The older woman looked
up from her hospital bed into the sad eyes of her doctor. “Loretta, how many
times in the last 20 years have we talked about changing your diet. I’m so
sorry, but I can’t promise anything about recovering from this heart attack.”
Reality check.
“You’re broke, John, that’s the plain truth. There’s nothing left. For the last three years I warned you about this every single month I did your financial report. There’s nothing more to say.”
Reality check.
“Son, I can’t give you this job. You just aren’t qualified to do much of anything. I mean, what did you do during high school? Didn’t you listen to what your teachers said about the need to study?”
Reality check.
We’ve all heard people warn us, “What you are doing is going to have consequences and they’re not going to be pleasant.” But so often, we brush off those wake-up calls as unneeded advice from grumpy old people. But when their predictions come true, then it is a whole different matter. Reality checks aren’t usually pleasant.
For the last several months we’ve been studying the incredible history of the people of Israel during the period we call the Old Testament. During this era, God chose that nation to be his representative in the world – a privilege of incredible proportions. Tragically, that privilege went unrecognized and as the centuries progressed, God’s chosen people became his rebellious people. The only way to call them back was a reality check. And what a reality check it was; today we call it the Babylonian exile. In short, a nation which had existed for 1000 years was shattered in less than one.
Had God lost his mind? Did he give in to his violent side? No, it was the only way to call his people back to him.
Rebelliousness runs through the veins of even the most dedicated believer in Christ. It will until we enter into his physical presence in eternity. Until then, we need to pay attention to the reality checks Jesus sends into our lives. It is, put simply, a matter of life and death.
Weekend worship service times: Saturday: 6:00 pm – Sunday: 10:00 am
