Once
I was in a church group reunion to play some games. In one of them, the leaders
told us the group was too large for the same and they had to choose the right number
of people by giving out a test to prove who followed directions the best. They
gave everyone a piece of paper with about thirty instructions and said to turn
it in as soon as finished. The first direction, of course, was “to read them
all before doing anything” and the second was to write your name on the right
top corner. Then I decided there were too many to read them and then go back to
work on them so I would read them as I followed the directions. So I started to
read the most unusual orders like “stand up and scream your name” or “bleat
like a sheep” or “count from 1 to 10”. A lot of people were doing them while
others turned in their papers fast. I guessed there were so many directions,
they got tired to follow them, or perhaps they felt stupid and simply retired
from the game. The person beside me and I, as good direction followers, did
them all to find out at the last one that we were only to do the first two and
skip from 3 to 29. The only one person who knew that trick laughed every time
he heard someone bark or say something silly. I do not know if the ones who
turned in their paper simply read the last direction first or also knew the
“game” which made me feel so stupid, wanting to finish fast to realize I should
have followed and done the first one.
Many
people, and I’m one of them, do not like reading instructions like, for
instance, a “user manual” for the electronic device we buy or perhaps even a
furniture assembling sheet. We think we are smarter than to follow simple
directions, and most of the times we will have a screw or other pieces left
over at the end, making the artifact fail because only its creator knows why
they were there.
Our
Creator came to this world in a form of a baby and grew up like one of us. He
was 100 % human and 100% divine. By this I mean He hurt, suffered, and
understood our problems. He helped some, and knew how to deal with them so we could
learn to resist until He comes back for us. He taught the people and left us
directions to follow. Do we follow them?
Many
people blame God for the bad things that happen in this world. They do not
realize those are due to our wrong choices because of our laziness and our
rebellion; our sin, which He did away with at the Calvary cross, out of love. And
that was the main reason of his first coming, to pay for us thus eliminating
eternal death. He did it so we would not have to, but some of us have chosen
not to believe Him, to pay eternally. That
is what the evil one wants.
So
why not follow the first instruction? And that is the short version of the Ten
Commandments as Jesus said on Mathew 22, also on Luke 12, of Deuteronomy 6:
“You shall love
the Lord your GOD with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind. This is the first and foremost commandment. The second is like it: You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Matthew
22.37-39)
So,
if we follow these directions we have nothing to fear, for the Lord will be
with us. Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He said:
These things I
have spoken to you so that in ME you may have peace. In the world you have
tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. (John 16.33)
