I am sure we have all been guilty of purposefully ignoring something that we do not really want to see. Well – I have anyway - I hope I'm not the only one! It may be a warning sign, speed restriction, a person we may not want to speak to, a situation happening that we'd rather not get involved in. Sometimes, we turn a blind eye and chose to pretend we've not seen what's really going on. Or you may be able to recall a time as a child when you deliberately chose to ignore what your parents or a teacher were telling you. No doubt there would have been some consequences to ignoring what you had been told.
Today's passage reminded me of this and of how I have suffered several times for thinking I knew better and pretending I didn't really know the rules.
"That is why I felt so fine as long as I did not understand what the law really demanded. But when I learned the truth, I realized that I had broken the law and was a sinner, doomed to die. So as far as I was concerned, the good law which was supposed to show me the way of life resulted instead in my being given the death penalty. Sin fooled me by taking the good laws of God and then using them to make me guilty of death." Romans 7:9-11 [The Living Bible]
It is very easy to ignore the rules – to pretend we do not know God's law, His commandments, the rules He has set us to live by. We think we can get along just fine without them. If people feel fine without the law, why did God give it? He gave us the law, the rules to live by, because sin is real and dangerous.
Imagine a beach on a sunny day. You're hot and sticky, so head off to the sea for a lovely cooling swim. You're splashing around, feeling exhilarated and free in the vast expanse of water. Suddenly you notice a sign that says "NO SWIMMING – SHARKS IN THE WATER". Your lovely swim is ruined! Is it the sign's fault? Are you angry with the people who put the sign up? Of course not. God's law is like that sign – it is essential and we are grateful for it – but it doesn't get rid of the sharks. It simply tells us what to do to avoid being destroyed by them.
Today, take some time to reflect on what signs God may be showing to you, and make the conscious decision to listen to their warning and obey what God is telling you. Don't get bitten by the sharks!!
Corinne Mason
Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 88:1-9a, Hosea 3:1-5:15, Romans 7:1-13
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