Scriptures don’t provide middle ground

We live in a time when someone says something and there are a million interpretations, backtrackings, expansions and outright denials of what was said even though in this electronic age, the original statement was recorded. With God, there is no doubt and the truth is in the minutia.

This Second Sunday in Lent Scripture is straight forward. If you believe the Jesus is the Son of God, you will have eternal life; if you do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you stand already condemned. (John 3) You either believe or you do not believe.

The Scripture does not provide for any middle ground. When you come to the end of a road and are faced with either going right or left there is no room to go at a diagonal unless one wishes to go into a ditch. The Lord is so clear in this Scripture that to go on the diagonal is to be a lover of the darkness, not of the light and therefore firmly encased in sin, a word none of us likes to hear. We are so into stretching the truth, little white lies, softening the reality, being polite or compassionate or whatever that the truth gets lost.

But yet Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to The Father except through Me.” (Jn. 14) Jesus did not modify this with “maybe; possibly; if you agree; what do you think; if you please….” You either believe or you do not believe.

When speaking with Martha after the death of Lazarus, Jesus says, “whoever lives and believes in Me, though they be dead, yet shall they live and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” He then asks the proverbial yes or no question, “Do you believe this?” (Jn. 11) There is no wiggle room. But Jesus makes it abundantly clear that if we believe we must also live according to the divine plan. Jesus does not give Martha a plethora of choices nor does The Lord give us a plethora of choices and we make our choice very clear by our behavior, attitudes and thoughts.

This is a lesson that we should have learned with the beginning of creation but continue to be defiant about. God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of one tree, they could eat anything else. They chose to be disobedient and to eat of the forbidden tree and the rest is his- tory. God’s response was immediate, non-negotiable and final. How many millennia later are we still trying to do our own thing, to over ride divine authority, to place ourselves and our minds above The Creator?

We think that we will deal with The Lord when we get there but the Lord is clear; do it today, there may be no tomorrow and only today counts. Jesus was rather clear in His parable that when the door of heaven is closed, it is closed and our choices are made on this side of the veil. (Lk. 16)

It is Lent, a time for self- examination, ref lection and change. It is time to decide what we believe and to live that belief. There is no wiggle room and no tomorrow. This decision is not just for the sake of our eternity but also for the caliber of our lives here and now.

When we are only self absorbed, our lives are shallow and devoid of meaning. When our lives are Kingdom oriented they are full to overflowing. The Lord has promised and never breaks a promise.

Make this a holy Lent and make your choice for life or…. None of us knows if or when we will get another opportunity to choose for there is no wiggle room.