Be Blameless

         Looking at the lives of great men of long ago or in our time in the faith, it becomes daunting when compared to the struggles we face on a daily basis to live in integrity before God. We desire to be like these great people without considering the landmarks of their lives in their walk with God. When certain principles we see in their lives are adopted in ours and they do not work out we become discouraged and disillusioned. For us not to feel this way, the Bible warns us that these records were put in place as examples for us: “Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come” (1Corinthians 10:11). Looking at the life of Abraham for instance, he did not become great overnight. The lessons about his life are not so much about his wealth but the way and manner in which he walked with God. The Bible records that when he was 99years old, God appeared to him and said: “…I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly” (Genesis 17:1b-2). After reading this, the question that readily comes to mind is how had he been walking before God in the past 24 years? God’s call upon his life is way beyond blessing him financially and materially; these had already happened, yet God was faulting his quality of walk with Him. Friend, the yardstick to measure the quality of your walk with God is not in how much you have acquired materially, financially or the jaw dropping encounters you have had with God. Abraham had all but by chapter 17, the Lord’s verdict was that his walk with Him was not blameless. 

          Considering his life, his walk before the Lord in the period under review took him to Egypt where he lied that Sarah (his wife) was his sister for safety and pecuniary benefits. His going to Egypt in the first place means he felt God will not be able to sustain him in the face of the famine that had hit the land. In Egypt, he got an Egyptian maid for his wife whom he later slept with to have a son. The fruit of the sinful union birthed a child whose descendants have continued to torment the world to this day: “He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren” (Genesis 16:12). Praise God that from the point God reminded Abraham to walk with Him blamelessly, we saw him do this admirably. The Lord is equally reminding us of the same. It is not enough to say you are walking with the Lord, but what is the quality of the walk? Are you walking before Him yet carrying “Egyptian Hagar” at your side of which you may turn to when circumstances weigh in on you? Like Abraham, we must send out all Hagars (animate and inanimate) with their seeds so that they do not contaminate the workings of God in and through us. These “Egyptian Hagars” could be your attitude, associations, secret desires and the likes. These will slow you down and eventually rob you of God’s true blessing – reigning with Him at the end! Friend, the ‘Egyptian Hagar’ has robbed so many great sons and daughters of God of a fulfilling walk with Him. It is time to send it parking because of the great things God intends to do in you and through you. The grace to do this successfully and walk blamelessly with integrity before God is released to you in Jesus Christ name. God bless you.