November 16, 2008

Dear Friends,

Nobody likes a "know-it-all." The person who is in the habit of reminding others of the consequences that he or she foresaw is not likely to remain on many Christmas card lists. Whether we just invested in stock that went belly-up, or decided to try mountain biking or hang-gliding for the very first time, it doesn't help much when someone says, "I told you so!" Better to keep your mouth shut and keep your friends, than to come across as gloating. No one likes being told that they were wrong.

Yet, there's a clear strand in the Scriptures that warns us of the dangers of living outside of God's will, and that, at the same time, is not afraid to tell us when we have done so. The Bible does not just contain the Ten Commandments, for example, it also demonstrates exactly what happens when those warnings are ignored. We don't like that. We dislike it when the Bible points out how willfully disobedient we have been. And yet we all know the importance of those warnings.

Of course, God is not concerned to wave our crass stupidities in our faces and to say "I told you so!" He does not mock us. He warns us in order to deliver us. We can, if we so choose, turn up our noses at the Savior, but that doesn't mean we don't need Him.

                                                                Yours aye,
                                                                    in Christ,

                                                                         Alan Trafford

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