A man had a great dream and he had the confidence of one who could visualize success.  He knew he would be successful so he left his job as a laborer and worked full-time on the endeavor of his dreams.

He chose his few employees carefully, their pay was meager.  He promised them that the number of helpers would grow and the rewards for their loyalty would be without equal.

For three years the man worked toward his vision.  Marketing surveys were done to the point he knew what the people were thinking.  He advertised throughout the area and held promotional stunts to set up for his grand opening.  He would pull into the area towns and know that people were expecting something unusual to happen.  He would do anything to advertise, he had the people’s attention.  While not everyone responded positively, people were lining up to be a part of his vision.

The day of the grand opening arrived.  In his moment of triumph he knew that years of toiling, late nights working, and the life of a traveling salesman were about to pay off.  He had truly set up the greatest business of all time.  This was the moment the people were waiting for.

He was so proud of it.  The lines were right, the joints fitted, the wood finished to a glow.  The boat drafted better than any other and its beauty inspired use.  He could remember it now looking at the vessel before him.  Where had the beauty gone?  The years had worn it so slowly he hadn’t even noticed.  Now weathered, dull and leaking, the boat’s original beauty was only a faint remembrance…

Growing up in the church a lot of time was spent on two categories of sin, namely sins of commission, those things God tells us not to do but we do anyway, and sins of omission or those things God tells us to do but we ignore.  These are important categories but with a warning:  if we focus on a checklist of things we should and should not do, we by our nature grow to rely on OUR goodness and not on God’s.  Jesus clearly stated over and over that his disciples would become children of God and be consumed with a relationship with God through him.

Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37(NIV)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! John 3:1(NIV)

Over and over the Word of God explains Christians are about relationship not rules.  Our obedience (omitted and committed) is because we love God and value His presence in our lives.  We want to please Him.  Because of this, I believe there is a far more dangerous category of sin, attrition.  Attrition is any activity that causes a slow drift away from our relationship with God.  The dangerous thing is that it can take the form of just about anything, including religion.  Sometimes seemingly harmless activities over a lifetime (or less!) lead us to a point we are separated from God and don’t even recognize it until it’s too late.

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)

Do you like to read?  I do and I know you probably like to also, most people do.  Also do you occasionally overhear a conversation about the latest best selling author’s current work?  Notice the adjective, current.  An author as well as anyone else’s fame is fleeting and only a few great names such as Shakespeare or Milton are generally known.The Greatest Author wrote the Greatest Book ever written. Sadly many have never read His book or even picked it up for a cursory examination.  In that book lie the secrets to mankind’s beginning, present and future. It describes the path from here to eternity.  Isn’t that exciting?  The Bible is the “code” from the Master of the Universe for a better life here and a far better one to come.

Can you imagine stumbling upon a great treasure of an ancient king?  And yet, here at our fingertips is a priceless gem, far more valuable than the riches of any king who ever lived. And it can be bought for a small price.  My favorite Bible is one I bought at a garage sale for twenty-five cents. Think of that! The priceless Word of God for twenty-five cents! You may have a favorite copy of the road map to Paradise, I pray so, and perhaps you paid more than twenty five cents for it. Whatever you paid, read it, love it, live it.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Lou David Allen graduated from Abilene Christian University with a BS in Physics in 1962 and a MBA in 1976.  He worked for NASA on the Apollo Moon Project in Houston, TX.  His area of expertise is heat transfer especially related to space simulation systems.  He was a junior college administrator and teacher for 21 years and was the mayor of Merkel, TX for eight.  He now works as a salesman for a company he and his wife Rhoda own.  Rhoda and David have been married forty-seven years.  They are happy.

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)

I love this video and you’ve probably seen it many times.  As you watch it again consider if our culture has changed our self-image and devalued the love we have for ourselves.  If we don’t love ourselves how can we love our neighbor?

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