Dr Paul Allen

Moses with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, painting by Rembrandt (1659) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Now therefore, I pray thee , if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” ( Exodus 33:13 ) “ Moses the man of God ” ( Deuteronomy 33:1 ) was surely one of the greatest men who ever lived. He was the leader of a great nation, he received the tablets of the law from God, and he compiled and wrote the Pentateuch . It was said that “there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” ( Deuteronomy 34:10 ). Yet, “the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” ( Numbers 12:3 ). It was such a man as this who made two remarkable requests of God. The first was, as above: “Shew me now thy way.” The second, just a moment later, was: “Shew me thy glory” ( Exodus 33:18 ). These were not selfish r...

Elisha (right) Refusing Gifts from Naaman (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God ’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." ( Luke 18:28-30 ) Unfortunately, this and parallel passages have been wrongly used all too often to justify the abandonment of responsibilities to family in the name of following Christ . But Christ is not here advocating repudiation of family. Instead, He insists that our allegiance be to Him and to His will. Nothing must be allowed to usurp His rightful position of supremacy in our lives. While it is true that for some a life unencumbered by family duties may result in more efficient ministry ( 1 Corinthians 7:1-9 , 25-38 ), family relationships and responsibilities are of great ...