The Last Straw
Do we mean to be ungrateful for all God has done for us?
Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will. Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, subjecting all things under their feet.” Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. - Hebrews 2:1-10
I am reminded by today's reading of the parable Jesus told of the landowner who sent his servants to collect the payment for the use of the land from the tenants.
When the servants were beaten and killed, he then sent his son, as a last resort, hoping they would see how much he cared for them to be true to their word.
After the son, there were no more chances for these tenants. This was the last straw.
Because God is so merciful and caring, we may be taking God for granted.
We think we can do what we want and not suffer the consequences, probably because we don't believe there are consequences.
The world, we think, is ours, not God's.
Well, it is entrusted to us, and like the tenants, we are expected to produce fruit and offer the first of them to God.
Do we?
Do we thank God for each day, for each opportunity to produce, for each harvest?
Or do we get so wrapped up in our own heads that we forget the connection we have to God?
If we believe that Jesus wiped the slate clean for us, so that we could start anew, build a new relationship with God and make our lives better, then shouldn't we acknowledge that and praise God for this opportunity?
Maybe we need a constant reminder.
But then, we may just run out of time before the reminder sets in.
More to come...