Charnock sums up his chapter on practical atheism by saying that the natural man will push away thoughts of God. There is no natural desire for spiritual duties, not even to pray, unless we are desperate. There is no desire to be with Him either. Every human could be totally forgiven, but apart from His work in us, we would choose instead to flee from His presence, spurn His every offer. “God stands ready, but the heart stands off; grace is full of entreaties, and the soul full of excuses . . . .”
We do not want to imitate Him either, even though He is perfection. In the beginning, He created us in His image and Adam wanted to be like God; however, as soon as sin entered the picture, he turned his back on that perfection to go his own way, to be what he wanted to be, a much lesser goal.
I think of the patience and mercy of God. Millions breathe His air, live on His bounty and yet give Him little thanks or even any thought. By their rejection they deserve hell and isn’t that what they want — to be as far from Him as possible?
At the first sin, God promised to save His rebellious creatures. He opens His arms to us, bids us come to Him, gives us all good things, even sent His Son to die for us, yet we try to climb up on His throne, rob Him of His glory, spurn His advances, ignore Him to follow our own way. Even those whom He has saved know that, “when we would do good, evil is present with us.”
This harsh and revealing chapter has had a good effect on my heart. Just as a sinner needs to see their lost estate before they can be saved, I had become complacent, taking my salvation and the grace of God for granted. I needed this reminder of my fallenness and the depravity that taints every part of my being. Yet even as I realize this afresh and better understand all that God has done for me, I sense also wanting to avoid these issues, think about other things. The God who saved me and graciously forgives and cleanses my sin is not in all my thoughts, even after recognizing how much I need Him to be there.
He has shown me again that no one can be close to God by anything we do — simply because we do not wish to be close to Him. God is not in our hearts unless God puts Himself there. We will avoid Him, push Him away, seek our own way. All that Charnock says is true. God is God, and we are not — not in the same category, not even close. His mercy and grace to save is indeed a precious gift.
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