Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “People At Ease”.
A child born today and a child born just 200 years earlier and every year before that were born into two completely different worlds. In fact, the life of most people had improved relatively little over centuries of human existence. There have been marginal improvements in the quality of life for sure, but all minor in comparison to what has taken place over the last two to three hundred years.
Life for the child born in 1722 or even 1822 was anything but easy unless they were born to rich or wealthy or royal parents. In which case, whatever could be done to make their life easier was provided for them. But the life of most people was arduous, laborious, difficult, meager and a struggle to secure the bear minimums of life.
Because of the conditions, the gospel had a special appeal to people who lived on the margins of life which was nearly everyone. Only the people with the means to make their lives easier were inclined to want to stay in this world and not long for something better. Maybe this is why Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
The problem today is that we are all rich. Richness not measured in the about of money one has, though it does count, but in the overall quality of life compared to all people born at least two or three hundred years before now. Compared to them, we are living lives of ease.
Because we are so at ease, we have become like the rich before who longed to stay in this world because they found it pleasurable and easy to live in. An easy life makes us oblivious to the dangers of our own mortality. It gives us a false sense of our own independence and reliance on our self to meet our needs. An easy life can cause us to forget that we don’t live by bread alone.
We are living so easy now compared to pass generations of humanity, that our main objective in life has become how to make our lives even easier and more enjoyable. In doing so, we have managed to move God completely out of or to the absolute margins of our daily lives so as to have no real influence on how we live.
Instead of longing for a better place and life like those before us, we have decided to settle on the one we are making for ourselves here and now. Two to three hundred years from today, life will be unimaginably easier for those living then than it is for us today. They will be even richer than us than we are to those who lived two to three hundred years before us.
But one thing for them will not have changed, just has it has not changed for us nor for all who lived before us. And that is we must answer to the God who made us and give an account of the life we have been given and lived.
We may have forgotten about God, but be assured He has not forgotten about us. We may have dismissed and forgotten about His commands, but they haven’t gone away and we will be held accountable for keeping them no matter how easy human life becomes.
Christians today should be even more thankful than all people and all the Christians before them to God for being alive at this time to be a part of this easy life. We can and should help lead humanity into thanking and obeying God for the blessing of life we now enjoy.
If we are successful, I believe God will continue to bless us with even better days ahead for ourselves and future generations. But if we continue on our present course of selfish self-seeking pleasure and indulgence, arrogance and indifference, then I believe the world is on a collision course with disaster the likes of which will be unfathomable and unimaginable.
You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above. You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link. Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities.
Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study. Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below. As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
