23-24).
Esau
forgave Jacob. Jacob's response was profound:
"I see your face as one sees the face
of God, and you have received me favorably"
(Gen. 33:10). In Esau's acceptance, Jacob
sees the very face of God.
Yes,
we seek encounters with God, yet there is
a time when God will hide behind the face
of those we've hurt. A time may come when
the Lord will resist us until He can reconcile
us to our past.
Jesus
called Nathaniel "an Israelite indeed,
in whom is no guile." All of us begin
our journey to God with self-deception in
our hearts. If we will truly become the
Israel of God - those who have wrestled
with God and prevailed - we must become
Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile.
|
Francis
serves as senior minister of River of Life
Ministries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 
