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While
the Owner is Away
Imagine
if you will, that you work for a company whose Owner
found it necessary to travel out of the country and
spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to
you and the other trusted employees, "Look, I'm
going to leave. And while I'm gone, I want you to pay
close attention to the business. You manage things
while I'm away. I will write you regularly. When I do,
I will instruct you in what you should do from now
until I return from this trip." Everyone agrees...
He
leaves and stays gone for several years. During
that time he writes often, communicating his desires
and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the
front door of the company and immediately discovers
everything is in a mess -- weeds flourishing in the
flower beds, windows broken
across the front of the building, the lady at the
front desk dozing, loud music roaring from several
offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in
the back room. Instead of making a profit, the
business has suffered a great loss. Without hesitation
he calls everyone together and with a frown asks,
"What happened? Didn't you get my
letters?"
They say,
"Oh, yeah, sure. We received ALL your
letters! We've even collected
them and bound them in a book.
They have been copied over and over and
distributed to ALL the employees.
Some of us have even memorized sections of
them. In
fact, we have 'letter study' twice a week.
And every Sunday, we hear interesting lessons
using these same letters as the text.
EVERYONE here is familiar with your letters!
Why, “we even used the words of many of your letters
as lyrics of songs which we sing every week…
You know, those were really great letters."
The
Owner then asks, "But what did you DO about my
instructions?"
The
employees respond, "Do?
Well, nothing… But we READ every single
one!" *
When
Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit was given
to guide the apostles and prophets in preaching and
writing the revealed will of God (John 16:13; 1
Corinthians 2:10-13).
When Jesus returns, He will judge the world
according to these inspired “letters” which
comprise the New Testament of the Bible.
Consider
carefully what the Son of God says: “He who
rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that
which judges him; the WORD that I have spoken will
judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).
James
admonishes: “But be DOERS of the Word, and not
HEARERS only, deceiving yourselves … He
who looks into the perfect law of liberty and
continues
in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a DOER of the
work, this one will be blessed in what he does”
(James 1:21, 25).
In
His Word, the Lord has revealed that He “desires ALL
men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
He has also revealed that the way of salvation
is through Christ: believing
in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance
to follow Him (Acts 17:30-31), confessing
Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized
into Him for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38;
Galatians 3:26-27).
He
has also directed that we continue to follow His
directions faithfully: "Not everyone who SAYS
to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who DOES the will of My Father in
heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
God
has revealed His will through His Word.
Have you READ it?
Have you OBEYED it?
We will be JUDGED by it one day!
--
David
A. Sargent, Minister
Church
of Christ at Creekwood
1901
Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
* Charles Swindoll, Living
Above the Level of Mediocrity, p. 242
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