Looking at previous generations from
the days Christ walked upon the earth to the Dark age, Restoration and Renaissance
ages up to the present age, one can safely conclude that the present age is one
that touts personal freedom the most. So many schemes of darkness have wound their
way into the fabric of the Body of Christ; and it is increasingly difficult to
differentiate what is right from what is wrong. These schemes range from
redefinition of doctrinal teachings, redefinition of marriage, redefinition of intimate
relationships, music, mode of dressing and all manner of human endeavor that
look seemingly harmless. The picture that readily comes to mind is when the
serpent possessed by the devil suggested to the woman in the beginning: “Did God really say ‘you can’t eat from any
tree in the garden?’…’No! You will not die’, the serpent said to the woman. ‘In
fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil’” Genesis 3:1b, 4). The woman and the man
embarked on a terrible journey of ‘self’ discovery with the devil from that
moment on; and the world is still paying for that misadventure.
We serve a God that is faithful,
holy and righteous. If we must serve Him acceptably we must do so faithfully,
holy and righteously. There are no shortcuts. God’s nature in dealing with
humans is not fussy; neither does He force Himself and His way upon us. When we
are ambivalent between what He wants us to do and what we think is right, we are
in danger of hurting ourselves which may result in terrible consequences with
no one to blame but ourselves. Moses as the Prince of Egypt took matters into
his own hands, God did not stop him and he paid for that mistake by going on
exile for forty years. When the children of Israel rejected the rule of God and
chose instead to have a human king, God did not fuss over them; He gave them
their hearts desire but they paid dearly for it. Friend, that relationship you
are in, who initiated it? If your heart led you into it be prepared to go
through the consequences. Whatever we do outside of the will of God
individually or corporately, the debt of those actions await such down the
line: “Indeed, they sow the wind and reap
the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fail to yield flour.
Even if they did, foreigners would swallow it up” (Hosea 8:7). Also to
buttress the fact that our actions and inaction outside the will of God carry
unsavory consequences: “They soon forgot His
counsel, works and would not wait for His counsel. They were seized with craving
in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. He gave them what they asked
for but sent a wasting disease among them” (Psalm 106:13-15). Why does God
make us pay for our choices? He does it to make us learn who is a better
master: Him, self or the devil. It is expected that at the end of the
experience, we will realize our mistakes and humbly return to Him: “Oh, the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How
unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways! For who has known the mind
of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Or who has ever first given to Him,
and has to be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:33-36). Friend, the consequences
of going it your own way are unbearable with the end result in hell. Rise today
and determine to always seek the will of God in everything you are faced with
and to DO it. It may sound mundane, but remember, it was a seemingly mundane
incident of a fruit that led mankind on a senseless and dangerous path of
darkness and self destruction. God bless you as you seek His way of doing
things.
Comments
Post a Comment