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IT WORKS FOR ME A few years ago, my brother-in-law and I were discussing the virtues of
exercise and eating. Wonder what
exercise and eating have to do with this article?
Let me explain, Doug, my brother-in-law, exercises each day.
He runs and works with weights on separate days.
When I see Doug I see a person in “real shape.”
I on the other hand work out “most days” as I pedal on a stationary
bike and do various exercises. However,
I am not in the kind of “shape” that Doug is because of his eating habits.
I explained to Doug that I exercise and drink diet drinks so I can eat
French fries. It may not make sense
but as I explained, “It works for me.” He
chuckled at that statement. Obviously
if I ate better I would be in better shape but I just lack the self control. This makes me think of situations that work for others yet makes no sense to
those around them. The person that never thinks about God on a daily basis yet then expects God
to take care of them when trouble occurs falls in this category.
It does not make sense to forsake God and expect Him to pick up the
pieces but hey, it works for them. The
person that reads his Bible but refuses to live by it is self deluded.
The Hebrew writer says Jesus is “the authority of eternal salvation to
all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5.9b). A person who
works day and night for temporary things but not for an eternal home does not
make sense. We all know the material
possessions in this life are blessings but the greater blessings are in heaven.
Why work for something that will belong to another when your die? When
you can prepare your soul for eternity? Jesus spoke a parable about a farmer who was a real worker and prosperous.
He was so good at farming that he decided to tear down his barns to build
bigger ones. Unfortunately his life
ended that very night, see Luke 12.13-21. In
the long run his work did not amount to much.
But hey it worked for him. The person that talks about faith but does not act by faith does not make
sense. We read about faith in
various passages. It can be defined
by Romans 10.17, we understand what faith must live by it in Romans 1.17, we are
told of its essential position in our salvation in Hebrews 11.6, “But without
faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that
He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
I dare say that if I would ask every Christian here today if they have
faith they would say yes. Yet when
it comes to making “faith based” decisions they decline.
They walk by sight instead of faith.
I guess it just works for them. Finally a person can be religious but not according to God.
Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 7.21-23.
They do many “good works’ but not according to God’s word.
They want to give God the glory and credit but it is not according to His
word. Such is sin and will cause
those involved to be lost for eternity. When
questioned they seem to not be concerned about what the Bible says.
Once again it just works for them. While these things may
work for you and me they do not work for God.
Just as I will not lose weight by eating French fries and Big Mac’s
every meal so also a person will not go to heaven by doing things contrary to
God’s word. It just doesn’t work for Him. D. T.
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