Sin is a curious predator. The stocking of its prey is sufficient pleasure. It doesn’t kill to eat. It doesn’t destroy to retain its property. And it really doesn’t care whether the sinner is pleased with its work or not. I doubt that sin is even purely selfish. The only thing sin has in mind is to destroy purity. And if you could ask sin why, it wouldn’t have the slightest clue of an answer.
What should be done with an enemy like that?
I wake to consider the things of the Living God’s Holy Son. No matter where I look among the things of God’s Holy wisdom, I find no fault. Yet why should this amaze me?
To the things of man I look, and I find no righteous faithfulness. And isn’t this the cause of my amazement?
Consistency abides in the Living God, toward life and all things good. Consistency abides in the camp of Man’s horror, toward rebellion and all things wicked.
What has God done but we should despise him so? What has Man accomplished that we should revere him in fear?
How is it that the people who call themselves Christians suppress the beauty of the One who offers them life; those who give God praise in secret yet seal their mouth when they walk among the dead.
“I have riches”, they say. The faithfulness of God in his promise is that sure, yes. But don’t the rocks along the Way of Glory also have the blessing of God to lay unmolested? There they are lay, prepared to do his will. And surely if the people had not given praise to the Living God’s Holy Son, the rocks themselves would have cried out the words. Are we no better than rocks strewn along the path of life? Are we like rocks which adorn a valley of death, fruitless and simply a nuisance ( dressings which mark the barren land).
“If God will touch us, we will serve him. If God will drive back the wicked we will speak and walk among them. If he will drive them back beyond a stone’s throw, we will proclaim the words of life. As long as there is no threat we will be brave. Yet if he will not cause the wicked to recede, we will continue to praise him in secret. I will leave the fearsome work to those who desire to die.” Is this what we say by our actions? Will not God protect those the march ahead in faith?
But clean yourself. Primp and prune your feathers. Lining every hair in its proper place. let every thread of clothing be presentable and immaculate. Let your life be dressed with all the things that cause Man to nod in appreciation. If you hide the Light of Christ, you are no different than the rocks along the Way.
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Is it too much to ask?
Is it unjust to require us to join Jesus in his suffering?
Is the shame of righteousness too much to bear?
Is the Cross of Christ too heavy to share?
Then what can possibly be our lot?
When we appear before He by whose Blood we are bought?
What has God done to us that we should despise him so wholeheartedly? Even among those who call themselves by the name of his Holy and Righteous Son, they despise him and give him less then what is complete. What has God done to us to deserve such treatment?
I look and see men who would rather fend for themselves then trust fully in the strength of God to sustain them. I look and see men who invent their own laws and rules for life rather than to eat and gorge themselves on the rules and laws of God. Interpretation is the call of the day. What has God done to deserve such treatment?
Let every man judge for himself. Shall the Living God bless the path that does not lead to him? Was the Lord Jesus elevated to first among all things because he strayed violently from the path of his Heavenly Father? How then is it reasonable to take The Salvation offered in the Gospel lightly?
Read Psalm 119 and consider.
Man is placed in a place remote. For if his place were among the things of God, Man would try to dethrone Him.
This place of testing, this place of proving, this place of violence or love.
This place of choices, this place of life or death, this place of time and decay.
This place of anarchy, this place of treason, this place of hatred or faith.
They refuse to listen. They despise the one who speaks. And at every possible convenience, they turn away from knowledge.
This place of filthy, this place of ludicrous, this place of blood and flesh.
This place of confusion, this place of pride, this place of accomplishment and humiliation.
Lest every man be utterly destroyed, God has set a place for rebellion.
This place of wondering, this hopelessness, place of vile distrust, this place of alienation and rare embrace.
Two doors exit this place. One is wide to accommodate the masses. The other is so narrow you cannot point it out.
One is proportioned for the violent fits which company the chaos of rebellion. The other is only large enough for the soul.
We must all leave this place. But we do not all arrive in the same Place.
Every man who owns rebellion alone, will certainly find himself alone.
But every man who has been stripped of rebellion, to a sort, that which remains cannot die. Lessened, such men will find good company.
In all things, the endlessly spacious Place of God is utterly unlike ours.
Moment by moment, every man chooses his destiny. But let us not think that the destiny of man is varied in context. No! There is either eternal inclusion, or eternal desperation.
Debate all these things, Oh wandering souls of men. Or kneel before the Living God in faith. Plead with him for understanding.
All that belongs to Man is death. All that belongs to God is Life in Christ Jesus His holy and Righteous Son.
By His Grace
We: Live, Die, Face Judgment. Jesus or die twice.
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