“But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message,”
2 Corinthians 12:4-6 NLT
What do we pilgrims get credit for? It starts with our goals and aims in life, so a student will get credit for passing an exam, or an athlete for winning a medal. Someone with an unblemished payment record will be assigned a good credit score and, similarly, will be eligible for a credit card. In our employment, a good worker will be credited with a pay rise. A good preacher will receive credit for their oratorical skills or perhaps for their knowledge of the Bible. Receiving credit for something brings with it a glow of self-importance or self-satisfaction. But these are all worldly examples, and they do not apply in God’s Kingdom, where self-promotion is never valued. It is only God who gets the glory.
In Genesis 15, we can read the story of Abraham and the covenant God made with him. It started with a vision which we can read about in Genesis 15:1, “Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great’”. But this was a problem for Abraham because he had no heir to his wealth, and he was concerned that it might instead go to one of his servants. But there then came the promise, “Then the Lord said to him, ‘No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir’” (Genesis 15:4). And just to confirm His promise, “… the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, ‘Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!’”. How would we have responded in such a scenario? Here was Abraham getting close to 100 years old, with a wife not far behind, barren as well, and yet God was promising a son? I would think it would have been a miracle if the old couple were having sexual relations at that age, let alone seeing the fruit of it with a child. And yet we read in verse 6, “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness”.
There are many spiritual blessings that we are credited with, not the least our salvation. And we mustn’t forget the physical blessings we receive as well, all credited to anyone created by God. So we have the environment around us, in a world just right to sustain the lives God has populated this planet with. We have our life, our health, our families, food on our tables, homes and clothing. God has credited us with many blessings. And all these things are there for us through God’s love and grace.
But back to Paul. He had much to boast about, with his vision of being taken up into the Third Heaven. Not many people, if any, can boast about such a thing. However, Paul wasn’t going there, and instead, he only wanted credit for the things he was doing for God and what God had done in his life. He didn’t even want to make claims about this, preferring to let people see it in the way he lived and acted, and through what he said. So it should be the same for us pilgrims. Self-promotion may be the way of those living a worldly life, but it is not the way for Christians. Paul was a very humble man, and he encouraged believers to be the same. He wrote, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:3-5). Jesus said to His disciples, “… You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave” (Matthew 20:25-27).
We pilgrims, to our credit, believe in God. The Apostles creed starts with “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”. But it doesn’t stop there. A bit further down we read, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord”. And it finishes, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our Trinitarian God, the One we worship. And every time we speak out that creed, believing what we are saying in our hearts, then our faith brings us credit with God.
Dear Heavenly Father. We do believe, but please forgive us for the times when we have doubts and waver in our faith. Thank You for Your many blessings and provision, Your love and grace. And Your patience with us. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 