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IS IT POSSIBLE TO LOVE SOMEONE RIGHT INTO HELL?
I understand the concept of mincing words so that we do not hurt anyone’s feelings. I despise rudeness and unnecessary bluntness in the name of “truth.” Nor do I wish anyone to be upset with me because of something I said. It would be nice if we could go through life without enemies. However (you knew there was a “however” coming, didn’t you?), sometimes, we are so afraid of hurting someone’s feelings or offending him that we will not say what that person most needs to hear. He may even be desperate to hear it! Sometimes, we “love” him so much that we will “love” him right into hell. Did you ever think of it that way? Or is the problem even worse than that? Are we really afraid of offending him, or are we just afraid of being thought “unloving?” Is this really a selfishness problem after all? Do we really suppose that we can go through life with everyone liking us all the time? Heaven forbid that someone should be angry with us for telling them the truth! Yes, I’m afraid heaven will forbid us if we keep that up. It is ironic, but it is simply a fact of life that people are going to be mad at us on occasion if we are preaching the gospel. I say it is ironic because gospel means “good news.” But you can’t get the good news until people realize there is bad news. Paul had a lot of people – even fellow Christians – angry at him. In Gal. he says, “Do I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” Paul loved the Galatians and all he wanted was for them to go to heaven. But he knew he couldn’t accomplish that if he made hard things soft. It was the truth that made them “enemies.” Jesus did the same thing. He preached and the people at first loved hearing Him. But soon, the truth became hard to bear and they d Him and got offended at Him and, finally, enraged at Him. No matter, Jesus preached the hard things and the comforting things and the challenging things and the reassuring things, in season and out of season. Jesus cared about one thing – the eternal destiny of men and women. Can any of us do less? When we tell it soft in order to spare feelings, we are betraying a lack of eternal foresight. We care only about the now. We risk getting to judgment and facing people whose feelings we sought to spare and hearing the horrifying words, “why didn’t you fell me?” To make it worse, that may well precede the terrible words from our Lord, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Can you imagine getting to heaven and looking for someone you thought was faithful and when asked where he was you’re told, “he did a lot of things right, but he would never talk to a visitor; he was warned that it was important, but he just wouldn’t do it.” It is significant and instructional for us that Ezekiel was told that if he failed to warn the wicked man, the wicked man would did, but Ezekiel would be held responsible also (Ezek. 3:18). But if Ezekiel warned him, his responsibility was fulfilled. He would not be charged with wrong. I don’t believe the Bible teaches us that warning the wicked is an option. It seems to be a requirement of those who are righteous. The fact that it is hard to do does not relieve us of the responsibility. - David Posey AND ANOTHER THING
(That Happy Outlook!) Went into an auto repair place the other day (to pick Travis up who was having his car worked on) and met a lady coming out. As I held the door open for her, she smiled and said “good morning.” I responded with a “good morning; how are you?” And she said, “I’m blessed, thank you.” I’m here to tell you, if you can come out of an auto repair place and say that – well, you must really be blessed! Got to thinking, “what a great way to handle one’s day!” I recently had one of those “good days.” I too had to have my own car checked out. Leaking oil; and Willie doesn’t give up on getting a car fixed that leaks oil on her garage floor! Anyway, the man said it was just the oil filter that wasn’t screwed on tight, so he fixed it and said “no charge.” Ok great – to get out of such an establishment that cheap will make you feel “blessed.” That same morning I had to go to the dentist for my twice yearly check-up. Got done, had clean teeth, and the dentist said, “great – no cavities.” That made me feel “blessed” too. In fact, it made me feel so good I went to the local men’s store and bought a new suit! Willie opined it would have been cheaper to just say “I’m blessed, thank you,” than it would to buy a new suit. But she was a sport about it and even helped me buy a new tie to go with it! Maybe we all treat our “blessed” days in different ways, but above all, let’s appreciate them when they come - however we may express it. My only problem is that the way I go about it, I can’t afford to be “blessed” too many days in a row – unless I learn to just say, “I’m blessed, thank you.” – Bill Moseley |