Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely , whatever is of good report, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, ponder on these things. - Philippians 4:8

Saturday, October 6, 2012

THE UN-SAINTLY SAINT


My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. - Job 4:8 (NLT)

     Finding a name for a puppy can be quite the challenge for some. For Harold, it took nearly three weeks for him to decide on a name and when all was said and done, he named his puppy Muffy.  And everyday, for three weeks after that, he made sure to tell everyone he saw what his puppies name was.

     With his new puppy to play with, Harold, believe it or not, managed to stay out of trouble for several months. Every day he would come home from school and from the time he got home till bed time he played with his little puppy. And when bed time rolled around he would snuggle up to Muffy and fall asleep.

     All of this would have been great but there was a slight problem, Muffy didn't stay small. Over the following months, Muffy started to grow and grow and grow. After doing some research, Harold learned that his little Muffy was a St. Bernard and when he learned how big they could get, he double gulped and started to wonder if he had made a big mistake in keeping him.

     By the following summer Muffy had grown from a little adorable puppy into a 175 pound 5 foot long monster of a dog. Muffy still slept on Harold's bed but now Harold was sleeping on the floor. When it came time to eat, Muffy was even out eating Harold, and Harold wasn't to happy with that but he didn't think he would win an argument against his dog.

     In a way, Harold's dog was becoming just like him. He ate and slept a lot, He was somewhat lazy and made big messes and just like Harold he caused lots of problems. In fact, Harold was getting into more trouble because of Muffy than he was getting into on his own.

     “I thought St. Bernard's were suppose to be saints?” Harold mentioned to his grandpa one day, “Muffy has been anything but a saint.” “Sounds like he's growing up to be just like his owner.” Harold's Grandpa replied. “I believe you're reaping what you've sown.”

     “Sew!” Harold said with disgust. “What does Muffy have to do with sewing? - Sewing is for girls!” “Where is Muffy anyway?” Robert asked. “He's, He's..” Harold said as he looked around, “No! He's in to the garbage cans again. I'll never get caught up picking up trash.” Yep.” Robert laughed, “He's just like his owner.”

     I have written many adventures for Harold and even when he tries to be good he seems to find a way to get in trouble and when a person always causes trouble, sooner or later trouble will catch up to them. Of course reaping what we sow doesn't always apply to the bad we do but can apply to the good we do as well. - Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. - Galatians 6:7-9 (HCSB)

     Jesus shows this principal in a couple stories
  • Luke 16:19-25 - Jesus said, "There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed and who lived each day in luxury. At his door lay a diseased beggar named Lazarus. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man's table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. Finally, the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham. "The rich man shouted, `Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.' "But Abraham said to him, `Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. (NLT)
  • Matthew 25:31-40 - "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' (NASB)
     Some times we reap what we sow within minutes or hours. Other times we may wait for weeks, months or years. Sometimes we may wait a lifetime and still not reap what we've sown but a day is coming when we will stand before the judgment seat of God. For there is going to come a day of judgment when God, the just judge of all the world, will judge all people according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and practice evil deeds. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on sinning—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. - Romans 2:5-10 (NLT)

      Here's Something To Ponder
  • Do you look forward to reaping what you have sown?
  • Are you willing to live differently if you're not?

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