Matthew 12:31-32
“There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven. But if you deliberately persist in your slanders against God’s Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives. If you reject the Son of Man out of some misunderstanding, the Holy Spirit can forgive you, but when you reject the Holy Spirit, you’re sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Last night, my husband and I watched a movie called The Miracle. This is the true story of three whales that were trapped in 1988, in the ice near Barrow, Alaska. I don’t want to give away the story, in case you have not seen the movie and/or do not know/remember what happened. But in order to breathe and stay alive, the whales were rising from the water in a small hole in the ice, and a massive rescue operation was organized.
Temperatures dipped to well past 50 degrees below zero, and the ice began to freeze faster than the Eskimos of Barrow could chip it away. The hole was closing… the whales were in serious danger of losing their airway. So the Eskimos began to create a pathway of holes that led toward open sea, hoping to guide the whales toward safety. And it worked for a while… until the whales were spooked and reversed course. These whales didn’t understand what was happening, so you couldn’t fault them… but at the same time, they were headed toward disaster as the holes froze over behind them.
Okay… this is a rather vague analogy, maybe… but we are often like the whales. We see the path to Jesus… we follow Him and head in the direction of his mercy and goodness. But then, many of us turn back. Some are like the whales… they really do not understand. Perhaps you find things not going so well in your life and you lose hope. Maybe you suffer a major disappointment… or people mistreat you… and you decide that being an obedient Christian isn’t all it’s cracked up to be… that you are getting nowhere fast. Or maybe “life” gets in the way and you get busy. Before you know it, a few days/weeks have passed without a single conversation between you and God. You haven’t opened your Bible… much less attended a worship service or shared fellowship with other believers. People get stuck in a rut… headed in the wrong direction… and often, they have no clue that the way OUT of that rut is to turn back to Jesus!
Others take a more drastic course. For whatever reason, they allow the devil to get a firm grip on them, and they not only move away from God… they disown Him completely. They listen to that inner voice telling them that God is not on their side… that He is not even real. They hear the devil whisper, “He doesn’t care about you, or He would never allow this/that to happen! You don’t need Him. You can do better on your own – and have a whole lot more fun in the bargain!” This deliberate denouncement can have fatal consequences. If the course is not altered, the doors of Heaven could be closed forever… and an eternity in the pits of hell could be the end result.
Here’s the deal… it is not too late to turn to God. Forgiveness and acceptance is totally within your reach today. Hope is alive… a life in Christ is available to everyone who accepts Him. I cannot imagine anyone rejecting the promise of heaven. But I know that there are those who do not believe it exists. OUR JOB is to live in a way that shows them that heaven DOES exist – that heaven is real… and the way to get there is through Jesus Christ. We must live in such a way that this promise is so appealing and encouraging – even in the midst of disappointments and heartaches – that others are clamoring to follow Jesus, as well.
Additionally, we must offer compassion to others… whether they are like the whales who became momentarily confused and disoriented, or they have rejected Jesus outright. We must show them His grace, mercy, and the opportunity for real forgiveness. And… we must never give up. As long as we draw breath, there is the possibility of salvation and pardon. And we must never give up… for ourselves – or on others.
As you sit out on the “branch of life” today, are you trusting Jesus to support and sustain you? Or do you have saw in hand, ready to sever the ties, crash and burn? Will you allow Jesus to guide you safely past the “ice holes” that freeze over… will you continue to believe in Him for your very breath? Will you show others the way and lead by example? Are you fully operating in the love, grace, mercy and forgiveness of Jesus? Isn’t it time you did?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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