Remember all those masks we were encouraged, coerced, and in some cases, ordered to wear during Covid? .........(Too soon?)

Humor me here for a few minutes if you would, please. Let’s imagine a new airborne virus or disease was to appear on the scene in the not so far off future, and it was as lethal as anything this world has ever seen or experienced before. Now let us pretend that a ‘new and improved’ mask has been produced and made available for every human out there with the promise that this mask is guaranteed to be 100% effective (if worn properly).

Oh...and just to make this scenario more interesting...this mysterious virus can be tracked as it makes its way across the country...and the world for that matter; and it only remains in your immediate area for 24 hours before it’s completely gone. So the mask you have only needs to be worn for 24 hours straight. You are to keep it on the entire time and have to forego eating, drinking, or anything else that would require its removal...to ensure total safety. Would you comply and wear it, as in keep it on the whole time? Could you do it? What would be a reason for not wearing it, even if/when driving alone in your car?

If you only wore this mask when you ‘felt like it’ or when it was convenient, then the likelihood of you remaining ‘safe’ would be diminished greatly, would you not agree? No doubt there would be naysayers and scoffers who would be out there to ridicule and humiliate those who were wearing such a mask during this time...just like there are ‘scoffers’ today that mock those who truly want to live for Jesus. (2 Tim. 3:12; 2 Pet. 3:3).

So what might be a reason for not wearing them when around such folks...perhaps needing their ‘approval’ and/or ‘praise’ is more important to you? (John 12:43). Sounds like a pretty steep price to pay, or ‘gamble’ if you ask me.

Now let’s lay aside the analogy here with the ‘mask’ deal, and apply this line of thought to what it means to ‘abide in Jesus’ (John 15:1-8; 1 John 2:3-6). I’ve heard well-meaning, and sincere people voice to me in the past that they “don’t always want to abide in Jesus”, for any host of reasons. Really? Why is that? What about you? What could possibly be a legitimate reason for not ‘wanting’ to continue on and ‘remain’ in/with Jesus and do as He asks or directs (John 10:27; Luke 6:46)? Are there times we just might be loving something more than we love God... that we want to indulge in? (John 14:15)

And why do we seem reluctant to truly believe what Jesus said about ‘sinning no more lest something worse’...happen to us? (John 5:14) What part about “I tell you unless you repent you will all likewise perish” ... do we not ‘get’? (Luke 13:1-5). Was Peter joking when he suggested that whoever fails to hear and obey Jesus in ‘all things will be utterly destroyed’, during, his sermon found in Acts 3:19-23? Surely verses like 1 John 5:18 can’t possibly apply to us where John wrote: “we know whoever is born of God no longer sins...and the wicked one does not touch him”. (1 John 5:18). And I suppose Paul was being a bit over-dramatic when he exhorts us...”having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from ALL filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”. ( 2 Cor. 7:1)

Oh...but this idea of abiding in Jesus is not realistic to do 24/7, you say? That does seem like a rather unreasonable ‘demand’, does it not? I mean... this talk of ‘taking up a cross’ and ‘denying ourselves’...can produce a bit of ‘discomfort’ and even some ‘legit suffering in our flesh’ at times, am I right? Yet Paul reminds us that ‘the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Rom. 8:18).

This advice of ‘resisting the devil’ ...so we don’t end up ‘seven times worse’ like our friend did who we read about in Matt. 12:43-45 ...might bring some ‘suffering to our flesh’, you say? Hmm...have you had to ‘shed blood, striving against sin’ in your walk yet, like Jesus did for us?(Heb.12:4).

Peter sure had some interesting commentary addressing this idea of ‘suffering’ if you care to read 1 Pet. 4:1-2. And then what happens to all the brethren who do ‘suffer’ while ‘resisting’ the devil as spelled out in 1 Pet. 5:8-10? What is the promise there we can look forward to?

Now of course... if you heard a gospel that told you that you were ‘just fine....after accepting Jesus’...then why would any of these other verses even apply to you, right?

And we wonder why the landscape is dotted with so many former ‘believers’ who crashed and burned along the way, or at best...are ’struggling saints’ whose 'fruit'  proves they have yet to be set free from sin. (John 8:32-36; Rom.6:6,12,17,20,22)