Sunday, October 04, 2009

A Friend with a Problem - October 4, 2009

Good Sunday morning! Suppose for a moment this morning that you have met a new friend. You like how he sounds and the things he has to say; his looks are not so good as to threaten your sense of self worth, but at the same time people are not pointing and throwing rotten fruit either; your new friend is witty, charming, and you genuinely like to be around him. Then you discover something that just ruins it. Perhaps he slurps his coffee from the back side of the cup, pouring hot liquid down his shirt, and thoroughly making a mess of himself in public. You might laugh except that he completely ignores his bad habit and continues to chat in his witty and charming way as though nothing at all was wrong with pouring hot coffee all over his shirt. The bad habit might not be as silly as all that, but say that he pours his hot coffee, doctors it with cream and sugar, and then waits until the drink is lukewarm to have a sip....every time he drinks coffee. Still kind of silly? Okay, suppose he drinks decaf and acts like it's his favorite drink in the morning while you can't even start the day without a stiff belt of super espresso caffeine boost? Hey, wait a minute; what 'choo got against decaf, anyway? :-)

You have probably run into something like this before. A new friend seems to be a great addition to your life and then... boom, something in his character or condition is just so revolting to you that you really have no idea what to do or say. Imagine looking down from Heaven and finding all of the human race that way. You told them about it and warned them about it, finally starting over with a flood, but still those friends continued to have this problem. Finally, you sent your beloved Son to walk among them and point right to the problem, but still those people chose to cling to that terrible problem, sin.

Yes, God found a very revolting problem in all of us. He sent His only son, Jesus, to make it right. He offered a way to be redeemed with only one simple condition; believe in Him. Jesus wants us as friends, but we have to get rid of that one revolting problem. The only problem is; we can't get rid of sin on our own. So, Jesus also gave up his own life to free us from sin. That's how badly He wants to be our best friend. Praise God that He would sacrifice everything to save us. What do we have to do to get this salvation? Simply believe in Him; accept Him as the Son of God.

Be a good friend today, don't point out the sin, point to the one who can cure it!

Bucky

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