Leviticus 18:6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord.

So many times I hear my brothers and sisters in the Lord say “We are no longer under the law but under grace.” I agree but let me ask them and you this question; have you learned the lessons of the law in which God departed His desires for His people? These are still words of wisdom and direction that when married up with the truth of the gospel of grace gives a more complete understanding of God’s eternal plan. God was at work in the Old School just as He is in the New.

Do you see any connection between these instructions and the gospel of grace?

Think on this then, that God first speaks about the approach, the coming near, the attitude which He says do not do. The attitude in the approach was to expose weakness, to name a sinner’s sin. There are two New School lessons that immediately come to mind.

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

John 15:10b ye shall abide in my love,

This is what not to do married with what to do. So much of the Old School was about what not to do without clear instruction about how to accomplish that end. The New School teaches us how to accomplish or complete the desires of our God towards His people.

Psalm 101:2 I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

The Old and the New are perfectly married in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

I asked with all honesty of my friends, “What would you like to have people say about you?” It was an honest question. I only got one reply. That really got me to thinking about the question itself.

Proverbs 22:1 22 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,

We don’t really get to choose what other people think about us. People will never think about me what I would like to have them think. No matter what I do, people’s perceptions are not within my control. One might say I am wise and another might say I am smug. One might say I am perceptive, another might call me judgmental. I can be innovative and vain within the same setting.

Do I concern myself with what people say about me? Not really, but I do care about the image I project. I had a thought in my mind when I asked the question. Some might say of me, “He only asks so he can show off.” In their minds that might be a fair thought, I cannot control that. I know what was on my mind and honestly, it isn’t within your control to make it true.

“Jesus knows him.”

That’s what I’d like people to say about me. The reason is simple and is contained within the thought patterns of Philippians 2, to the glory of God the Father. The reasoning is simple. You cannot say a thing like that about me without a personal relationship with Jesus yourself. That’s the only thing that really matters.

I don’t know you are the most painful of all words.