A Brand Plucked from the Fire
By Stephen Terry
"Then I heard a loud voice in
heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of
our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our
brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and
night, has been hurled down. '" Revelation 12:10, NIV
No one enjoys the pointing finger or the
accusing glare when we are accused of wrongdoing. We would prefer to keep our
transgressions secret. We know we did wrong, but we don't find it easy to talk
about it, and we certainly don't appreciate it when it is pointed out to
others. As children, we've all experienced the sibling or playmate who acted as
a "tattle tale." Wanting power over others, they would take delight
in exposing the weaknesses of others and seeing them punished for their
actions. Tattle tales were never popular but often feared. They had no real
power unless they could get someone with true authority to inflict punishment.
Most fathers and mothers would not encourage a little accuser using power in this
way and tattling could bring its own punishment.
Our heavenly Father has to deal with
tattling, also. Revelation, chapter 12 tells us that the Devil or Satan accuses
us endlessly (day and night)
before God. He knows that we have done wrong. We know it as well, and he makes
sure we don't forget. He not only reminds us constantly of what we have done,
but he also asks us how we can come to God in all the filthiness of our sins
and dare to ask to be received by such a just and holy Being? He does not do this
because he has any power to change God's attitude toward us. Instead, he does
it to discourage us. He hopes we will give up and not come to our heavenly
Father.
Satan knows that if we have our eyes on
God, we will never want to break our relationship with him. We will be
"head over heels" in love with God and what He has done for us. He
also knows that if he can get us to focus on ourselves and our failures, he can
hope to break that loving bond.
One of the most common questions that
pastors are asked by worshippers is "Have I committed the unpardonable
sin?" This is evidence of how successful Satan's tactics of accusation and
discouragement can be. He would have everyone believe that their sins have gone
too far, that there is no hope for them. He wants them to believe that others
may be saved by Jesus on the cross but that for us it is too late, that we have
sinned too much.
God says otherwise. Jesus himself said "...whoever comes to me I will never drive
away." John 6:37, NIV Every person who wants something
better than the accusations of Satan and takes even the smallest step toward
God will find themselves met more than halfway by a loving Father.
Jesus illustrated this in a story in
Luke, chapter 15. We know that story today as the story of the prodigal son.
The son demanded his inheritance early from his father. He gave his son his
inheritance and the son went away and wasted it. He was reduced to abject
poverty. Finding no work other than taking care of some pigs, he even envied
the food the pigs had over his own sad state. Knowing he had done wrong, he
returned home to ask forgiveness and find work as a servant. In his own eyes he
deserved no favors from his father. However, his father loved him and because
of his love, he restored him as his son.
We also can return to our heavenly
Father and find restoration and love. God does not desire our suffering. Only
Satan wants that. You see Satan was cast out of heaven because he openly
rebelled against God. (See Revelation 12) He does not feel that it is fair that
he cannot return to heaven and be reinstated when we can enjoy a restored
relationship. He is determined to lead as many people as he can into open
rebellion as well, but if he cannot succeed with that, he is happy to simply
discourage us so that we give up on the relationship.
Satan wants us to believe that God is a
cruel tyrant that will never accept our love because we are too flawed. The
cross tells another story. The cross tells us of a God that loved us so much
that He paid the highest price possible to make it easy for us to come to Him.
Satan hated Jesus and His mission. He did everything he could to prevent it. He
even tried to get Jesus to worship him. (See Matthew 4:8-10) But Jesus would
not agree to that. He knew that no mission was as important as making it
possible for mankind to come home to God's love.
God does not want to accuse us. He wants
to love us. The Bible says, "For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:17, NIV
Like the father of the prodigal son, God stands with arms
open wide waiting to hug us and welcome us home to His love. A love like that
is a special love.
A love like that makes me want to be
more than I am. It makes me want to live for the One who loves me. It makes me
want to do everything I can to not disappoint the One loving me. It is a love
that has the power to change my life. Satan's accusations bring me only shame,
but God's love brings me hope. I want to cling to Him and never let go.
If I come to God like this, if I choose
to love Him and walk with Him, He promises me that I will have a place with the
angels. (See Zechariah 3:6) What a wonderful promise. But that isn't all.
While the Devil accuses us and
encourages us to see our own unworthiness, we can feel like a person at a party
with a big stain on our favorite outfit. And whether they can or not, we feel
that everyone can see our stain and we feel ashamed. But God will take away our
stained clothing and give us clean clothing. (See Zechariah 3:3-5) He not
only wants to receive us. He wants to remove our shame as well. He wants to
make everything right.
God has done everything possible to
restore us as His sons and daughters. He invites us to return to Him. He
promises us more peace and joy than we have ever known. He will heal our
wounded hearts and give us a future. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares
the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and
a future." Jeremiah 29:11, NIV I want to give my heart to
a God like that. Don't you?
Just say a simple prayer. Ask Him to
welcome you and give you a new heart. If you do, you will feel His love come
into your heart. You will become a new person. You, too, will have a hope and a
future.
This Commentary is a Service of Still
Waters Ministry
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