Reluctant Retiree

The narcissist feeds their self-centeredness until they do not even recognize their selfishness any longer. The addict consumes until they can no longer resist. The greedy corporate executive flaunts the rules of ethics until he no longer sees the line of morality he is crossing. The angry person becomes out of control venting their frustration time and again.

Jeremiah 5:3 says, “O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.” From time to time we will suffer because we have done something wrong. God uses these times to correct us. We can choose to reject His correction and continue in our bad behavior, but we will eventually make our hearts cold and heart, like those listed in the previous paragraph. Or we can learn from God’s corrections and repent from our bad behavior. Then we can continue on the right path with God’s blessing.

When we see a beautiful sunrise, we take a picture to capture this spectacular event. At the birth of a child or grandchild, we record this extraordinary event with photos. When we see nature’s glory, we sit in stunned amazement at its grandeur. All of these sights inspire us, move us to tears, and are recorded in our memories to dwell upon forever.

Isaiah 40:5 says, “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” God has promised to reveal His glory to all people at the end of time, when Jesus returns to earth. His glory is far greater than a sunrise, birth of a child, or nature’s glory. His glory will overwhelm all who see it. This will be a source of great joy and the fulfillment of hope for all those who have believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. But it will be the source of ultimate dread for anyone who has rejected Him. Let it be a source of joy and fulfillment of hope for you. Place your trust in Jesus Christ today.

“And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?'” Luke 24:31-32

After the resurrection, two disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus. Jesus came to them and walked with them, but Jesus kept them from recognizing Him. Jesus began sharing Scriptures with them, explaining how the Scriptures had foretold His coming, His death and His resurrection. Later when Jesus had broken bread for them to share, their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus.

We all should ask God to open our eyes, so that we can see and understand His work all around us. We should ask Him to open our ears to hear His voice in the Scriptures. And we should ask Him to open our hearts to understand what He is showing us and telling us. Then we will know the burning passion for God that thes disciples came to know.

At various times in my life, I have said some things about myself that were not true. I have exaggerated my good qualities and minimized my weaker character traits. I don’t think that I am alone in this failure. What we say about ourselves is important, but not nearly as important as what we say about God.

II Timothy 2:11-13 says, “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” These verses give us promises and a grave warning. If we have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God promises that we will enjoy His blessings in this life and live forever with Him. If we endure the sufferings of this life, God promises that we will reign with Him in eternity. Even though we may be faithless at times, God promises to remain forever faithful to His children, His Word, and His promises. Those who choose to deny Jesus Christ will suffer eternal separation from God in torment as He will deny knowing them to the Father.

Please do not deny Jesus Christ His rightful place as Lord and Savior of your life. He will fulfill His warning and promise that He will deny you before the Father and your suffering will have no end. He loves you and wants to spend eternity with you, ruling the nations. And He wants you to embrace the blessings He has for you in this life.

We don’t think highly of government leaders who do not follow through on their promises once they are elected. We would also have a distaste when an athlete that we supported does not fulfill their commitment to the team or its fans. Failure to follow through on our promises is still popularly viewed as disgusting and a character flaw.

Proverbs 20:6 says, “Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?” Love demands that we honor our commitments and do what we say that we will do. We understand this in some areas but accept failure in others. When a marriage falls apart, some people will become angry over the failure of a spouse to live up to their promises, others will shrug it off as no big deal. When we promise a child that we will do something, we had better follow through, as they will not soon, if ever, forget and their understanding of love is damaged. The same is true in other areas of life. When we don’t follow through, remaining steadfast and faithful in our commitments, we damage relationships and forsake love.