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Sign
Your Name
A
man took his car to an auto mechanic for repairs. “How much will it
cost for the repairs?” he asked.”
“Oh,
I don’t know,” responded the mechanic.
“Just give me a signed check.
Leave the amount blank, and I will fill it in when I am
finished!”
Would YOU give him a
signed check? Probably not, unless you know and trust the mechanic – or
you have an unlimited supply of money in your bank account!
Usually, we want to
know exactly what is to be done and what it will cost before we agree to
pay for some service.
Consider the
following scenario…
A woman once asked a
preacher, “Will you please tell me what true consecration is?”
Holding out a blank sheet of paper, the preacher replied, “True
consecration is signing your name at the bottom of the blank sheet, and
letting God fill in the rest as He wills.”
For many, this would
be even more alarming than giving an unfamiliar mechanic a blank check
for car repairs!
But “signing our
name at the bottom and letting God fill in the details” really gets to
the heart of what true consecration is all about.
Tom Moore shares this
insight: “All too often, many are unwilling to assume this attitude.
Many seem to want to ‘write their own ticket’ in life and then beg
God to sign it. Instead of seeking earnestly to fashion their lives
after God’s way, many seek to fashion God’s way after their lives. That
is simply backward thinking.” *
Here are the
important matters to understand:
1)
God loves us. In fact,
He loves us so much that He gave His only Son to die
for our sins so that we might have forgiveness and the hope of eternal
life
(John 3:16).
2)
God’s will is best for
our lives. He created
us and knows us and, therefore,
knows how to “fix” us and keep us going for
eternity (Jer. 29:11; Rom 8:28).
3)
God expects us to obey Him.
Jesus said, "Not everyone who SAYS to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES the will of
My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
But
we don’t have to GUESS as
to what His will is for our lives.
He has revealed His will in His Word. . . (2 Timothy
3:16-17).
He wants us to
become His children and we can, if we will: place our faith
and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus
before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized
(immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38).
Then, He wants us to live faithful, obedient lives as His
children (1 John 1:7).
When
it comes to obeying God, you can go ahead and “sign your name” on
the dotted line through your trusting obedience.
You won’t regret it!
Why
not trust and obey Him today?
David
A. Sargent, Minister
Church
of Christ at Creekwood
1901
Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
*
“True Consecration” by Tom Moore, minister of the Avenue T Church of
Christ in Temple, TX. See http://avenuetchurchofchrist.com
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