Remember back when you was in school and you didn't get your homework done? Perhaps you used the old excuse "The dog ate my homework." In today's tech savvy society an updated excuse may be "My hard drive crashed and I lost my homework." The point is, we can sure come up with some excuses, can't we?
Man has come up with excuses for many years as to why he did or didn't do something. Sometimes we even point to others so as to reflect the blame from ourselves, as in the case of Adam. There's just something about personal responsibility we don't like to face.
Jesus told a parable of a man who made a great meal and invited many to join him for this meal. Those invited certainly had their share of excuses. One said he had purchased a piece of property and had to look it over. Another said he had just bought five teams of oxen and he really needed to check them over. Yet another said he had just gotten married and needed to get home to his wife. At one point someone came to Jesus and said they wanted to follow Him, but let them first go and bury their parents. Get this - their parents weren't even dead yet!
My wife, Cindy, was talking to a lady recently who said she knew she needed to be gathering with God's people. She knew it would encourage her and help to lift her spirit. This lady said she needed to get involved in the work of God. And she was going to! BUT...yep, you guessed it - she had an excuse. She couldn't do it this week or next week, but maybe sometime next month.
If it weren't so sad it would be humorous just how creative some people try to get with their excuses. Some have given up on creativity altogether and are just flat out lazy. I'm sure glad Jesus didn't offer up any excuses when it came to the cross! His going to Calvary was a necessity for our salvation. No excuses there, praise God!
All these people, and scores of others today who are making excuses, lack commitment to God. That's really the bottom line. People today are just not committed to the One who committed all to them. I'm not talking about commitment to a church, a preacher or any other person or entity. I'm talking about genuine, sincere commitment to God.
It's interesting how we show such a lack of commitment to God yet let something come up in our lives and we want God at our beck and call. We want Him to be available when we need Him. What if God had the same level of commitment to you that you have to Him? What if He gave you the same excuses that you give to Him?
I think it's high time we get off out "blessed assurance" (back side) and get up and commit ourselves to Jesus Christ and get busy about the Father's business. We are, after all, to occupy until Jesus comes. In case you haven't noticed there's still much to do!
Until next time, enjoy the journey!
Ray
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