Romans 1:18-20
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
Have you ever had to write a letter to a company or an organization? You have no idea who will be receiving the correspondence, so you address it: To Whom It May Concern. I have often wondered what the person looked like who would be reading what I had written and if in fact they would actually read it.
Back when I was a Juvenile Probation Officer, We had a teenage boy who had a long history of criminal offenses. The Judge committed him to the State Mental Hospital for evaluation and recommendation for further action.
I spent a considerable amount of time preparing a detailed background history of the young man. It listed his residence, how long he had lived there, what schools he had attended (all of them were local), reports from school authorities and his extensive offense record.
In a few days I received a call from the State Mental Hospital that they were finished with their evaluation and that we could come and pick him up to be returned to the community. The judge was disturbed, but ordered me to cross the state and pick him up.
While I was waiting for him to be brought to the office for release, a psychiatrist called me aside and expressed his sympathy. I was confused until he began to tell me how the boy had been shifted from state to state, home to home and school to school all of his life. He shook his head and said, “I still cannot believe that this poor boy has survived having lived in so many different homes.” I simply shook my head and smiled that this man had read nothing we sent to him.
As we were traveling back home I asked the boy why he had told the counselor such wild stories? He grinned and said; “Since the man seemed to believe anything I told him I decided to really make up a good one.” (I somehow believe the boy was smarter than the counselor!)
I fear that we fail to grasp the truth that our obedience to God’s Word is not simply directed to; “To Whom It May Concern.” We have a Savior in heaven that came to earth and sacrificed His own life to save ours!
It is far too easy to become nonchalant in our spiritual walk and forget the terrible price He paid for us. Today’s Scripture makes it plain that He knows us and His plan for men and women everywhere is revealed clearly so that no one can say that they did not know. He knows us and He wants us to know Him by name—His name is Jesus!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil