He said, “Go and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking but, do not understand.’
Isaiah 6:10 NASB
If this scripture sounds familiar, it’s because I used it just a few days ago. More and more I am seeing a vast number of people that just don’t get it. Now I am not putting down on these people, because for many years I simply didn’t understand myself. I was raised in a Christian home and I had some very positive Christian role models to guide me, but I didn’t fully understand God’s plan for my life. I had the Bible knowledge or the book knowledge, but I had no common sense where my Christianity was concerned. I believed in God and I loved Jesus, but I didn’t truly understand some of the things I had learned in Sunday School.
As I logged on to the internet this morning a news story caught my attention. It said that Aaron Rodgers family was dismayed by his comments on religion.
I’m not a football fan. I don’t even know players on some of our home teams. My husband just recently showed me a pic of a play involving Aaron Rodgers and this is how I know that he is the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Now I know that you can’t believe everything you read, so for Rodger’s sake, I hope this story is not true. According to this report, Rodgers is dating Indy Race Car Driver, Danica Patrick. Patrick has a podcast in which she featured a conversation or interview with Rodgers. In this interview Rodgers questioned God’s existence. He said things like rules, regulations and binary systems don’t really resonate with him. He describes religion as a crutch and something that people use to make themselves feel better. He then went on to ask what kind of loving being would want to condemn much of his beautiful creation to a fiery hell at the end of all this. This upset his family because they claim that Rodgers was raised in a devout Christian home. Rodgers also stated this at the beginning of the interview. According to Rodgers’ family their relationship with him has been strained for the last 6 or so years.
If you have some of these same questions, then here are some answers straight from the Bible. If you read Genesis chapter 3, you will see that the serpent, Adam, and Eve suffered because of their own sin. This is referred to as the fall of humanity. Unfortunately for us, this suffering was extended to future generations. God doesn’t want to condemn anyone to a fiery hell. He gives us free will. We can choose heaven or we can choose hell. It’s a choice we make not a choice that God makes. God is a loving God who wants the best for us, but we must choose a life lived with Him in order to receive His shelter and His protection (Psalm 91), His peace (Philippians 4:7) and the unending joy that He offers (Isaiah 35:10). It’s our choice to go to hell not His choice to send us.
When we think that we can live however we want and speak however we want and treat people however we want and waltz into heaven, we are deceived. This is a lie that the devil wants us to believe. He wants us to get to the throne of judgment only to find out, when it is too late, that we have been deceived. The devil would love for us to believe that there is no heaven and no hell. He would love for us to believe that God doesn’t exist. And yes Mr. Rodgers, he would love for us to believe that a loving God would not discipline us when we do wrong, but that simply is not true. A good parent disciplines their child even though it may be harder on them than it is on the child. God is a good, good Father. He’s such a good Father that He sent his one and only begotten Son to come to earth and live as a human being and feel the pain of rejection and be tortured and crucified on a cross so that even non-believers could have a choice of being saved.
For you football fans, allow me to put it this way (my husband had to help me with this one) Let’s say that a receiver is closest his team’s goal and the quarterback throws the ball to him and he catches it. He’s only ten yards from his team’s goal, but he’s 90 yards from the opposing team’s goal. Wouldn’t the easiest thing be for him to run the ball into his team’s goal? Of course it would, but in order for him to score, he must run the ball 90 yards to the opposing team’s goal. He has a choice to make. That sounds backwards to me, but my husband explained that football is a game of land acquisition and in order to score the team must enter the opposing teams territory and get into their goal for a touchdown.
We make the choice, we determine our final (eternal)destination. God gives us free will. What we do with it is our choice.
But if we are not careful, God will give us over to our desires (Romans 1:24). When that happens, He will allow us to hear and not perceive and see and not understand (Isaiah 6:10, Mark 4:12, Matthew 13:14) and we will not be converted and not be forgiven.
It sounds like Aaron Rodgers just doesn’t get it. This is sad because he is in an influential position because of his fame. He has an opportunity to influence so many others. Tim Tebow has used his fame as an opportunity to encourage people to trust in God. He gets it. My question to you today is do you get it? If not, please talk to a pastor, Christian counselor or Christian friend. I pray that we all get it before it’s too late.
Have a great day!