“Man/Woman of God”

As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God
had done in Bethel that day. 1 Kings 13:11 NLT
One of the troubling passages of scripture is 1 Kings 13, where a true prophet dies because he
believes the lies of a false prophet. Something in us cries, with all children, “That’s not fair!”
Surely the liar should have died! I suspect that the point was to be a lesson to the apostate king
that the true prophet had been sent to confront: I don’t care what the intervening circumstances
may be; if you won’t obey me, the results for you are going to be bad.
But the thing that really captures my attention in the passage is the differing terms used to
identify the two men: the true and the false. Throughout the passage the true prophet is identified
as “the man of God” and the false prophet is identified as “the prophet.” I think that is very
significant. “Prophet” is a profession, but “man of God” is a character. A man or woman of God
might fill the job description of a prophet without being a professional. But much more
dangerous to be a professional prophet without being a man or woman of God.
It is still true today. Many of our pulpits are filled by professional ministers. They have learned
how to do the job, sometimes in eminently effective ways. They can pray movingly, they can
lead clearly, they can counsel helpfully, they can preach compellingly. But – they are not men or
women of God! On the other hand, there are men and women of God who are not professional
ministers. These people touch the lives of people around them in ways that draw them to God.
In the end, I don’t much care about your profession. But are you a man or woman of God? That
is what counts. But what is that? Surely it is to be a person whose whole life is shaped by their
relationship with God. It is not to act especially religiously, or piously. Perhaps it is especially
not to act in those ways. But it is to have your whole life lived in relation to him, to what pleases
him, to what he wants, to how he acts. Are you a man or woman of God?