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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 3, 2005 How Do You Try To Escape God? |
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FRONTLINE DEVOTION FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 3, 2005 by Fritz
Foltz
Genesis
28: 10-22
As I grow older, I am more and more convinced very few people leave the faith
because of intellectual problems. I have always been puzzled that many people I
thought had rational problems with Church positions confessed they simply did
not give any thought to God and spiritual approaches. It was not so much that
God challenged their reason as that they simply did not give Him a part to play
in their lives. Often I felt they were saying they did not want even to
consider where acknowledging God might draw them. It was simply too dangerous.
Of course, that simply goes along with where almost all of us are. We all are
afraid of what following God too closely might mean. We all try to escape God
and his claims. The atheists just refuses even to begin trying to cope with
God’s challenge to our ways.
So the question often becomes,” How do you try to escape God?” Obviously in
our society that is often indulging ourselves continually in pleasure such as
sports, travels, and other forms of recreation and distraction. Sometimes
it takes the opposite track in constantly working hard. Each of us has his or
her own way to keep God in the background and out of the way.
Jacob tried to run away from God. He had duped his father Abraham, cheated his
brother Esau., and manipulated God’s blessings. Esau was out to kill him. So
Jacob ran away from his responsibilities. He obviously felt that meant running
away from the God of his father as well. He would go to a foreign land where
other gods ruled, gods not so concerned with ethics.
On the way he had a dream in which he saw angels going up and down a ladder to
heaven. At the top was God who called out “I am the God of your father
Abraham. I shall go with you wherever you go. I shall protect you and in the end
bring you back here to the land I promised your fathers”. Jacob responds with
“Oops! God is even here”. He comes to the insight of the Psalmist who
acknowledges there is no place to escape God.
“Where can I go to flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you
are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there”.
We expect this means God can get us wherever we flee. Instead he says it means
he can protect us anywhere. Although he cannot depend on us to keep our promises
and fulfill our responsibilities, he promises we can count on him. He will not
allow our lousy conduct to determine how he acts. .
Of course, it also means he never allows us to escape our responsibilities. The
challenge is always there, never lets up. We can never find that indifferent god
who allows us to live any way we please. He is always there confronting us with
his call for a better world.
Let us pray: Stay with us, Father, in spite of our fears. Overcome our desires
to escape from you and the deeper responsibilities of being your people. Use us
as your instruments, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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