Romans 1:28-32
Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Have you ever told a child, “Don’t touch that… it’s hot!”? Or maybe you have said, “You’re going to turn over in that chair,” or “You’ll fall and hurt yourself!” In the end, chances are good that the child had to learn the hard way! It can be terribly frustrating and upsetting to watch a child do something that could very well lead to physical harm… and not be able to prevent it. You turn your back for one minute, and the unthinkable has happened. We truly cannot prevent all accidents or shield our children from every single injury. Kids will fall and skin knees… they will try the very thing we told them would hurt them… and all we can do is be there to pick them up and soothe them - or cart them off to the Emergency Room!
No matter how much we tell teenagers and young adults that we were young once… that we know – often firsthand – the perils of certain situations... they often either don’t believe us or simply have to try these for themselves. So kids start smoking…drinking…experimenting with drugs…cursing…texting while driving…driving too fast…and testing the waters in countless other ways. And often, they “encourage” their friends to do the same. Again, all we can do is stand by and offer support when things go awry.
God is really no different from any other parent in this regard… when His children show out and try things He has warned them against… when they choose to “do it anyway,” He has no choice but to “abandon them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.” Just as there are times when there is absolutely nothing a parent can do to rescue a child… there comes a time when God cannot rescue us either, because He allows us to operate with free will. And like any parent, God is grieved when things fall apart.
For his/her part, the “child” has a myriad of excuses… ranging from stubbornness to peer pressure to curiosity – and even sheer stupidity! And unless we “children” come clean and change course… admit our mistakes, beg for mercy and acknowledge God…He will have no choice but to leave us “wandering in the desert” of sin, hopelessness, and despair – and ultimately, the depths of hell. Think of the parent who leaves his/her child in jail and refuses to post bond - times a gazillion!
How would you feel to know that God wasn’t coming after you? What would you think if you realized that your choices and actions had essentially sealed the gates of heaven closed? After all He has done for you, can you really bear to grieve God by making selfish choices… could you really turn away and deny Him completely?
I know that temptations surround us. None of us likes to be told what to do… or that someone else knows what is best for us. But God truly DOES know best… His ways are perfect… His love for us is so great that He would never steer us in the wrong direction or tell us to do something that wasn’t in our very best interest. When we choose to directly contradict God, we have shown ourselves to be heartless and without mercy… two things we would NEVER wish to experience from Him! If we are so foolish as to turn our backs on God and decide that we have no need for Him in our lives, we have essentially abandoned Him. Yet we would NEVER want God to abandon us!
So why are we treating God this way? What excuse could possibly be good enough to ignore God… even for one day? Isn’t it time we fully acknowledged Him, submitted OUR desires to His will for our lives, and operated in humble obedience and gratitude? What is holding you back today? What is your excuse?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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