G – Gospel: Matthew 7:13-29
I was just having a conversation with my mom and a dear friend from church about how these days there seem to be so few absolutes. Well, aside from the fact that there are no absolutes … other than the fact that the Christian’s are wrong. There’s a little bit of a rant in there, but let’s just steer clear of that.
You can kind of see why a world that doesn’t want to be told what is right and what is wrong would want to stay away from Jesus. Though we know there are such things as Christian liberty and diverse choices on non-essentials, Jesus sees the most important things as absolutes. You’re either on the broad road or the narrow road. No one is in the grass in between. You’re either producing good fruit or producing bad fruit. It doesn’t vary with the seasons or the weather. You’re either living in a house that will stand on a rock or fall on your head.
In my opinion, that is so much easier to handle. Of course, I’ve never been one to simply enjoy blazing my own trail because I can, so following the narrow road has been easier for me than it might be for some. It must be difficult though to always be figuring things out for yourself, to plant your foot where you want to stand, and then defend that spot against the people who think you should be standing 2 feet to the left. I find it much easier to say, “I’m gonna stand next to Jesus.”
E – Encourage: Galatians 4:1-7
Here I see another set of absolutes. I am either a child of God or I am not. Again, that is actually reassuring to me. I know that I have been adopted by God so I am absolutely His child. I don’t have to wonder if He loves me, or if I’m going to heaven someday. I can’t offend Him enough that He will disown me. It is natural for humans to doubt and struggle with their own thoughts and feelings, but God doesn’t. He knows who belongs to Him and He will never go back on His promises.
R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?
In a world full of choices of who to follow, what posts to like, and what channel to subscribe to, it is encouraging to know that there is one decision I only had to make once. It is even more encouraging to remember that God never changes. I can count on Him to always be the same God who gave everything He had just to secure a relationship with me.
M – Meet
I think today is another good day to simply thank God for who He is, to thank Jesus for being so definite, and to spend time connecting through the Holy Spirit.
Passages for tomorrow: Mark 6:1-6 and Titus 2:11-14
The Rest 