Fair weather and longer afternoons means lots of outdoor play for the grandkids. Boat rides in the evening after dinner at Lolly and Poppy’s are a special treat. It has been so windy of late that only recently did we dust off the cobwebs for a sunset cruise. Last year, Timothy and Ezra, both pre-walkers, never truly enjoyed boating. Their life vests cinched up tightly under their chubby cheeks and restricted their movement. Their newfound freedom means they roam happily during the entire ride. Like a bonus round in pinball, the adults bump them back into play when they veer too close to the edge or attempt to climb a rail. Left to themselves, one or both would surely take a dive.
“Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained; But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God]. [1 Sam 3:1; Amos 8:11, 12]”
Proverbs 29:18 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/pro.29.18.AMP
When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. (NLT)
Unrestrained.
Uninhibited.
Left to themselves, the people became a law unto themselves. Phrases like your truth and my truth did not originate in the twenty-first century. These lies existed in the garden where a serpent deceived the first man and woman. They resurfaced with the first brothers, before the Flood, and at Babel, anywhere God’s existence, authority, or goodness is called into question. When I ignore or dismiss absolute Truth or feel compelled to justify myself, I fall for the oldest trick in the book.
““God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.””
Genesis 3:5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.3.5.NLT
Yes, God knew and He still knows because He is omniscient. All knowledge is His, along with all power and authority. He is our Creator and Designer. He made me and you for eternal fellowship with Him. He knew before he formed Adam from the dust of the earth, before He fashioned Eve from Adam’s rib that to be made in His image meant free will. The freedom to choose or reject one’s Creator is unique to man. To be loved with an everlasting love, having done nothing, to be known completely before entering the womb, to have my days recorded before one of them came to be are truths aptly described by the psalmist, David.
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!”
Psalms 139:6 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.139.6.NLT
There is more. God proves His love to every generation though in Him we have everything we need for life and godliness and He owes us nothing.
““For 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 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.3.16.NLT
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.
For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin.
For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.
For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many.
But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.
Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners.
But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”
Romans 5:6-11, 16-19 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.5.6-19.NLT
God, in His infinite goodness, undid the power of sin and death by becoming human. Creator God submitted Himself willingly to be bound by His own natural laws. He existed within the created order for a time, offering living proof that He exists, that He has both the power and right to lay down His life and to take it up again, that He forgives sin and conquered death. Jesus, God in human flesh, set in motion a chain reaction that continues today, everywhere His name is honored as holy, His commands are obeyed and His great commission carried out. He loves you, He prayed for you, He died for you and rose again and He is interceding still at the right hand of the Father.
“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.
And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you.
And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
I am in them and you are in me.
May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am.
Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!”
John 17:17-21, 23-24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.17.23-24.NLT
Though life can sometimes feel like the bonus round in pinball or a boat ride with four toddlers, we are not left to ourselves to figure things out. God made a perfect Way for us. In the first chapter of his gospel account, John described Jesus as both true Light from God who gives light to everyone and as the eternal Word who was God. We know the Truth about God because He has made it obvious to us so we are without excuse. (Romans 1:19) He invites you to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.5.7.NIV
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
Hebrews 12:1 NLT
A Fitting Reply 