Day 3761 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

1 Peter 5:8 NIV

Sobering

A thought so severely scaring that it inspires the very severing of what may have well been such long-standing assumptions or presumptions of a path paved into the forever ahead as planned both without pain and thus within preference aplenty. And indeed, it does so clearly seem as if our lives have been lived quite drunk on such delight as our devotion unto this idea of our getting to decide everything from what matters most to thus what all we do and say in light of such a confounding confusion.

Confusing in that our cravings change every day if not multiple times within the same and confounding because the presence of such a variable pretense proves the existence of what is “a third variable that affects the relationship between the independent and dependent variables in an experiment.”

The experiment here being life with the independent variable being “your enemy the devil” who incites said changes in our cravings and lusts so as to see in us, the dependent variable, what all changes he might cause or influence us to make in what becomes something of a game of what is still a matter of life and death. It’s just that one of his very earliest influences is that of inspiring us to live as if we’re not dying and thus fall into the ease of desiring whatever we may come to want at what are then seen as the hands of a life basically without hope.

For if we were truly here for as long as our arrogance might prefer, and thus could whatever our desires might desire without that impending realization as to the imminent existence of a quite dire coming consequence, well then we’d really have no need to know much about hope. After all, if life was ours to make of it whatever we like, and thus to do whatever we like within it, then our every hope would be fulfilled as soon as we imagined it.

And yet that it isn’t ought to be a thought more than sobering enough already.

Ought to be.

Because, well, let’s be honest, it isn’t is it? No, rather it’s one of those understandings that we fully understand and yet live as if we don’t. Indeed, it’s almost as if we completely enjoy walking through this desert kicking up dust and running after rust. We love making our mark, in fact, that’s literally one of humanity’s most common pursuits. We want to leave a mark on the world, on those around us, on, if nothing more, at least the time in which we were here.

Yes, we want to be remembered as having been as important as we’ve all lived as if we truly thought we were. And so we make as much noise and create as much of a wake within our walk as possible.

Clearly never knowing that the devil’s been hunting us down like that mean sheriff guy in the first Rambo movie.

(Not that I’m necessarily recommending the film as it is quite violent and, well, as I grow up I find that I’m losing my ability to enjoy such things.)

But you hopefully get my point. It’s that the devil has been looking for ways to cause us to stumble for all our lives, and yet, despite our having been stumbling for as long as we can remember, we still somehow manage to stay quite drunk on either desire or delight, or mostly the both as the former is sown by the latter, and too the latter inside the former. Actually that’s quite the strange relationship and reliance when you think about it.

For neither desire nor delight can really be found without the other, and yet delight can exist without desire being involved. To a degree at least.

Anyway, another thought for another day.

Which oddly enough seems to evidence the point I’m aiming at for today. It’s that considered within just how easily distracted we are. We live this life ambling through this world as if nothing we do could ever prove a problem. As if nothing we desire could start a fire. As if nothing we enjoy could deploy the scent that the devil’s been sniffing to find in what’s found to be a door so wide open that it’s amazing that we never noticed that he was already inside and there ripping us to shreds.

Yes, it’s quite alarming just how wide open a life is left to be lived out here on the, well, wide open.

For not much has changed in that regard. For wide remains the path to destruction and many still walk thereupon, and increasingly unashamed at that. Indeed, we walk amongst a great and growing many who have no visual signs of regret, remorse, reconsideration, repentance either then. No, such things seem to be considered only variables that steal our time and slow down our lives as should elsewise be lived enjoying our time as wide and without worry as humanly possible.

Alas, another equal and opposite sort of situation here, while what’s impossible with man is possible with God, what’s possible with man is impossible for us to atone for anymore.

Because we do indeed continue going from bad to worse within this continued deceiving and being ourselves deceived. Wonder where so much deception, denial, disinterest and depravity is coming from. Hmm, does make you think!

Or again, at least it should.

And if only we would for once, think, we might come to realize that both the way of life we’re living has us leaning upon everything not at all life-giving and too then that we need then to stop doing some things, or at least put pretty much everything on hold for a second so that we can sift through the wreckage we’ve ignored as caused within a life in which we’ve lived with the call to both crosses carried and thus personal responsibility ignored as well.

For such is the general outcome of all drunkenness. It’s nothing but a self-blindness as bestowed upon, well, ourselves and that, sadly, by ourselves as agreed to by only ourselves at the express consideration of only the nearest lie that sells that we can continue to do whatever we want to in life and never once have to stop and even consider the plausible presence of any sort of consequence. No, just make as much noise as you want to, have as much fun as you can do, do all the drugs, drink all the alchy, enjoy every party. Yes, live wide open and carefree!

Never once then considering that lions don’t make as much noise when tracking down their prey as that would give them away and make then the prey start to pray seeking some way to feel safe and thus hopefully be saved from what was a very clear and very present danger as lurking within something so close as the shadow which walks ever-behind us as we continue ahead into either the light of He who is the Life or simply that of some neon sign calling our mind to come in and avoid thinking again.

Yeah, we do love to avoid thinking! But friends, just because we enjoy not having to do something doesn’t mean that we’re still not responsible for it being done. For again, as we talked about several posts back, doing nothing is still doing something. And choosing to do nothing when the topic at hand is faith or salvation or repentance or even something so ordinary as personal responsibility, we just can’t truly believe that our doing nothing is to ever be actually applauded.

Sure, such nonsense might be roundly appreciated around here, but that’s just the issue we’re facing! It’s that here is but the devil’s hunting ground and thus we’ll either make it out alive or simply fall in line behind those countless other victims of his seedy advances as given so plainly inside such things as lust and addiction. The problem being that we’ve all fallen prey already.

The hope then being that we are seeking every day a deeper measure of the Jesus who frees us from what are the clutches of the very same one who tried and ultimately failed to trick Him into giving away what mattered more for only more of what never mattered at all.

And how did He do it? How did Christ resist the devil’s tricks? How did He overcome him? Scripture baby! Every time that the devil would come to tempt Christ in that desert for those 40 days, Jesus would smack him upside his face with the Word of God! Almost as if to show us that such a double-edged sword is not only useful for such dividings as flesh and bone, joint and marrow, right from wrong, but also thus us from our old way of life as lived always listening to only what the devil said he wanted us to do simply because he thought we’d enjoy the experience.

Yes, the Word of God is alive and active, and as much as it tears us up when we read it, so too will it do some damage to the deceiver in chief who lives still only continuing to seek someone he may devour, destroy, inspire to desire their very destruction, damnation, utter decimation at the very hands of He who is still holding out His mercy so freely that all we have to do is simply reach up from our houses here at rock bottom and embrace the fact that we both hate it here in this life we’ve made and that we’re just terrified then at the mere thought of having to stay so far away.

From what you ask? From life I say. Yes, living life this way in which we awake only to see what new craving we might find only leaves us so open to suggestion and influence that, at some point, we all but become the very last ones living our lives!

And honestly, we see this so clearly anymore! I mean, being an “influencer” is literally considered a career at this point! And sure, I imagine that there are some who are using their varied platforms for good, spreading the Good News, preaching the Gospel, reaching the lost and inspiring some people to seek Jesus as ferociously as the devil is coming after all of us. But friends, it seems that there’s some new heartbreaking headline all the time anymore about someone who seemed to be doing one thing but was up to some shady stuff just below that surface.

Which is the problem. It’s that we live this life on the surface. We exist inside the superficial. We embrace every single façade we see at only face value and refuse to ask questions or have concerns or keep a distance until we can figure out for sure whether or not this interest or inspiration, this influence is good for us. Rather we just race through every open door and thus, in turn, live our lives with our eyes, hearts and minds all but the very same.

Just open doors more than ready to welcome in all of whatever may want a piece of our time and thus a place in our lives.

But haven’t we had our fill of our being filled with what kills? Ain’t we tired of being so torn apart and yet unwilling to try whatever we can to stop the bleeding? Doesn’t it get old not caring as to what we’re doing, who it’s hurting, or that we’re the ones who will be left hurting worst of all when all’s said and done?

And make no mistake, everything that needed said and done is already over and finished. This life we’re living is merely a gift of His patience as given us new every morning in the hopes that today is the day we come to our senses and tell the devil to kick rocks and take his wicked influences with him when he goes wherever he goes.

Problem is that we’ve been walking for so long with him that we only know to go where he seeks to guide. Indeed, we seem to only care to live in the lair of what are his many lies as lived by eyes that seek to see only a life lived without responsibility. But friends, that’s again the greatest deception of all! For there is no such thing as a life lived without responsibility. And we all know this perfectly well because we all dress ourselves, we feed ourselves, we wash ourselves and do all these things that show we understand we have a responsibility in life.

It’s just that we’ve determined to draw the line at anything that asks us to do anything we don’t enjoy. We don’t mind clothes as they’re popular. We don’t mind bathing regularly because we don’t want to stink or look dirty. And we definitely don’t mind eating!

But somewhere in the mix we’ve just lost the ability to care about anything beyond that. And I dare say that it’s because the devil’s got a hold on us that’s left us honestly thinking that life has no real cost. That we’ll thus pay no price. That we can then live this life doing whatever we want, seeking to gain however much we want of whatever we come to crave, and we’ll forever be just fine. But friends, a lie that feels safe only keeps us from seeking He who came to save from what was never safe to begin with.

For lies are flimsy, as fail-prone as life is. And yes, we’ve all failed to live this life the way He created us to live it, and as a result of our failing that simplest of responsibility, we’ll all now fail to get out of this world alive.

Tell me there’s no such things as consequence!

No, that’s just what the devil wants us to believe so that he can continue to creep and crawl into our thoughts and theories as to what life is and how best to live it. What does he know about living life when he went and got himself kicked out of Heaven? Is that what we want? Is that the grand outcome we hope to receive for our lives? Just forever being diswelcomed in the presence of He who is love and mercy and peace and patience?

That’s not what I want, and that for anyone! No, I hope that we all, every single one of us, comes to our senses so that we can find them singed and therefore in need of the helpful healing that only the Son of Heaven can offer.

Friends, we can continue on living like we’re doing nothing wrong and hoping as hard as we can that that’ll turn out to be the case. We can deny our every self-made disaster and spend our time blaming anyone we can find for the mistakes we’ve alone chosen to make. But nothing we do will ever prove of that well-sought ability to absolve a life of its responsibility.

No, we owe a price for our being alive as life is a gift and thus not for us to only do always as we see fit. And oddly enough, it’s the cost of life that helps us to live a good life as it inspires us to fight for what’s right and thus against all that isn’t. And friends, we all know the difference!

Please don’t keep going through life creating such a rebellious ruckus! Sure, it might be fun and gain you all sorts of friends. But friends, walking in step with sinners and partaking of their many delights only keeps us open wide for the devil whenever he dares to pounce. And honestly, all the noise and filth only makes us an even easier target for his brand of tragedy.

Stop living to be a target and instead try to stay alive.

After all, that should be our goal, the continuation of life.

It’s just that such a gift may not come within the common enjoyments or indulgence in this place we’re living for the moment.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold