Hosanna Restoration Church

It struck me recently; just how glad and sad the Word of God is. We have such promises of joy and at the same time we see such sad things. Romans chapter one begins with the good news and ends with the sad state of those who will not believe.

Romans is of course under great attack because it calls sin out. Any time the dark is exposed to the light, choices need to be made. Jesus made it clear that the truth sets us free. Even if the truth makes us sad for a bit, the ultimate result is joy.

It is like the wealthy young man who was doing the things of the law that made him feel ok. He was certain he was fine and really expected Jesus to confirm what He was sure of. It went well for a bit. The man’s plan was going well, until Jesus kindly told him that he still lacked one thing. At Jesus’ suggestion to sell his stuff and give to the poor, he turned and walked away sad. We can hope that he experienced Godly sorrow that led him to the truth and gave him the freedom that he really longed for.

I read Jeremiah 4:1 and I think it perfectly represents one of a multitude of opportunities that God gives us in His word. The verse begins with “O Israel”, but I heard “O Roger”!  I thought of all those years ago when I would take the Gideon Bible out of the drawer in a motel and ignore what I read. This verse says, “If you wanted to return to me, you could. You could quit being the way you are and stray no more!” How often do we walk away when we should be returning?

No one really likes to be caught. We do not like being found out! It makes us mad and sad. We can be like the man who happily came to Jesus and walked away sad because he did not want to change. The truth is that we all resist change even when we know it is the best thing we could do.

When I first came to know Jesus, I was happy to see my big sins gone. Forty years later, it seems I will never run out of things that need to change. I sometimes struggle more with little nothings than I did with my early big ones! It is my sincere desire to honor God, so I don’t mind so much being found out.

Now it makes me sad that I still have things that require the Holy Spirit to reveal. I realize of course that we are always being perfected, and my sadness is not that I am giving up something that I want to keep. My sadness is that I harbor things that could hurt my Lord.

It is a gift from God when we realize that the changes God wants are the very way to our freedom. I really do feel badly for those who are so deluded that they lash out at God and just keep going deeper into their depravity. We are seeing so much of that on display in our world right now. The devil’s anger is on full display and those who have been taken captive by him have no idea. I pray for their eyes to be opened. They have no idea how glad they would be. Change us all Lord!