You don’t have to perish!
If you were hungry, and a friend told you where you could
find some food, would you listen, or would you ignore the information and
starve? How about the same scenario with thirst, nakedness, and illness—would
you pay any attention? If you discovered a medication that was proven to cure
whatever ails you, would you take it, or would you rather suffer with that
ailment and die? What would you do if you were cold and homeless, and someone
offered you a warm home and a warm bed? Would you choose to stay in the cold or
accept this warm room and be comfortable?
I think the average person would answer yes to all of the
above offers without hesitation. It makes no sense to suffer or die when help
is available. Pain and death in the presence of help is pointless and needless.
Similarly, after God brought the Israelites out of captivity
from Egypt, He made them an offer. He promised to be their God and their provider.
He even promised to subdue their enemies. He simply asked that they listen to
Him, submit to Him, follow His ways, and reject idols (See Psalm 81:8-14). But
did they listen? No!
So what did God do? He washed His hands of them and left
them to their evil ideas, and He said of them, “I gave them over to their
stubborn hearts to follow their own devices” (Psalm 81:12 NIV84). You might say
that God said to the Israelites, “Have it your way!”
Sounds very frustrating
and heart breaking, but God has given man the power and ability to make choices.
When man makes his own choices, God gets out of the way and lets man face the
consequences of his choices. As the old adage goes, “You make your bed, you lie
in it.”
Before we belittle the Israelites for being stubborn or disobedient,
I’d like to suggest that, from the beginning of time, man has had this attitude—stubborn
and disobedient!
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden, they lost
their relationship with God. Years later, God revealed His plan to restore the
relationship with man. In the person of Jesus, He became man and died as the
substitute for man. The only thing man must do is to admit to God that he is a
sinner (sin passed on to all men after the initial sin), and ask God for
forgiveness through His Son Jesus Christ. The consequence of not believing in
Jesus is clearly stated in the Bible. That consequence will be eternity in
hell, which is also referred to as the lake of fire or the second death (See
Revelation 20:14).
You probably didn’t know this truth before, but now that you
do know it, and now that you know the outcome of not believing in Jesus, don’t
you think you need to make the decision that will secure your future? Please
don’t argue about this. If you make the wrong choice it cannot be reversed
later. God loves you, but He will not force you to do anything against your
will. Just as He left the Israelites to their own wicked devices, He will do
the same with you.
Recently, there was an advertisement on television
advocating separation of church and state. The character in the ad claimed to
be an atheist. At the end of his presentation, he said, “I am an atheist, and
I’ll gladly go to hell.” How sad! Does he know what it means to be in hell? My
heart ached for him, but then I became angry. Going to hell is not something
one should joke about or be cute about. Please don’t let this man’s attitude be
your attitude, and please don’t perish, because you really don’t have to!
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