2 Nephi 10
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Went to the dr. Turns out I have the flu :(
Anyway- on to more important things...
I find it sad that Jerusalem allowed itself, through corruption, to become so hard-hearted and wicked, so blinded, that they would kill the very Savior they had been "waiting" for. The ultimate sad irony.
I love verses 23-25 because they speak of agency. Jacob lays all of this heavy, depressing stuff on them, then he says, "Hey, cheer up, though. Cuz you get to choose for yourself." I always chuckle at that one. But, Jacob is right, our agency is reason to rejoice. We do get to choose what we want. The interesting thing is what choice is important: The Lord's way or the devil's way.
We can choose to align our will with the Lord and have eternal life, or to the devil, and have eternal misery and destruction.
When he puts it that way, the choice seems like a no-brainer. But, in our day, the choices can sometimes seem so watered down, even innocuous. Missing church once in a while, taking off after Sacrament meeting, not fasting or paying tithing, going to a movie on Sunday...
None of the above will bring immediate discomfort, or call down rain-fire from hell. But, when putting all of our choices into one of the two categories Jacob listed, which ones do they fall under? There isn't a third option that says: or you can choose stuff that makes no difference. Nope, there are only two choices. The Lord's will, or the devil's. It's pretty simple.
That's why Jacob says, "reconcile yourselves to the will of God." We need to change our actions and thoughts to match His. Not look for a church or a belief that happens to match our current frame of mind. And, IF we do that, we can be saved through His grace.
I love the promise at the end: we can be raised from death by the resurrection and the atonement. We may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, where we can praise Him through grace divine.
Simply beautiful!!
Went to the dr. Turns out I have the flu :(
Anyway- on to more important things...
I find it sad that Jerusalem allowed itself, through corruption, to become so hard-hearted and wicked, so blinded, that they would kill the very Savior they had been "waiting" for. The ultimate sad irony.
I love verses 23-25 because they speak of agency. Jacob lays all of this heavy, depressing stuff on them, then he says, "Hey, cheer up, though. Cuz you get to choose for yourself." I always chuckle at that one. But, Jacob is right, our agency is reason to rejoice. We do get to choose what we want. The interesting thing is what choice is important: The Lord's way or the devil's way.
We can choose to align our will with the Lord and have eternal life, or to the devil, and have eternal misery and destruction.
When he puts it that way, the choice seems like a no-brainer. But, in our day, the choices can sometimes seem so watered down, even innocuous. Missing church once in a while, taking off after Sacrament meeting, not fasting or paying tithing, going to a movie on Sunday...
None of the above will bring immediate discomfort, or call down rain-fire from hell. But, when putting all of our choices into one of the two categories Jacob listed, which ones do they fall under? There isn't a third option that says: or you can choose stuff that makes no difference. Nope, there are only two choices. The Lord's will, or the devil's. It's pretty simple.
That's why Jacob says, "reconcile yourselves to the will of God." We need to change our actions and thoughts to match His. Not look for a church or a belief that happens to match our current frame of mind. And, IF we do that, we can be saved through His grace.
I love the promise at the end: we can be raised from death by the resurrection and the atonement. We may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, where we can praise Him through grace divine.
Simply beautiful!!
When we align our will with God's we really have no more desire to do evil. Making the choice to listen to the spirit, to obey the spirit is a commitment. But once done, so many choices are really not choices anymore... if you get what I mean.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't mean we are perfect. But it sure makes life a lot easier.
I think Angie is talking about vs 24 reconcile yourself to the will of God. We decide to "try" in my case to do God's will and stay on to the path, holding the rod. Just like we teach our children to decide ahead of time what we will & willnot do. There is great freedom in making choices ahead of time. The gospel provides many more freedoms for me.
ReplyDeleteI also found great solice in vs 2, God will be merciful into many; and our children shall be restored........ I believe and have hope.in this and temple dealings.