Hello Friends:
Last week was the third installment of the seven-post series “Steps to God”. I shared the post, “Unwanted Wages!”. It was about a difficult realization what the Bible says about wages, in our lives and after our lives that are “unwanted”.
The fourth post is about us accepting what I entitled, “An Offer We Can’t Refuse”. The title is a takeoff on the famous statement by Don Corleone, the Mafia boss in “The Godfather” movie in 1972. That movie still gives me nightmares with the vicious attacks made by Mafia crime families to get what they wanted. Just like I didn’t endorse the Beatles when quoting one of their songs, I’m for sure not in any way endorsing the Godfather movie.
Don Corleone made the statement, “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse”, meaning the other person would acquiesce to his request, or face consequences. In the same way God is making us an offer we can’t refuse, but it’s not just to avoid consequences. God’s “offer” is one, if we accept it, that will bring us everlasting happiness and contentment, especially in heaven after we leave the heartaches that accompany living in a fallen and sinful world.
Below is the offer, told repeatedly in different ways by Jesus and His disciples in the Bible:
- In John 15:15 Jesus said,
“I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends . . .”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have many real friends. Which of us can turn down the offer of having the best friend ever?
- In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said,
“See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Which of us can turn down the greatest invitation ever to share a meal, and lifetime, with the best friend ever?
- In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said,
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Are you weary from the burdens you carry? Do you want to find rest and have help to carry your burdens? Which of us could ever turn down a request to have the best friend ever help us carry our heavy burdens?
- In John 10:10 Jesus said,
“I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
Jesus isn’t talking here about a mundane, meaningless life. He’s talking about an abundant life that is almost beyond comprehension that lasts forever! Which of us can turn that down?
- In 1 Corinthians 2:9 Paul quoted Isaiah who said,
“What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived—God has prepared these things for those who love him.”
In this verse Paul quoted Isaiah one of the most hopeful promises ever made! Which of us can turn down what God has prepared for us that is so good that we can’t even conceive it in our minds?
- In John 14:2-3 Jesus said,
“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms (Note: Most versions say “mansions”). If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.”
Which of us has ever dreamed of living in a spacious mansion designed exactly for us?
- Last, but not least, Revelation 21 and 22 tells about the wonders that await us in heaven.
- Revelation 21:1-4
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away."
2. Revelation 21:10-11
“He (an angel) then carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal."
3. Revelation 21:18
"The building material of its wall was jasper and the city was pure gold clear as glass.”4. Revelation 21:22-23
“I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb."5. Revelation 22:1-3
“Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, and there will no longer be any curse."Wow! Imagine living in a city made of gold where there’s no sadness or suffering, and God and His Son Jesus provide the only light needed . . . forever!
I could go on and on with many more Bible verses that tell us about the wonderful offer we have in front of us. But I hope and pray that these few have begun to open our eyes to, “An Offer We Can’t Refuse”.
See you next time,
Arlen
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