"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all;
no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."
John 10:28-29
Do you remember the games we played as children? Simon Says, Follow the Leader, Mother May I, and I'm sure there were others that I'm getting too old to remember.
"Simon Says touch your nose. Simon Says turn around in circles. OK-stop. You're out! (Insert laughter)...Simon didn't say to stop!" Or what about Follow the Leader? I don't remember much about the rules of the game, but I remember I had to emulate every move my leader made, and if I missed one move, I was out of the game. With Mother May I we couldn't make a move without permission, and the first one to get to "Mother" was the winner.
I have a file on my computer called "In Progress." It's a file of microsoft word documents that have miscellaneous song lyrics, poems, half-done thoughts and random ramblings of mine, kept in hopes of completing them some day. Half of the things I forget I ever wrote, and then some of them I pray over regularly and ask God to give me just the right words and rhythm to flow on paper what my heart feels.
This morning, I randomly opened a file I had named Follow the Leader. I couldn't help but think of the similarities and polar opposite comparisons between these man-made rules and God's views. Think about it. With Mother May I, the whole point of the game is to check with "Mother" to see if my action is permissable. Well, God's version is Father May I, and I think He likes this rule of the game. We should always be checking our every move to see if it's ok with what Father wants for us. But the difference is that He gives us free access to Him. He doesn't try to prevent us from getting to Him! In fact, it's just the opposite - He's on call 24-7, we have His written word, the Bible, and Hebrews 13:5 says He will never leave us.
I don't remember much about Follow the Leader, but I do remember we were supposed to watch our leader and do every move just like them. The leader would try to do crazy actions and sudden moves to get us to mess up, but God's version is so different. He makes the path clear for us, but just like in the game, we have to keep our eyes on Him. And when we mess up, like we always do, He doesn't kick us out of the game. We just confess, admit we made a mistake, and keep right on trying to follow. The great thing about God's version of Follow the Leader is that the game never ends until we die. We should constantly be following, copying, and emulating our Leader.
God's equivalent to Simon Says is God Says but there's no tricks along the way. He has all the rules layed out in the Bible for us. We just have to read the rule book to know them. And no, God never smiles when we make a mistake and says with a laugh, "You're out. You're out of the game."
Now let me stop there. You have to be "in the game" first. So many people believe in God; in fact, most people do. The Bible says "even the demons believe." But believing in God is not going to get you to heaven. The God Says rulebook is very clear, and I would be remiss to not be very clear in these next few paragraphs as well, because I know there are people who read my blog who "believe in God" but have never had a life-changing encounter with Him.
There must be a time in your life when you've realized that you are a sinner, and your sin separates you from God in heaven who is perfect and holy. Yes, many people believe that He died on the cross, was buried, and even that He rose again. But the fact that some people miss is that when He did this, He conquered sin and death, so that we can have eternal life. But it's only through putting our faith in Jesus Christ that this takes place. There must be a time in your life when you've asked Jesus to come into your life and save you, when You've asked Him to take control. It's a personal decision, and just because you've gone to church or been raised in a Christian family, doesn't make you a Christian. I like to use the analogy that it's as if you were driving down the road, the "sin road" and you realize you're going the wrong way. You then decide to do a U-turn and move over to the passenger side of the car of life, and let God be the driver. There is nothing I can do to earn my salvation. Nothing. Being a good person, giving to the poor, going to Africa - none of those will get me to heaven when I die. It's only by putting my faith and trust in Jesus Christ that I can be sure of heaven.
So before I go any further, think back. Can you remember the moment you asked Jesus to come into your life, forgive you of your sins and save you? Can you remember how it happened? Or do you just try to be a good person who believes in God and is trying to do your best in life? If there's never been a time in your life when you've made the decision to let God be the driver, message me or find someone who can show you what the Bible says about becoming a Christian. I urge you - make that decision today. Be sure.
The Bible says every person will have to give an account of their life. If you were to die today, and Jesus said, "Why should I let you into heaven?" Do you have an answer for him? For me, my answer would be "God, You should let me in heaven because when I was a small child, as best I knew how, I asked you to come into my life and forgive me of my sins, and I put my faith and trust in You." And that is the only answer He will accept, because everything else would be something I would have done, not what He did.
If there's been a point in your life when you've asked Jesus Christ to take control, then God doesn't say "you're out of the game when you make a mistake." And that is one of the most awesome things about this game of life! He loves us so much that He holds us with super-glue. Once we've asked Him to save us, like the verse at the top says, "Nothing will snatch us from His hand!"
I love how God uses the ordinary to speak His truth. I probably will never think of those childhood games in the same way again. And to be honest, I sure like the rules of God Says, Father May I, and God's version of Follow the Leader tremendously more!
It's for You I'll live no matter the cost.
And it's peace You give when the winds blow strong.
I will trust in You as You show the way.
Unrestrained. I will follow my Leader.
--- Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com