RESPONDING T0 THE LORD

Musick-al Note # 214
Jesus gives a stirring illustration of the way so many people act in regard to Christianity and their response to Him. He said, “It is like children playing in the market, one group calls to another group saying, “We have played the pipe and you did not dance, and we sang a dirge and you did not mourn” (Matthew 11:16-17). Apparently Jesus was saying that God has done everything from offering dancing in joy to showing sadness in funerals to get them to join Him in abundant living but mankind did not respond to His offerings at all. They did not respond to either joy or sadness, choosing to follow their own selfish ways.
Are we are just like that generation. God has shown His great love by sending His son into the world to redeem all mankind (John 3:16). We should respond to His great love by loving Him (1 John 4:10, John 14:15-24). Our love should cause us to respond in obeying His will to the saving of our souls. He extends to us exceeding and precious promises for us to join Him and escape evil (2 Peter 1:4). He has given ample warning of His coming wrath upon the disobedient when Christ returns (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). If we neither respond to His love in obedience nor tremble and fear when we hear the awesome warnings that come from the Word of God but we continue to live complacently by ignoring the warnings or disavow their portent, we are simply playing with Christianity and making up our rules as we go.
We fear neither man or God and we shrug off any thought of opposition to our complacent way of life. We are well satisfied, and do not want anything to violate our peace of mind. Failing to use sober thinking in regard to the coming judgment, we continue to strive after the wind of worldly peace. Heaven is just a word in our language, an idea that is spoken about in sermons, we do not view it as an eternal home which will be given to the faithful. We are not fully convinced that sin will separate us from an eternity of bliss – to be the cause of an eternity of suffering in the fire of Hell which is prepared for Satan and his angels. Never thinking of the eternal punishment to be meted out to the unbelieving and disobedient. Any type of warning is only seen as a threat to their way of life, thus rejected and hated.
God is – and His Word abides forever. We must be about His business both in serving and worshipping Him. He is the savior of all men; without obedience to Him we will be lost throughout eternity, having missed the prize for which we hoped to might gain by our pretended Christianity.
Gordon Musick