November 14

Day 245:  Both Rabbit and Hound

When we think of people in our lives who do not know the grace of Jesus, and if we truly care about them, we can think of nothing worse than their present state of unbelief, and unredeemed future.

And it is bad! If it wasn't so bad, we'd all be content to disavow the proclaimed goodness of God, and run instead to our own false realities of security and significance. Just like our unsaved friends.

There seems to be, however, another category of rejection and unbelief worth mentioning. Hebrews 6:4-6 says, "For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are once again crucifying the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt."

This sounds absolute. Scary. At first glance, this passage seems to refer to people who stopped going to church. Maybe. And we all seem to know at least someone who lived the church life alongside us at some point, and then blew it all off later on. And those stories are always sad.

Or it could appear to refer to someone who "accepts" Jesus on a weekly basis. Inferring that this individual forces Jesus to go back to the cross repeatedly. Jesus is not going back to the cross repeatedly. What He accomplished is final and complete.

But, I'm not convinced this is talking about people who once were Christians, and now are not. The more common thing is people who want it both ways. They want the benefits of Jesus. And they want the comforts of something else.

Zephaniah 1:5 speaks to this. "I [God] will stretch out my hand against...those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens [those who worship the sun and stars], those who bow down and swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom [a well- known false god]. This describes someone who wants to cover all of their bases.

It's not always a case of refusal to continue in the grace of Jesus. More often, it's a case of wanting it both ways. Charles Spurgeon said, "It's like wanting to run with the rabbits and also hunt with the hounds is a treacherous policy." (I guess we had to live in his time to know first-hand the analogy, but we get his point.)

It's duplicity, a purposefully divided heart that is an abomination to the Lord. This is not like the country music star who sings of sinning on Saturday, and going to church on Sunday (though it might.) This is more like full-on idolators have "one less sin than those who bring polluted and detestable sacrifices to the temple of the Lord."

Jesus the Lord Christ will be all or nothing. If God fills the entire universe, there is room for no other. If He fills my heart, there can be room for no other. There is no remaining option for us to live with divided hearts.

Ultimately, we will learn we cannot be both rabbit and hound.

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church Juneau