Ode To $$$

If I should be quite honest here, I must put forth my reasons
For viewing money and it’s woes, it surely has it’s seasons
To buy or sell
I cannot tell
Denying would be treason

I know what having much feels like, I was an only child
Extra gifts, and food, and snacks --- my life was far from mild
My Mom, my Dad
Gave all they had
My world they had defiled

I married well --- or so I thought --- the dowry I could not measure
But little did I know back then what I had gained in treasure
My love, my life
I’d found a wife
Who is my greatest pleasure

Some times were hard, with lack of funds, we struggled some, I feel
Searching for coins in our little car was really no big deal
If you could see
Me, you’d agree
I never missed a meal

At other times the pay was good, the job was going well
Expenses offset income, though, my treasures rose and fell
To buy some pills
To pay some bills
No future I could tell

But then I came to realize that life is more than money
Although I work, the Lord provides my needed bread and honey
Not in the wild
I am his child
No matter rain or sunny

I live and play, and work for pay, but life is sweeter now
I’ve learned to give him every day, and humbly before him bow
Times can be tough
But God’s enough
My love to him I vow

The greatest gift I have received has come down from above
Through all my struggles I believe I understand his love
To live for others
My sisters and brothers
Be harmless as a dove

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
APOSTLE PAUL (Philippians 4:12)

Another Church Sign: NO ONE IS BEYOND THE REACH OF GOD’S LOVE

How true. But as I drove past that particular church, and knowing something of the doctrine of that particular denomination, I could only shake my head and say, “But they don’t really believe it.”

How could I possibly make that claim? Because their reference to “no one” is, at best, limited, and, at worst, conditional. No one applies only to those who are living in this world. Does God still love any who have rejected him? Sure, they say; God will continue to love them, up until they draw their last breath. But, what happens when they die with rejection still on their lips and unbelief still in their hearts?

The church with the loving sign would say that without Christ, all will be condemned to an eternity in Hell. Does God still love them?

In George MacDonald’s novel, Robert Falconer, the young Robert puts the same question to several that cross his path: “What if a devil were to repent, would the Lord receive him back?” Each reply to him was a total rejection of the idea, and he was given a stern admonishment not to challenge the justice of God.

But the question remains --- is the church sign correct? Does God’s love truly reach to everyone, or does his justice cause him to withdraw that love at some point in time? Is God’s love limited to this life only, or is it a universal love that moves beyond our world and draws all of his creation to himself, in the span of however long it takes to accomplish it?

What about the sins we commit? The unloving, selfish lifestyle? Can God love, does God love the one who does not believe the atonement, who does not apply the blood of Christ to their utterly sinful condition?

The church sign is 100% correct. God’s love MUST reach to everyone because God IS love; he can do no less. He loves through forgiveness. He loves through discipline. He loves no matter what is thrown in the path of redemption, be it devils or our own stubbornness.

The very essence of God is LOVE. It is hard-wired into each of us. Our free will allows us to feel our way through this life, and some, many pick up a lot of garbage along the way, making it difficult to get any real answers and being unable to see God as he really is. But he still loves us. He has the perfect plan in order to make our free will yield to his will in the end. We are his children.