2 Corinthians 4:3-4
If our Message is obscure to
anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because
these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to
give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god
of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they
won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re
stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with
Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.
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.
How many times have you been
told that in order to lose weight – or even maintain your current body
mass – you must take in fewer calories than you are burning. Yet we
continue to eat whatever tastes good – and put off exercising until
tomorrow, next week, next year – or never! And we wonder why our
clothes appear to be shrinking! We have convinced ourselves that it’s
not us…it must be the clothes dryer!
This is how we often
act with God. We’ve heard the Word of God…we know how He works. We
understand on some level that God’s will for our lives is perfect and
right – even when it doesn’t seem easy or go like we intended. We
believe God when He says that He will answer our prayers (but we ignore
the part about it happening when they fit within His parameters!). We never fail to call on Him whenever we need something – anything!
But
here’s the thing…we have “selective hearing” when it comes to God. We
pick and choose what to engage in and what to trust…and WE try to
decide when it is important to follow God closely – and when it is okay
to “bend the rules” a bit. And others pick up on this. They see how we
treat our relationship with God…and they pay very close attention to
what we are doing. “If it’s good enough for Joe or Kate…it’s surely
okay for me, too,” they assume. So we perpetuate the mistaken idea that
it’s acceptable to design Christ’s message to suit our own desires and
agendas. Not only are we deluded in this thinking, but we misrepresent
Jesus to others, as well…and give flawed witness to what it means to be
His disciple.
We see this everywhere we look. People are loudly
claiming the name of Jesus while acting like fools…misbehaving in ways
that are both appalling – and sadly, somewhat mainstreamed. We’ve let
down our guard and become complacent…about everything from foul language
to physically abusing people who don’t agree with us. And it needs to
stop.
We know better…it’s time to DO better! Just like we cannot
keep eating whatever and whenever we want and fit into our clothes, we
can’t “have it our way” and call ourselves honest and faithful disciples
of Christ. It’s time to open our eyes to the truths of Jesus – and the
blessings that He offers to us when we genuinely follow Him. I’m more
than ready…what about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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