My blissful morning walk was suddenly disrupted when an angry man down the street was cursing God! Wow! Abruptly altering my route, I sadly wondered what had happened to cause such a vitriolic outburst.
A little later I saw a friend walking her dog, and she was smiling and singing. As she passed by, I commented, “So refreshing to hear singing!” She laughed and replied, “Oh, was I singing?” I assured her it was beautiful. 🙂
I happen to know that she was going through a very deep valley in her life. So I ask, why is it that some people curse God, and others sing?
Looking back through historical accounts in scripture, we see many occasions where people choose to reject God, refuse to give Him honor and glory, and turn down His gift of love and mercy. And the more they do it, the harder their hearts become.
The ultimate tragedy is that eventually God gives them up (Romans chapter one). What a frightening thought!
Intriguingly, we also see throughout time – and in many of our own lives – people who although they’re suffering choose to respond in faith, believe God, honor Him, and receive His free gift of mercy and grace through Jesus Christ.
I doubt that most people begin their lives either cursing God or praising Him. But most of us will end our lives with one or the other. Of course some people have harder lives than others, but no matter what we’ve endured, each of us makes choices along the way. And those choices will have one of only two possible destinations.
I love how God has graciously provided healing for our broken relationship with Him, and how He never forces it down our throats. He is a God of grace, yet He also has given us freedom to choose or reject Him. I wonder if part of it is that He wants to have people with Him forever who WANT to be with Him. And even then those of us who gladly choose to receive His free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ know more than anyone how much WE need His grace and mercy. No boasting…ever!
Those who consistently reject the Lord, try harder and harder to find peace and joy and hope in the darkness of the absence of God. All in vain.
I don’t know the odds of a person changing dramatically at the end of their lives. But it seems that the more we consistently choose God and His way, the joy and peace and hope that come from having a personal relationship with Him brightens our lives like nothing else. And that is why we sing! 🙂
