Ultimately....it is only you and God.....or me and God.....anyone and everyone and God. It's not you and your spouse or your best friend....and it's not you and you. What do I mean by that? We all talk to ourselves.....not comically as you might see in a movie or television show....not even audibly....but in our mind. I run something by myself.....to see how it sounds....and then I either give my approval to myself....or I reject it. Well....that's what most of us do with questions that revolve around God and eternal life. We have to come up with an answer somewhere....and no one has the time or desire to hear us out.....except.....us.
So it is the natural thing to do....it can serve a purpose....and there's really no way to avoid it anyway. The problem isn't that it's a terrible or sick thing to do. The problem is that it is only a preliminary....to the only thing that really counts....that being.....it is only you and God.
There's a sucker born every minute right? I can beat you in a debate....or you can beat me in a debate. I can even fool myself....or you can fool yourself! But you cannot fool God. You cannot deceive Him. You cannot beat Him in a debate. You cannot find a loophole. You cannot even ignore Him! A person may live for eighty years and believe that they have successfully ignored God for the entire time....but they have only fooled themselves.
Invictus....I am the master of my fate....I am the captain of my soul....is a losing proposition that is chosen by many. The other losing proposition is worrying about what the....many....think about us. It is only God's opinion that matters. Jeremiah is a good example of this. He was a persona non grata for forty years. Even after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and the temple....proving Jeremiah right on everything....the few that Nebuchadnezzar left in the city still called Jeremiah a liar and a false prophet.
So what are you going to choose? Are you going to take the easy way? Enjoy it if you do....for it will only last for a short while. Yogi Berra once said that if you come to a fork in the road....take it. Hmm? Famous for his malapropisms....we knew what he meant each time. "That place is so crowded....nobody goes there anymore"....we knew what he meant. Henny Youngman....an old-time Jewish comedian...."A patient lifted his arm and said....'It's hurts when I do dat'...the doctor said...."Well don't do dat'!'" So like it or not you are at a fork....everyone seems to going one way....well don't go that way!
I will tell you this on that choice...."It ain't over till it's over"....God holds back the understanding....and the rejoicing....and the strength....until you come only to Him....until you seek only His directions....and then....as the gospel and letter writer John might explain it...."the world itself could not contain"....the joy and the hope and the trust in store for those who believe and are born again!
