WHICH WORLD?
by David Sisler
I talked recently to a man I have known casually for some years. At first I did not recognize him because he had lost over 90 pounds.
"How did you do it?" I asked.
"A great new product," he said. "It is all natural. I haven't changed my eating habits at all. I eat and lose weight."
"What happens when you stop taking this product?" I asked.
Very matter-of-factly he replied, "I will gain all of my weight back."
He wants to live in a skinny world and eat like he is still in a fat world.
Before you are quick with criticism, aren't most of us like that? We would like to have money in the bank and still buy everything we see. We want to know many things, but we do not like to study. We want to follow Jesus, but there are some things we want to hold on to from when we followed Satan. We want to live like hell and still go to heaven.
It's called having the best of both worlds. But when you live in two worlds, can you really have the best of either world?
I read recently about a teenager who was the kind of boy every mother warns her daughter about. Rebellious. Careless.
Then one day he went to church, the same church he had attended all of his life. He listened to the pastor's sermon, the same pastor he had listened to for years. But on that occasion, he really heard the message and he understood for the first time that God loved him.
When an invitation to receive Jesus was given, he walked forward and invited Jesus into his life. While he was praying, God spoke into his heart.
"I want you to be a medical missionary," God said. "I want you to go to a foreign country and serve me there."
Now the boy had never shown much interest in medicine. He had shown even less interest in studying. In fact, if he graduated from high school, it would be at the bottom of his class.
But he did graduate, and he did go to college. He found a small two year school that would admit him on probation. He applied himself and excelled. He transferred to a respected college and then to a prestigious medical school where he graduated as the number one student in his class.
After graduation, following the orders he had received from the Lord years earlier, he went overseas where he made $9000 a year. The number two student in the class opened an abortion clinic and made $500,000 a year.
Two different worlds, wouldn't you say?
Israel wanted the best of both worlds. They wanted freedom from Egypt, but when they found freedom was a heavy responsibility, they wanted the comforts of Egypt. Never mind they had been slaves. Never mind they were worked to death. They were at least fed regularly. Now, out in the wilderness they did not know where their next meal would come from. In that situation they decided, "We would be better off as slaves than free men."
Anyone who has ever started to follow Jesus understands what the Israelites were experiencing. You may never have been told the truth, but following Jesus is difficult. When you served Satan there was no pressure, but now that you are serving God, Satan is applying great pressure. He wants you to turn back.
Your citizenship is now in a different world. There are different values, different standards. What was once important is no longer important. What you once did not value, now you value above everything.
That is why the number one student went to a foreign country for $9000 and number two stayed home for $500,000.
It may be nice to have the best of both worlds, but there is no dual citizenship. You either belong to Satan or you belong to Jesus. One world is easy. The other is hard. One leads to death. The other leads to life. Of which are you a citizen?
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Published in the Augusta Chronicle 1/14/95
Copyright 1995 by David Sisler
Your comment is welcome. Write to me at: n4so@hotmail.com