March 14, 2010

To Live is Christ — caring about souls

My granddaughter’s Facebook entry had a comment from one of her friends that said the Bible belongs on the shelf with Cinderella, Snow White and other children’s fairy tales. Regardless of my subjective feelings about the input she might have into the mind of my granddaughter, this statement reveals a great deal about this young person.

She has no idea that evidence and history support the history recorded in Scripture. The ancient sites have been found. Other writings tell many of the same stories. Further, Jewish historian Josephus writes about Jesus. Our calendar is based on Christ’s birth, which would be nonsense if He and what has been written about Him were in the same category as a fairy tale.

Today, I again read from Proverbs. “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18). Without communication from God, people do whatever they please. Keeping the laws of God is not their desire or priority.

The only other part of my devotional reading for today is a prayer at the end. It says, “Dear Lord, reveal Yourself to me more each day, and give me the boldness to look.”

God reveals Himself to those who seek Him. People will not seek Him when they think He will crimp their lifestyle. This makes belief in what the Bible says both one of spiritual revelation and a moral issue. Anyone who does not want to see Him will not look.

Yet God reveals Himself, in Scripture, in nature and by the Holy Spirit. The evidence is there for those who are willing to see it. But those who are not looking have chosen their own path. Often they also have cast off any sort of self-control in their lives.

I clicked on the link to this friend’s profile. Most fb profiles are hidden but hers was not. It revealed a ‘restraint-free’ lifestyle, not a surprise. As I read about her, I felt like sticking my words into the conversation, yet I know that anything I say would be seen as opinion rather than truth. Those who want to live without restraint are not interested in proof, solid evidence, or anything else that contradicts their opinions.

I have never met this girl, but when I read, “those who mind (what she says) don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind” — her words and the attitude behind them brought tears to my eyes and a prayer to my heart.

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