Who are we really fooling? Do we think we can excuse our selfish motives or claim we misunderstood? We have allowed ourselves to indulge so much in the world, that we have become dangerously desensitized, and now, we deceive ourselves, so expertly and habitually, that the enemy left on vacation weeks ago and we didn’t notice he was gone.
Matthew 25:31-46 NLT — “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
We are so selfishly unselfish. We stopped needing the enemies’ help, talking us into being less compassionate, humble, kind, merciful, understanding, forgiving, and self-sacrificing a long time ago. And misery loves company, so when one of us starts feeling convicted about our behavior, we just call each other and talk it out until we feel like the victim again. Then we feel better and justified as we hang up the phone. All the while, the enemy is lying on the beach, drinking Pina coladas, laughing at us, while patting himself on the back.
Sadly no matter how I try to excuse it before Father God, no matter the reasons or alibis I might come up with, the whole truth is, every single reason, alibi and excuse is undeniably hollow, void of any substance, the echo of words come back to me sending chills of knowing down my spine.
Father, God has done absolutely everything there is to do. He has been more than merciful, patient, and forgiving. And as if that alone wasn’t enough, He went even farther, He Himself did all the work, strategically putting everything into motion. He himself took on all liabilities, all the work, all the suffering, pain, and every single consequence that He neither earned or deserved upon Himself.
He did all this without expecting anything in return. Loving each and every one of us, His most prized creations, both at our worst and in our best. He made every way possible open up in order that if we, His creation, wanted to love Him back, decide to seek Him with gratitude for all He has already done, the opportunity is open to us.
After giving up His heavenly dwelling and coming to us as the Son of man, healing, teaching, serving, and loving on us, He literally took 39 lashes, leaving Him physically unrecognizable He took all the spit, jokes, and ugliness of those about to crucify Him. Then He died upon a cross, went down into hades, all in our place, therefore breaking down the barriers between Him and His creation. He also left us the instructions on how to reach Him. He left no stone unturned, no T un-crossed, no I un-dotted. All we need to do is respond by accepting His grace, His sacrifice, His love.
There is no way to twist it, maneuver around it, or argue with it. There is absolutely no excuse if we choose not to read His word, and instead of seeking Him, thankful for His Goodness, we selfishly live to please our own perception of needs and desires.
We can claim fatigue, personality hiccups, old age, being busy, falling asleep, the dog ate our Bible, even that we find it hard to understand, but the question still remains. Are we living a worldly perceived safe, comfortable life, seeking what the world deems is necessary? Spending our time going to the best schools, collecting degrees, buying big houses, driving fancy cars, climbing ladders of success, seeking our piece, our place, our own stature and happiness?
Our perfectly normal, busy lifestyle leaves us having little to no time left to seek out a lonely widow needing only a conversation, a Lil orphan boy needing only to know he’s not alone, or a homeless woman hungry, cold and scared, just wanting to not be forgotten, by the world.
We are so busy seeking the best for ourselves in a life that lasts not even a millisecond in eternity instead of the best for ourselves in our eternal life.
Have we conformed to the world? We seem to give our attention to the things of this world, leaving so little time, if any at all, for Father God and seeking His Will.
Romans 12:2 NLT — Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
When you arrive in heaven and stand before the Lord, you will not be rewarded for what you received. You will only be rewarded for what you have given. – Dr. Charles F Stanley
Until next time, may God bless you and keep you as you seek Him with your whole heart.
