"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free"
(John 8:32).
Hey Gang: I was
listening to a discussion, well, it really was not a discussion because one
participant was very opinionated and was not about to agree or even consider
what the other person was saying. It
reminded me of a neighbor who lived several doors down from my home in my
growing up years.
Have you ever run into
person who was so cock-sure they had all the answers and those answers were without
question – perfect. Archie Mc Tavish was such a man. Now, there are stubborn folks in the world, and
then there was Archie McTavish. He was
a true, blue Scotchman who let everyone in ear-shot know it.
It was said that Arch had gained such a reputation for his
stubbornness that folks just tended to give him space and remarked, "Oh, that’s
the way he is” and tended to give way to him- rather than doing battle over
things that were just not worth the pain and agony that it would take to try
and convince Arch that he might be wrong.
And then one day, Archie's stubbornness cost him his
life. During a rain storm he noticed a
leak in his roof. His house was of the
three-story variety and about twenty-five feet in high. Now his bride, of more than forty years,
tried to convince Arch that this was not the time to try and repair the roof
but, as you might guess, Arch would have no part of that! So, he got out his
repair kit, put up the ladder and began to climb.
All went well until Arch stepped on a spot that was slippery. He came off the roof like a speeding bullet,
did a half gainer and made a sudden stop at the bottom. Arch should have listened to Amy, his bride,
but his stubbornness won out and it cost him his life.
This is not the end of the story, Arch had been a rather
rough individual who had no time for religion, although he had been baptized
into the Catholic faith. Since he had
lived a rather rough life, the church determined he would need to be prayed out
of purgatory and Amy was expected to foot the bill for the services of the
church. It was rumored that after
several years of paying for Arch's soul,
Amy went to check to see how much
longer it would take. The priest
suggested all was out but one foot- to which she remarked, “Arch was stubborn
enough to get his own foot out” and ceased paying.
Archie was stubborn and we can say it led to his demise, but
spiritual stubbornness is far more lethal than doing a half-gainer off a
slippery roof. It is absolutely amazing to me that so many so-
called intelligent people do not have a deep compulsion to seek the truth
pertaining to eternal life and where they will spend eternity.
In Revelation 3:20 Jesus made this promise to each and every
creation that He breathed life into: "Behold, I stand at the door at the door and knock." Notice the next word "IF"; “IF you open the door I
will come into you?" In
John 3:16, God puts legs on that promise” "I
loved you so much I gave my only Son that you might be freed from the bondage
of sin". In other words, “I have sent Yeshua, mu Son to carry your
sin-burden to the cross to free you from the bondage of sin.”
I believe one of the most profound verses in the Bible, and,
I might add the most tragic and sad, is Revelation 16:11: “And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their
sores; and they did not REPENT OF THEIR DEEDS.”
So, my friends and neighbors, I know that most, if not all
of those who read the Gramps Morning Thoughts, are believers and safely tucked
away in the Savior's hands- but it does not hurt to do a review once-in-a-while
if, for no other reason to thank your heavenly Daddy that He prepared a way for
you to dump the errors of your ways and be washed clean with the blood of the
cross. Keep in mind, Jesus said, "I am the way,
the truth and the life, no one come to the Father except through Me". (John 14:6).
Blessings,
Gramps
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