Friday, August 3, 2007
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My son and I were waiting in front of a restaurant and we saw this dad desperately trying to keep his impatient two-year-old occupied. What's that word they use sometimes to describe the "two's"? "Terrible"? Now there's something in a little child that wants freedom, and will go for it at the first opportunity. This kid was no exception. As soon as his dad let go for a moment, he started chugging down the sidewalk. Dad started after him, pretending he was having a hard time catching the little guy. Well, you knew he wasn't. My son just watched in amusement and he said to me, "It's so funny watching a kid trying to get away from his father. You know he's going to lose."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Futile Fugitive."
In our word for today from the Word of God, Jonah 1. It's about a child of God trying to run away from his Father. Jonah didn't like the assignment God had given him, so he tried to run away. It says, "Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord."
The Lord sends a violent storm that is about to destroy Jonah's getaway ship. Meanwhile, Jonah is sleeping down below. The captain rouses him and "Then the sailors said to each other, 'Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.' They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah." Well, now, the terrified sailors then find out Jonah belongs to Jehovah God and it says "they asked, 'What have you done?'" They knew he was running away from the Lord because he had already told them so.
God's child, Jonah, running from God. And just like that little boy we saw trying to get away from his Dad, you know his Father is going to catch him. Could it be that God brought us together today and asked me to talk about this because He knows you're running; running from your family's faith, or running from letting Him be the Lord in your life?
Consider the cost of running from God. It cost Jonah his money, his sleep, his prayer line to God, his testimony to the people he was with, and it cost him the welfare of those close to him. When you're running from God, you are a destabilizing, destructive force on everything and everyone around you. People you care about are getting hurt by your rebellion. Not to mention how much you're being hurt, or you're going to be hurt.
But like the loving Father He is, God has kept pursuing you, right to this moment. It's a good thing that parents do catch the child who's running away, isn't it, or they would eventually run into disaster or death. That's the only possible outcome when you're a fugitive from God.
Isn't it time to stop running, to turn and face your Father, to let Him have you, to let Him hold you? You have nothing to fear from going with your Heavenly Father. You have everything to fear from going against Him, from resisting Almighty God.
It could be that God has come to you on numerous occasions, tugging on your heart, saying, "Give your life - give your soul to My Son." His Son who died in your place to paid for every wrong thing, every selfish thing, every angry thing, every hurting thing you have ever done. And He's come to you and said, "Open your heart to My Son. It's time to stop running, because ultimately you will run into an awful eternity.
Today it's time to run into God's arms. If you're ready to open your heart to Jesus Christ, who gave His life for you, would you tell Him that right now? And if you'd like some help understanding how that all works, I'd invite you to come to our website yoursforlife.net. Or let me send you my booklet about beginning with Jesus. It's called Yours For Life. You can get it by calling us at 877-741-1200.
Would you stop running from your Heavenly Father today before you run into a lot more pain?