by Don Hatfield
Him?” I must admit that I was stumped for a while but again our Lord did something that was kind of funny and yet so enlightening to me at the same time. As I look down the hillside I noticed a cart broke down on the shore. The man was fixing the wheel and had taken his donkey and tied it behind the cart. When God spoke to me using this simple illustration I was amazed at how He could take anything and use it for His purpose. I turned to James and with a beaming smile on my face said, “They have put the donkey behind the cart. They think the doing is the answer. They do not realize that the doing only begins when they accept the one who has already done what needed to be done.” James smiled and said, “You have got it Isaac. God wrapped everything up in His beloved Son Jesus. Jesus made this very plain when He said, and then I will profess unto them I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity. Isaac, they never asked to be personally introduced to Him. Oh, they might have given to the poor, they might have fed the hungry or even gone off to fight wars to relieve others from their oppression. Those things are good and right in our human eyes. Christians and unbelievers should do those things but here is the big difference. Christians should do it with the purpose of introducing that person to the Savior of the world. Unbelievers do it just to help others but to help others without Gods purpose in mind is not helping them but is perhaps hindering them from knowing their creator. One is saying look to me your fellow human being for your salvation. While Christians should be saying look to Savior for your salvation and eternal destiny.” I said to James, “So I guess in their own way instead of being workers of righteousness they are workers of iniquity.”
James shook his head in assent and then said, “Isaac, it is drawing late and in a couple of hours the sun will be sitting. I must be on my way and you on yours. What Jesus said next summed up everything that He had said while we listened to Him on that day. Here are His next words. Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine and does them I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. The rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. “I stopped James and said, “I see it James. Without Him all is a waste, without Him all is a lie. We look at men’s success and their supposedly great achievements and laud them with accolades when all the time without Him what they have achieved is but eternal foolishness. Oh, how our eyes need to be opened to the lies of this world.” James smiled and said, “You practically took the next words that Jesus said right out of my mouth Isaac. The next and last words that He said were these, and everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them not shall be likened unto who a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. Isaac, Jesus is the rock on which we build everything we too should have our eyes turned in the direction of our rock and Savior. No matter how good, great or gracious our works if they are not built upon Him they will fail and fall. It sometimes is a failure for all to see and sometimes not. Sometimes people will call what you do a failure but if built upon the rock it will stand in eternity. If built upon the sand of this world it will be walked on for all of eternity and forgotten.”
James stopped and we stood there in silence for a few moments. Then He said, “I have told you of what He said to us on that day. It is now up to you what you will do with it. Remember Isaac, we can only point to the rock we cannot make anyone climb upon it. When He spoke that day the people were astonished for they knew that they had heard from a man who knew God. It was then up to them to decide if He was God. You have already made that choice now live it.” We prayed together and I went on my new way or should I say that I was only following the old way in a new way. My Jesus has always been the way for in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
The End
May we learn to walk with our Savior
Don Hatfield
