1 John 1:1-4 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”
THEME OF THE DAY: DON’T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED. God desires our fellowship. Think about this. God really desires our company. Don’t blow by this astonishing truth. God really, really enjoys our seeking Him and spending time with Him. Don’t take it for granted.
In today’s scripture, we are exposed to this soul-thrilling and soul-overwhelming truth: God has provided what is necessary to grant us the privilege of knowing Him. It is through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ opening the way by His work of redemption and it is realized by our life in the scriptures. Again, don’t take this for granted. And one of the easiest and most prevalent sins among us is not complaining, procrastination, or discontentment. Oh, those are the ‘big three’ for sure which will so deaden our souls, bring God’s displeasure and chastening in our lives, and render us joyless, but they really flow from a heart that has allowed the Lord and the privilege of knowing Him to be taken for granted.
When it comes to taking things for granted in life, every one of us fall prey to this occurrence. We do it to our families, churches, occupations, and a host of other things. This spirit of taking things for granted is clothed in the robe of selfishness. Self-love has a way of blinding us to the goodness of God, His blessings, and the awesome privilege found in today’s scripture: fellowship with Him. And it is extremely important we fight against the ease and tendency to take things in life, especially spiritual things in life, for granted. Allow this spirit to remain without waging all-out war against it, and devastating spiritual results will occur and that soon in one’s walk with the Lord. One result will be the arrival in a condition of backsliding.
Backsliding doesn’t happen with sudden and grave sin. It begins with taking the Lord for granted. When we go through our days of being provided the necessities of life like food and clothing, protection from nature’s elements by the security of a home, and good health through God’s grace, and forget or rarely give God heart-felt thanks, we are starting the path to becoming a backslider. When we are privileged to be in a church committed to the Bible and prayer without compromise and we don’t give ourselves fully to this body by faithfulness and sacrificial commitment of our time and resources, we are starting the path to becoming a backslider. When we have access to Bibles and are able to enjoy the Lord in prayer but neglect or ignore both without remorse, we are starting the path to becoming a backslider. God is so good and has blessed us so much, it is our responsibility to ensure we don’t take Him for granted. If we do, we are traveling on the dangerous road which always ends in a God-dishonoring backslidden condition (Proverbs 4:23).
The old hymn reads, “Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings see what God has done.” This is an important reminder and command to obey. It will help keep our hearts in wonder and awe over the tremendous grace we have and do receive from the Lord of all grace.
PRAYER: “Lord, prevent me from falling into a complacency that leads me to take You for granted.”
QUOTABLE: “Backsliding doesn’t occur with sudden serious sin. It begins with taking for granted the things of the Lord.”