Wednesday, June 29, 2016
A lady was having her scheduled medical checkup. When she stepped on the scales they showed she weighed 204 so she told the young assistant “Why don’t you just take off the last four?” A few seconds later the doctor ran into the room and told the patient that he had to get there quick because he wanted to see how a person looks who only weighs 20 pounds. Another lady called her doctor’s office to get an appointment for her teenage son. She told the receptionist that she was worried about him because he had not even driven his motorcycle in four days. When she asked her “do you have a thermometer?” she replied “No, it’s a Kawasaki.” In the case of both these corny jokes, it is obvious that these people did not understand the question.
Situations like these remind me of Jesus’ parables. Upon hearing one of them, His disciples asked Him: “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Jesus replied: “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.” (See Matthew 13:10-11) Just in these two verses alone, many people misunderstand Jesus’ words. Those who don’t, assume that God has favorites and that He purposely hides the words from many so that they will not get saved. Of course, that’s not it at all. The process begins in the heart. It is like the power of the sun. It will melt wax but harden clay.
God will never deny anyone who sincerely asks, seeks, and knocks at His door, as Jesus promised in His Sermon on the Mount. (Mt. 7:7) Those who don’t, on the other hand, will never get it. They will never understand the simple message of the gospel because they are perfectly happy living the way they are and think they have no need to change. Just as I mentioned in this past Monday’s blog, those who reject the truth will always receive the lie. And I am not referring here to certain things about God and the bible we sometimes get stumped by. There are things we will never know while we’re on this side of Heaven. No, I’m referring to the simple message of the gospel, knowing beyond any doubt that Christ is our Savior and being assured that Heaven awaits us. This, you get, right?
Memory verse for the week: (Romans 1:20) “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”
