Are You Serious About God? 3-22–26

Welcome to the word for the week. If you are shopping for a winter jacket and see one you do not like you will not buy it. If you are shopping for shoes and see a pair you do not like you will not buy them. If you go out to eat and see something on the menu but you do not like the picture you will not order it. On one hand all of these things make sense. After all, one could make a point that you would have to pay for things you do not like. But what if that coat you do not like offers you the best protection against the cold? What if those shoes offer you the best support for your feet? What if that meal offers your body the most healthy choice? Would that change your mind or would you still say no because you do not like them?

All of those questions make sense and your answer may make sense until you think about something. They all point at how you see things. If you do not like what you see then you reject it. Follow me closely here. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. What happens when that same mindset creeps into your spiritual life? What happens when you come across a passage of scripture that you do not like? Will you still read it? What happens when you hear something you do not like? Will you still listen to it? What happens when God speaks through someone you do not care for? It sounds so simple to say no to things that you do not like the appearance of until you realize you are setting yourself up for trouble in other places. Let’s go further here.

There is a tough reality to this. Until you surrender to God you will always think you really can do what you want. The most ironic thing about a strong message is that those who really need to hear rarely listen and if they do it is not for long. If a preacher states the message is about your body being the temple of the Holy Ghost there is a group of people who will tune out. The whoremongers, the adulterers, the fornicators, and all others who practice sexual sins. They will dismiss the message as judgmental even though it is what they need to be free. When God speaks do you really listen? Before you say yes ask yourself this simple question. Do you willingly do what He says? There are some who will try to do what is right but fall short here and there along the way. At the end of the day you get it right. I am not talking about you. I am talking about the person who is stuck on doing wrong.

What you need may not always be packaged the way you like. What is good for you may not always come in the colors you like. What is healthy for you may not taste the best but it will help your health. The point this week is how willing are you to look past what you see in order to see what it really is? Read that question a few times to get it. What glitters is not always gold. What does not shine is not always dull. The gospel is not meant to be pretty or tasty. You have to be willing to look like a fool in order to be wise. You have to know that the word goes down bitter but it is good for your soul. The truth of the gospel is jarring but it saves us. It is brutal at times but it keeps us. It is difficult to hear but it restores us. It is tight but it is right. There is a difference between wrong and right but holiness is still right. If you are serious about God in this hour you will also be serious about what you need and not simply what you want.

May the Lord continue to bless and keep you in His grace,
Bishop Carlos J. Lennon