PERISHING
This is how God loved the world; He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Perishing! There are things in our refrigerator that are various stages of perishing. Some get so far along that they are good for nothing but to be thrown out! We have a system of sorts that we use to try and avoid having anything reach that stage, but alas, there are times when it happens.
Something perishing in the refrigerator is not the end of the world, though I sometimes act like it. I grew up not wasting anything. I cleaned my plate, and others nearby if help was needed so that nothing would be wasted. I cringed at the lunchroom as a child and even now seeing all the good stuff dropped in the garbage. Perhaps you can relate!
Today I am saddened by the thought of people perishing. I should always be saddened by that, but I admit that I tend to think of the goodness of God more than the rest of the story. Our news, though I seldom watch it, is full of people perishing. These people who perish are loved by God. He never stops loving even the worst of the worst. He never stopped loving me. I will be honest and say that I need help with loving in some instances.
I have decided that if I cannot love, I can at least not rejoice in the death of the wicked. I can find scripture asking for the sudden death of the wicked, but it does not feel right. I just must leave that to God. I trust Him.
Yes, I trust God to work everything out. One day, when He decides, things as we know them now will suddenly end. We need to consider this no matter where we are in life. We need to decide if we believe in Jesus or not. We need to care about others making Him their choice. If we believe, we can’t just sit back and see what time brings.
Have you ever thought about a person’s relationship with the Lord and considered speaking to them, only to put it off and then it is too late? Don’t wait. It is important for them and for you.
I was reading God’s words to Joshua as he took over the reigns from Moses. He told Joshua that no one would be able to stand against him as long as he lived and that He would never fail or abandon him. (Joshua 1:5) God made this promise to us through Jesus Christ our Lord in even greater measure.
Jesus told us that He would never leave or forsake us. This does not mean much to us, until it means everything to us. Once He is everything to us, we truly can and should care about the perishing!
I could go through our refrigerator and just throw everything out if I wanted to. But I would never do that. How much more then, should I care about people who are perishing?