I didn’t realize that a vital piece of my life was missing. I walked around, caught up in the wonder of being saved and belonging to such a wonderful Savior and so I believed that everything was fine, all right. I was wrong.
It was a subtle shift in my heart and it led to a landslide. I saw that my unconcern was truly indifference, which is the opposite of love. Some would say that hate is the opposite of love, but it isn’t. If you truly hate, you still feel something for the person. If you just don’t care, that means that you don’t feel anything either way. That is a horrible place to be.
It wasn’t that I was indifferent about the person but rather about their state. As long as I was making it, did it really matter about them? I was posed the question, “Are you happy as long as you are going to heaven and care nothing for others final destination?” Sadly, that was exactly where I was.
I thought that it was enough for me to get there. I kind of believed, I guess, way down deep that things would work themselves out. I have a bad tendancy to forget details, believing in my heart that everything would work out fine. In truth, life does have a way of working itself out fine when it comes to vacations and such things as that. But, in the end, details matter.
I am no longer content to be making it to heaven while those around me have a completely different destination at the end of their life. I have finally seen that it is so very vital, so deeply important, the life we live here. At the end, there’s no second chances.
God gives us so many chances to turn to Him and belong to Him. He gives us so many opportunities to be His. Why, then, do we refuse Him? Because we love sin.
The Bible says that we hated the light because we loved the darkness. Any excuse will do. My excuse, so long ago, was, “That’s your conviction. That’s not what God is telling me.” I used that so often until one day, Jesus showed me that if that was the only reason I could present to do something, then He was, in fact, convicting me and I needed to change my ways. I have had to apologize to those that repeated my foolishness to me over the years. If you’re one of those people that I careless tossed that lie at, please forgive me. It is not viable.
What excuse do we present to continue having our way? I have heard such blatant untruths that I have literally been shocked to my core that they are so fully believed. The conviction with which these lies are spoken are staggeringly overwhelming. How did we ever get to that place, where the devil could lie so obviously and we believe it without question?
John 3:19-20 (CEV) says, “The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light. People who do evil hate the light and won’t come to the light, because it clearly shows what they have done.”
Because darkness is a place to hide, we prefer to remain there, even at the cost of our soul, even if we have to believe lies to keep us there.
So, here is what I say to you who are not Christians, do not believe the word of God, pull things out of context to excuse your lives, believe the lies of the devil, compromise unrepentantly: The cost to live this way is far greater than you can ever imagine, than I could ever explain in mere words. The cost of our sins was so great that Jesus had to lay down His life to save us from what we deserve. The gift of forgiveness, the lifting of the overwhelmingly heavy burden of sin, the deliverance from bondages, lies, and habits, is available through genuine repentance and turning over your life to Jesus Christ. Since He took my burdens from me, since I stopped living my way and started living His way, I have had joy that this world cannot touch or take away. I am rich indeed!
Most refuse Jesus because they look at life with Him as strict rules to follow and refusals of the world’s ‘joys’. I tell you the truth. The things this world holds dear are but dung! When one truly enters the courts of the King of kings, one understands at last that the treasure is Jesus Christ. I have no need for earthly pleasures, no desire to drink, party, or fornicate. My life is caught up in the wonders of my Beloved. I am so free! He offers true liberty!
Come to the waters and drink! Come to the feast and eat! The invitation is there, His hand is extended, just step forward and let Him deliver you. Let Him in.
I use to think it was enough to be a good person in this life. It’s not. My sins nailed my Beloved Jesus to the cross. My sins cost Him His life. He ransomed me from the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth and eternal torment, the lake of fire and the second death. All this He gave to me when He died for me. All this He gave to me when He paid the price for me.
Will you continue to live in a world of lies and torment, trial and lonliness or will you accept the love of Jesus Christ, the freedom of His will, and the joy of His presence?
Thank You, Beloved Jesus, for the wonder of Your love, grace, forgiveness, redemption, and freedom. Thank You for paying the price I could never pay. Thank You for choosing me, calling me by name, delivering me, loving me. There is no one like You, my priceless treasure.
Shalom
J.
Hephzibah 