“Looking back on my life before I became a Christian,” Stan began, “and comparing it to what I now read in the Bible, I see many instances where God watched over me even though I wanted nothing to do with Him. I saw another instance this morning.”
“Where and what?” I asked.
“I was reading in Luke’s gospel,” Stan replied, “where there is the account of Jesus sending seventy disciples out to the places Jesus was going to visit. Jesus was on His way to those different places, but He sent out the seventy to go before Him.”
“Why?” I asked. “What were they supposed to do?”
“They were sent,” Stan replied, “to present the kingdom of God to those who would listen.”
Continuing, he added, “And what Jesus said about those who wouldn’t listen reminded me of myself and God’s grace in drawing me to Him so that I would listen.”
“How so?” I asked.
“For way too long in my life,” Stan responded, “I rejected every attempt that various people made to bring me to the truth, or, turning it around, to bring the truth to me.”
“And,” he continued, “I am eternally grateful that it wasn’t time for me to step into eternity while I was still in the rejecting mode.”
“No,” he added, “I believe that God, in His magnificent provision, kept me on this side of eternity so I would not have to experience the terrible price of continuing to reject His kingdom and those who were sent to present that kingdom to me.”
“What terrible price?” I asked.
“Eternal separation from God.”
Continuing, Stan said, “Jesus laid it out real clearly, And this is what I was focusing on in Luke’s gospel. Jesus was talking to the seventy He was sending out, but I think that what He was saying applies way beyond those seventy. It applies to everyone who rejects those He sends.”
“Rejection comes with a price,” Stan concluded. “We must be careful who and what we reject.”
_________________________________________
The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me. Luke 10:16.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for sending into my life people who wanted to present you and your kingdom so I would have the assurance of spending eternity with you when it’s time. Thank you, too, for your love, grace, and mercy that kept me on this side of eternity long enough for me to quit rejecting those you sent. I also thank you for those you continue to send into my life to help me draw ever closer to you on this side of eternity. I ask you to help me to follow your lead in listening to and accepting all you have to say to me through those people. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
_________________________________
Think on this: Rejecting what God has for us comes with a steep price, both here and for when it is time to step into eternity. Are you rejecting anyone or anything that God has for you to accept? If so, why would you do that? And what would it take for you to accept all that God has for you on both sides of eternity?
Comments, questions, suggestions, and the like can be addressed to The Storyteller at: waiting4thetrain@gmail.com.
Waiting for the Train 