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| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
Page 10 |
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| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
Page 10 |
I Just Got Tired
Johnny O. Trail
Our family purchases bulk meat from Sam’s Club on a regular basis. Typically, this consists of chuck roasts and hamburger meat. With beef being more expensive, we tend to save money when we buy it in volume. We purchase hamburger meat with the intention of either eating it within a short amount of time or with the idea of freezing it for future use.
To this end, we always label and date what we freeze. Until a year ago, I would always label the hamburger meat packages as “Hamburger” and include the date on the small strip of writing surface that is supplied on each bag. When we freeze meat, I tend to get in a hurry. I want to place it in the bag, label it and put it in the freezer. So, to save time, I have started labeling the hamburger meat as “coon.”
Our family joked about this the other day. If my wife and I happened to pass at the same time and someone came in our house to clean out our freezers, they would think, “They sure had a lot of frozen coons to eat.” To be honest, I just got tired of writing “hamburger” on multiple packages of meat. Four letters versus nine might save a few seconds and cause less of a strain on my wrist. Contrariwise, it might create confusion and potentially horror in the eyes of those who see us defrost a plastic bag labeled “coon” in preparation for a shared meal. In our family, when we see “coon” on a package of frozen meat, we know it is really hamburger.
This got me to thinking, what if God got tired of us? I know that Jesus “marveled” at things people did and said during His earthly ministry. I believe He became frustrated at the behaviors and the actions of His disciples, of his followers and of the religious authorities of His time. Mark 6:6 tends to point this out as it says, “And He [Jesus] marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching” (NKJV). Several other passages point this fact out, but this one makes the point that the people’s reaction to Jesus at times was remarkable.
Still, Jesus felt compassion upon a people who were unworthy of Him and of His mission. Luke 13:34 says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!” Despite the faithlessness and their blasphemy, Jesus still sought to seek and to save those who would have otherwise been lost (Luke 19:10).
Among other things, the life and ministry of Jesus demonstrated longsuffering in the face of withering opposition and ignorance. Jesus, God in the flesh, did not give up on those who He was trying to save. Even at the end, He was compassionate and loving toward those who had nailed Him to the cross. Luke 23:33-34 says, “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ And they divided His garments and cast lots.” No matter how terrible our sins are, the blood of Christ is powerful enough to wash them away (Acts 22:16).
Like the father in the story of the prodigal son, God does not forsake His people even when they act irrationally, wastefully and ungratefully. God does not endorse our sinful behaviors, but He earnestly awaits our return to Him. Luke 15:20 says, “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” We might turn our backs upon Him, but when we leave God, it is always a decision we make and never His decision. Romans 8:37-39 says, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing can come between a Christian and his God – unless he allows it to happen.
As alluded to earlier, God is longsuffering towards alien sinners and those who have become apostate. That is, He gives ample time for people to obey the Gospel. Second Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” A loving God understands better than any human the tragedy of dying lost. All too often, many people gloss over and do not take seriously the eternal consequence of disobedience to God. He wants all people to be saved, and the misery and suffering of the cross should underscore the horror from which Jesus was attempting to save humankind.
Moreover, God continues to bestow His blessings upon those who are ungrateful. What if every day God withheld everything for which people forgot to be thankful? What if God only blessed those who were faithful to Him? Thankfully, God is more gracious than we are oftentimes. He bestows blessings upon those who are His people and upon those who are alien sinners. Matthew 5:45 says, “That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” No person deserves what God gives him.
God loves every person – even those who hate Him. It is easy for us, as human beings, to love those who love us in return. What of those who despise us and for what we stand in our Christian walk? Matthew 5:46-48 says, “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Thankfully God has not gotten tired of bestowing blessings upon every person, even those who are rebellious.
God loved us before we ever knew anything about Him. Just as a parent’s love for an unborn child, God loves us prior to when we come to know Who He is. First John 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” God’s love was not contingent upon our love for Him first. One of His attributes is love, and He has chosen to love us even when we are difficult and rebellious.
We should be glad that God is not tired of humankind. He has given all human beings blessings that many do not appreciate or begin to fathom. He has loved people who were guilty of spitting in the face of His Son. He loves people who ridicule Him and reject His Sovereignty in their lives. Hopefully, we are not tired of Him and have not grown weary in accomplishing His will. Second Thessalonians 3:13 says, “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.”
