Anything BUT a Cakewalk!

Wait patiently for the Lord.
….Be brave and courageous.
….Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 _NLT

It’s not always easy, but it is always necessary!

Luke 17:3-4 (<<click here to read the passage)

I graduated from Tucker County High School in the great state of West Virginia! It sits on the top of Backbone Mountain at about 3,000 feet above sea level smack dab in the middle of the Monongahela National Forest. The closest community east is over 7 miles away, down the mountain. The closest community west is over 6 miles away.

I was in the band in high school and a big fundraiser for us were cakewalks. We would sit on the steps of the county courthouse in Parsons and play songs. There were chalked numbers on the sidewalks and people would pay to walk around the numbers and when we stopped playing a number would be called. If you were standing on that number, you got the cake (or pie or cookies) with that number on it! Real exciting, huh? But kids loved it and many adults did, too!

That may have been fun but striving to follow Jesus amid living life here on earth is quite often anything but a cakewalk!

Did you happen to read today’s Scripture…or did you skip past it? Well just in case, let’s look at it, but this time from the Amplified Bible.

Pay attention and always be on guard [looking out for one another]! If your brother sins and disregards God’s precepts, solemnly warn him; and if he repents and changes, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him [that is, give up resentment and consider the offense recalled and annulled].” _AMP

That’s a pretty tall order, isn’t it? Honestly, isn’t forgiving someone one time a difficult enough task? It may depend on what is being forgiven and who we are supposed to forgive…but is there anything in that passage that allows for any of those qualifiers? …no, there isn’t. Jesus doesn’t give us any room for “buts” and “what ifs”. There are no “maybes” and not a single “could” or “should” …but there is a must. And the must is not a suggestion…Jesus didn’t give suggestions. It is a command. And it’s not from a mom or a dad, or a teacher or a coach or a drill sergeant or a boss or a spouse…it is from God Himself.

It was from a different set of circumstances but Jesus’ statement in Matthew 19:26 is just as applicable here, too.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” _NLT

Once again, the Amplified Bible’s emphasis at the end of verse 4.

Even if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him [that is, give up resentment and consider the offense recalled and annulled].” (emphasis mine)

Forgiveness can be challenging enough, but giving up resentment? Recalling and annulling the offense? That is why we cling to Jesus’ promise in Matthew 19:26! It is difficult but, with God – everything is possible!

Oct 4^th, 2020, Sun, 5:28 pm