Skip to main content

“Well… maybe… but”

Here is a strange question for you: If Jesus dropped by and told you to do some very specific things, would you do them?

I do not know what your response would be (I mean after you woke up from passing out at the sight of Jesus), but I do know this: The first time Jesus was here, he heard lots of excuses.

Just for interest’s sake, I made an “Excuses tour” of gospels last week and noted every excuse that people used in order to get out of doing what they were asked to do. Some said that it was too difficult (Mark 10: 17-22). Others said that they would do it later (Luke 9:57-62). Others said “yes”, but later found reasons not to bother (Luke 14:16-20). One decided that his business was more important than listening to God (Luke 12:13-21). Still others wanted “just a little more proof” that Jesus was the Son of God (Mark 15:29-32). I could fill this whole article with excuses.

Then John records that, “Many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’” (John 6:60). Notice that the message was not “hard to understand". They clearly understood what they were to do. The problem was that it was “hard to accept”. That is likely the issue for most of us.

You see, in various ways, God is going to ask us to do certain things, or to stop doing certain things. If we are listening at all, we are going to be challenged in a thousand different ways.

At each of those points, our response will be either faithful following or excuses and missed opportunities.

As James reminds us, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins” (4:17).

So, what is God asking you to do? Are you doing it?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: What is so Great About Grace?

If you were to drive by our house, you would see that Sara loves plants.  Our yard is full of flowers, and Sara lovingly tends every one of them. Which is why I was so afraid when she left town and put me in charge of keeping things alive. She must have been a little concerned, too, because she sent me two videos with specific instructions on how to water, when to water, and what to do.  Honestly, those first two videos helped, but the third one she sent was the one I liked most.  In that one, she said, “Please do your best. I want the yard to look good for the family reunion in two weeks.  However, if something dies, we will dig it out and pretend that it never existed!” That is what grace looks like!  Try your best, do what you can, but if it goes wrong, it will be ok. Sometimes we talk as though grace and effort are opposites.  That is not true.  They are partners. In one place, scripture asks, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: Press The Button!

  Consider This:  Press the Button! My favourite TV game show is Jeopardy.  I used to like it even more when my kids were younger, because I could easily beat them and look smart.  These days, after they have grown up and gone to university, it is much more difficult.  However, Jeopardy is still the only game show I will watch. In a book I read, a contestant who did very well on the show shared the secret to his success.  He said (and I am paraphrasing here), “You must press the button before you know the answer.  Everyone on Jeopardy is smart. Everyone knows the answer. The key to winning is to act.  You must jump in and press the button, assuming that your brain will catch up and supply the answer.  If you wait until you are sure, you will be too late!” Press the button! Too often, we hesitate, not because we do not know what to do, but because we do not want to do it.  Sometimes, we fail to act because we are not sure how the situatio...
Post a Comment
Read more