Curse Offering

Romans 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Today: 

Mr. Lawstan Undunn was sitting in his overstuffed recliner and sipping on a cold glass of sweet tea.  It was just another typical day after work.  He had a few more dollars in his pocket and all was going well.  Who could complain?  After all, life is what you make it!  And he’d made a good’n.  No help or any special favors, just hard work, clean living, and knowing what you want and getting it.  He was king in his house and lord of his life. 

He looked at the large Bible and its leather white cover lying on his mantle and affected an exasperated, mental, sneer, “There ain’t no God ‘cause He never did nothin’ for me!”  If it weren’t for the family tree written inside and the memories of his mother it invoked, he’d have chucked the old bible in the trash years ago.  Who needs a mental crutch?  God is for the weak and weak-minded!  Good for his wife and kids though!  It helped to keep ‘em submissive, honest, and good.  God bless ‘em, hah! 

Suddenly, the door-bell rings and startles him out of his reverie.  A little irritated he walks to the door of his home.  Quickly opening the door, he lets out a groan.  There, standing before him, are not one or two, but three bible-thumpers!  You could always spot ‘em in their conservative attire and sporting at least one small leather New Testament among the bunch.   Before he could say, “howdy doody” or, “boo”, a young man introduced himself and the others.  Mr. Aught Visitin then quickly added, “Sir, have you heard the good news?  Has anyone shared with you the gospel of Jesus Christ?” 

Mr. Lawstan Undunn smiled and quickly shut the door in Mr. Visitin’s face.  The little pleasure he got from doing that was nearly worth the interruption and walk.  It’s OK to be rude to ‘em!  Weren’t they being rude to him with their bible thumping and judgmental attitude?  Besides, he’d already heard the gospel.  His mother had told him about Jesus, His great sacrifice, atonement for sin, and resurrection.  He loved his wife but she never seemed to shut up about it either!  Imagine, dead people coming back to life!  If there is a Christ, He’s a zombie, hah!  When did God do anything for him?  There was no God!

Revelation 16:2  And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Life wasn’t so good for Mr. Undunn.  His wife and kids had disappeared a few years ago.  They hadn’t just gone away by walking out his door, they’d up and vanished into thin air.  One minute they were there, the next, poof, they were gone!  And his job with the new government only caused him nightmares.  The things they asked and made him do!  It wasn’t right.  But, at least he had a job.    

Everyone at work was worried.  Every good and proper citizen of the new world government was getting sick.  No one could understand the way it singled out the good from bad.  But, it was better to be sick than dead.  Get sick and keep your head or be healthy and lose it, hah!  Mr. Lawstan Undunn is unaware of God’s wrath.

Revelation 16:8,9  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

They used to worry about the ozone layer back in the day.  How about the magnetosphere?  There ain’t any suntan lotion good enough to keep from getting scorched and burned.  Just a few unprotected minutes out in the sun could bake you like being in a microwave oven!  Someone said it was God’s judgment on sinful man.  There ain’t a God!  Don’t even mention his name.  If anyone says that name around me again, I’ll kill ‘em.  And Mr. Undunn blasphemes the name of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 16:10,11,17,21   And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.  …And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.  … And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

He could only yell in his mind.  So, in silence, he railed at God.  He couldn’t even shake his fist at God.  All he could do was lie and groan in agony.  His tongue had swollen and his skin seemed to be alive, every nerve sending excruciating messages of pain to his saturated brain.  Why would God cause such devastation and misery?  Why didn’t God send some of that love everyone used to boast about?  Oh yeah, there is a God.  He’d finally heard the voice of God and other voices besides.  Only God could have caused the things he’s seen and heard.  Only God, the great and magnificent author of misery, could have affected such supernatural ailments.  Only God could have unraveled the laws of nature which we’d taken for granted and turned chaos loose.  Only God could have taken creation and twisted it into creation’s torturer.  Oh, he believes in God, as much as he hates God.  Why didn’t God just get it over with already!  If only he’d been there when Jesus was crucified, he’d have been happy to add injury to insult.  Why couldn’t someone invent a time-machine so he could get some pay-back?  In his misery, hatred, and despair Mr. Lawstan Undunn, having never received God’s gift when it was offered, offers to God all he has left to give.  Like a free-diver drawing in every possible molecule of air before the plunge, he reaches into the far recesses of his mind for each memory of spiteful resentment he can gather.  Once the darkness is marshaled into one dense, condensed, mass, he fires the mental thought as a type of anti-prayer, straight into Christ’s imagined face.  Mr. Undunn blasphemes God in defiance to his God-silenced mouth.  He knows God can hear the silence of thunderous thoughts.  He also knows God had taken his time, but finally had to shut the door in Mr. Undunn’s face!  And with that thought the final revelation comes crashing in.  He’d just thrown God all that he had left that was precious to him.  He’d sent all his hatred, bitterness, loss, and despairs to God and was left with nothing.  

Whether a saint in praise or sinner who blasphemes, every knee will bow and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.

What have you to offer, today?