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The love of this world and the things in it cause many people to go away and leave the
only One who can give them eternal life. Standing and pleading with outstretched arms,
Jesus extends the invitation (Mt. 11:28) and has given directions (Mk.
16:16), but we don't like them so we turn away.
The scriptures have a great deal to say about "our ideas" on living this life in such a way as to be assured of that home in heaven. The wise man wrote, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise... There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Prov. 12:15; 14:12). Yet, even after knowing what the word of God has to say on the subject, we use our own judgment instead of the word of God. In so doing, we rationalize and pit our human judgment against that of Almighty God. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus asking what good things he could do to inherit eternal life, he didn't like Jesus' answer and "went away sorrowful" (Mt. 19:16). His great possessions stood between him and the directions Jesus gave. He was not willing to pay the price. We can only imagine what the end result was for him. A similar case — but with a happier outcome — is that of Naaman the leper (2 Ki. 5). When he was first told what to do to cleanse his leprosy, he went away in a rage and pitted his human reason against God by saying, "Behold, I thought..." (2 Ki. 5:11). He kept his leprosy until his servants convinced him to follow the directions given by the prophet. When he did that, he was completely healed of his dreaded disease. Like Naaman, we often allow our pride stand in the way of obeying God's simple directions. "After all, we have quite a high education and can reason things out for ourselves." When King Agrippa sent Paul away with his famous statement, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28), the record doesn't reveal that he ever became a Christian. Certainly, by rejecting the counsel of God against himself, there was a sorrowful day coming for him. We wonder if it was his position and pride which held him back. Whatever it was should have been removed and corrected for the good of his soul, while he had time and opportunity. Sometimes we are so stubborn we let simple things like forgiving a brother stand between us and obedience to God. Very often the simplicity of God's commands causes us to use our own wisdom, rather than submit to those directions. People are heard to say, "I don't see any power in the water — and besides we are saved by grace — baptism is a work." Naaman's argument was the same as this one. "The rivers of my country are nice and clear, and river Jordan is dirty and muddy." As long as he kept that attitude, he kept his leprosy. Learn the lesson of Naaman! Listen again to the wise man: "Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?... Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts" (Prov. 20:24; 21:2). And Isaiah the prophet told us that God's wisdom is so much higher than ours that there is no comparison (Isa. 55:8-9). Why is it that we continue to play the "smart game" with God and say, "My way is better than your way?" In so doing, we are drifting into eternity unprepared to meet our Maker. Ancient Israel paid a great price for the same folly. "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Jgs. 21:25). Because of that, we can read of their sorrow in the book of Judges. But there was one man who did not "go away sorrowful" and he is a good example for us to follow. He is Cornelius, the Roman centurion (Acts 10). Cornelius was a "devout man" but he was not a saved man. When he was told what to do to be saved, he did it, saving himself and his household. There is no need for you or anyone else to "go away sorrowful." Obey the Lord and be saved today. |