Right In The Sight Of The Lord
We read in 2 Chronicles 34 that "Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left."
As we read the Bible, we find this phrase applies to very few people. Some of the kings were given the honor as doing right in the sight of the Lord.
The New Testament teaches all men, everywhere that they are to live right in the sight of the Lord, and the secondary statement was to not turn aside to the right or the left. This same command was given to Joshua in Joshua 1:7: "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go." In Deuteronomy 5:32 we read: "So you shall observe to do just as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or the left.
Jesus talked about the path that was straight and narrow and leads to life, and few would find it (Matthew 7:13-14).
One of the qualities of a good Christian is to abide in the Lord. This means to live as God has commanded. Sadly there are many who claim to be followers of God, but do not keep His commandments.. Jesus said His TRUE followers were those who kept His commandments. All others are imposters, who for the most part deceive themselves. To abide in the Lord means to teach the doctrine that Christ taught to us not only in His recorded words, but the teaching of His disciples known as apostles. 2 John 10 tells us that the person who does not bring this doctrine is to be denied hospitality, otherwise you participate in their deeds of rejecting the teaching about and of Christ.
We all should look to the examples of the young king Josiah, and the other kings recognized as doing good in the sight of the Lord. We should try to live our everyday lives with the conviction of doing God's will to the very best of our ability and efforts. We should seek to learn why these men of old were accorded such a fine honor, and try to learn from them that we might also be found by God to be acceptable.
There was a song several years ago that had the statement in it that: "God is watching us from a distance". Well, God is most definitely watching us, but He is not watching from a distance. God is so familiar with you, it is as if God is in your mind seeing everything you see and do as you do it. God is not far off, but One who is near.
Oh, let us remember that God is near, and watching us all the time. Perhaps we will be on our best behavior. Perhaps we will not be so naughty when we think nobody is watching us. God knows and sees all we do, and God also knows what is in our hearts and minds. So we had better be ready to do things right in the sight of God, and it will be for our good.
By Carey Scott

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