Romans 2:5-8
You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!
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.
The first house my husband and I bought was a “fixer-upper”. We painted walls, put in new flooring, and gave the lone bathroom a total re-do - with the help of family and friends. My dad had started a cultured marble manufacturing business, and he made an oversized shower stall that had a tall threshold…allowing us to create a small bath tub effect, if desired. As Daddy helped Greg install the marble walls and panels, he cracked one. It was on the inside of the threshold, so he quickly glued it together and said to Greg, “I hope she (meaning me!) doesn’t see that!”
I’ll admit… Daddy was between a rock and a hard place. He was 90 miles from home, trying to fix our only bathroom in one weekend, and he had just broken one of the components. Nobody ever saw that crack except us if we sat down to take a “bath”… and it was reparable. So we moved on with the project and laughed about it later. But how many times in life do we “break” things and hope that nobody will notice… even God?
How often do we put a patch over our mistakes and shortcomings… and forge ahead, thinking – or hoping – that we won’t be discovered? How many of us are mired in baggage from this type of behavior… yet pretending to others that nothing is the least bit amiss? How many of us are trying to hide from God?
Do you see that avoiding God and trying to cover up your blunders and lapses in judgment is disrespectful? Do you understand that you really aren’t fooling anyone… especially God? Sadly, some of us have gotten so good at running from God… masking the truth and covering up our messes… that this pattern has become a way of life. And the damage has accumulated in the process. At this point, some can no longer distinguish reality from the fantasy life they have created. But God knows the truth!
We won’t get away with this… and this shouldn’t even be part of our mindset. We may fool some of our friends and acquaintances – some of the time – but we aren’t fooling God for one minute! And all of this is incredibly disrespectful… especially to God. The scriptures tell us in Galatians 6:7-8… “Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.”
Is God’s Spirit growing in you? When you make a mistake or fall short in some area, do you readily acknowledge this and ask for forgiveness? Are you respectful in your living… toward others - and especially toward God… or are you piling up “fuel for the fire”?
I do not like to operate in threats and fearful suggestions… but I don’t believe that this message delivers either. Instead, I see an opportunity for us to respect God and His presence and influence in our lives… to “come clean” with Him and in our daily living… and to make every effort to be whoever He has called us to be. Rather than try to get by with something, why not make a careful and concerted effort to do things right on the front end?
Are you showing the proper reverence and respect to God… and to others? Isn’t it time you did?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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