Yes, this is true! When th...
Articles Community blogs The Unwilling Heart! | The Unwilling Heart! |
|
| Written by Khimani A. Williams | ||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 01 July 2008 | ||||||||||||
|
“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, ‘Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said unto him, ‘What is written in the law? How readest thou?’ And he answering said, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.’ And He said unto him, ‘Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.’ But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’” Luke 10: 25 - 29 Do you understand what is happening here? The unwilling heart is at work! I don’t know who this certain lawyer was, but I know his devious intentions. He asked Jesus the $64000 question: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This is a question I believe billions are asking, but the simple answer a majority of that figure is not willing to accept. To a straightforward answer, Jesus, like He always does when others try to push His back against the wall, responds with a straightforward question! He sought to ascertain the lawyer’s understanding of how eternal life is given. The lawyer, being learnt, knew fully well what is required. To Jesus’ question he replied correctly, to love God with our everything and to love our neighbour as ourselves. But when Jesus told him that in doing this thing he will live, he asked a foolish question, “…who is my neighbour?!” Before the Holy God he was trying to cover up his sinfulness. The unwilling heart is cold! We are living in a very deceptive time, and the sinful heart doesn’t help. Musicians, instructors, role models and other influential figures constantly encourage listeners, ‘follow your heart!’ But that advice might prove to be tragic. Man in his nature is a sinner and that’s why we sin. At our very best we are sinners: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” [Isaiah 64: 6]. Like the wind, our sins will take us away from eternal life with God to eternal condemnation. But God doesn’t want us to die; He gave us His best when He gave over His Son to die for our sins. Jesus’ timeless question still stands and it is directed to you: “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” Are you going to ask, “Who is my neighbour?” or are you going to ask, “Lord, teach me how to love my neighbour!” Do you know the story about the poor man Lazarus and the rich man? Yu can find it in St. Luke 16: 19 – 31. It speaks of a poor man Lazarus who was just that, poor, and a rich man who had it all. Both had their life to live, but at the end of it they died. Lazarus went with God and the rich man went to hell. As the story comes to a close the rich man, feeling the sting of his torment, asked for Lazarus to be raised from the dead and warn his brothers to live for God and not go to hell. But what reply did they receive? He was told that his brothers had the Word of God, the Law and the prophets to obey. Do you think that that is fair? Wouldn’t a man being raised from the dead be more effective and impressive that some Words written thousands of years ago? Wouldn’t men change their lives when they experience the miraculous? The sad answer is ‘no!’ See, the unwilling heart speaks for itself – it is just not willing to conform. Like an insecure employee it is resistant to change. But if you think a man rising from the dead will convince the multitude that living for God is best, remember that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was also dead but raised to life three days after. And who did that convince? Those who were enjoying the pleasures and prominence paid money to distort the truth they heard. The Pharisees knew the Word of God, but they were not willing to obey, and so not even God rising from the dead could convince them. The unwilling heart betrays! The unwilling heart is quite unfriendly, both to the man who possesses it and those around him. It is not a good thing to follow our heart, i.e., the unconverted heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” [Jeremiah 17: 9]. This is God’s question to us. If you rely on your emotions it will deceive you. God is who we must depend on. He alone knows the ways of life. He alone has the answers to your every question, though the time you get some might not be when you want. But to the earlier question He gave an immediate reply in verse 18: “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Don’t run from God. You can’t! Run to Him. You can! He is quite willing to save you from your sins. He is God! He loves you more that you could ever imagine. His love is deep and wide and high. It is not His will for you to die, but to live. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” [II Peter 3: 9]. You can’t live for God alone; He will help you by His Spirit. Follow God and not your heart.
And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest… And likewise a Levite… and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan… went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him… Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.26
3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved." |
||||||||||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
