One of the most worthless behaviors that we can engage in is making excuses. What is an excuse? It a reason or explanation we give to justify a fault or an offense. Jesus understood this human behavior when He called His followers and He was ready for their excuses, just like He is ready for ours. (Luke 9: 57 – 62) “As they were walking along the road, …Jesus to the man, …“Follow me” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
The disciples were not the only ones with excuses. When Jesus asked the lame man who laid by the Pool of Bethesda if he wanted to be healed, He was ready for an excuse. (Jn 5: 1-15). When Jesus asked the woman at the well for a drink of water, He was not only ready for her excuse for not giving Him water, but her excuses about her life issues. (Jn 4: 1-25) When God told Moses to tell pharaoh to let the Israelites go, Moses had a host of excuses. (Exodus Chapters 3 & 4) Some of us take excuses a step further, like Adam and Eve did, and place blame on someone or something. Adam blamed Eve for his sin, and Eve blamed the serpent for her sin. Excuses! Excuses! Excuses!
What is the Lord speaking to your heart about? Is He asking you to recommit your time and service to Him? Is He tugging at your heart to start
an outreach or Bible Study in your community? Is He telling you to step out on faith and walk in your calling? Do you have the perfect excuse? Are you questioning God’s wisdom, judgement or order for your life? In the coming weeks, we will dig deeper into some of the famous excuses that people in the Bible used and the lessons we can learn from them.
Faithfully,
Pastor R. Mario Howell