Have you ever thought about what it means to be in the will of God? I have. Then one evening, while I was preparing for either a Thursday night Bible study or an adult Sunday school teaching, a parable came to my mind. It helped me and maybe it will help you.
There once was a man who had lost hope. His marriage had failed (he was partially to blame but felt as much guilt as had it been totally his fault), his company was teetering on collapse, and his kitchen table was covered by unopened mail from bill collectors and vendors. Every morning as he made his needed cup of coffee from his ten year old coffee maker he would glance at the mess in the kitchen and living room of his one bedroom apartment. He would resolve that one day soon he would clean and start over. But then his eyes would fall upon the pile of mail on the kitchen table and his heart would simultaneously race in anxiety and sink in despair. He would turn his eyes away, slither out the door and drive to work in his twelve year old Honda Accord.
Each evening upon arriving home, he would pick up the day’s mail in the box on the street, throw it on the table, fix a microwave dinner and sit down to watch whatever he could find on television. Day after day, night after night, every day the same, a hopeless, endless journey to the grave.
Then one day, upon arriving home, a notice of an attempt to deliver a certified letter was on the front door. He knew it was just another threatening letter from either a business situation or a personal debt. But he put the notice in his pocket.
As was his habit, the next day he wore the same pair of pants to work. Living alone made it difficult to clean clothes often enough to wear something different every day and business was so bad that it really did not matter. As “luck” would have it, as he was checking on an issue in a building located right next to the Post Office, he reached in his pocket to find a key and instead found the certified letter notice. When he finished next door, he stopped in the Post Office and picked up the letter.
Arriving home at the end of the day, he began to drop the letter on the ever growing pile but something about it caught his eye. The return address was that of a law firm that he had never seen or heard of before and which was located in the town in which he was born. He could not think of any reason he would owe anyone any money from a place he had not visited for over thirty years and in which he had never worked.
As he made a space on the couch to sit, he opened the letter. It was from a lawyer, was a single page and said the following:
Mr. Smith:
You are invited to the reading of the Last Will and Testament of Mr. Alexander Smith on September 29. The reading will take place at 2:00 PM in our offices located at 100 Main Street, Bedford, Va. Please do not be late for the reading will begin promptly at 2:00 PM.
If you have any questions please call me at 222-555-1234.
Robert Wiedam, Attorney at Law
He read the letter again and then read it again. Who in the world was Alexander Smith? He had no idea. This must be a mistake. No way was he related to anyone who had anything and even more certainly, no one was leaving him anything. He dropped the letter on the living room table and went to bed.
He could not sleep. What if the letter wasn’t a mistake? Who was Alexander Smith? His mind finally wore out from worrying, wishing and pondering and he fell asleep.
In the morning he nearly forgot about the letter but as he searched for his shoes in the living room he saw the letter on the table. He read it again and decided to call the lawyer to verify the mistake. After all, the 29th was only three days away and Bedford was a four hour drive. One phone call is all he should need to put this to rest.
Upon arriving at his nearly empty office, he unfolded the letter and dialed the phone. Surprisingly, a pleasant young lady answered his call on the second ring. “Law offices, how may I direct you call?” He stammered, “Mr. Wiedam please.” “I’m sorry”, she said, “Mr. Wiedam is in court today. May I help you?” “Well, uh, my name is Mr. Smith, and I received a letter about the reading of a will for Mr. Alexander Smith on September 29.” “I am sure there is some mistake because I do not know anyone named Alexander Smith and Smith is such a common name…..” She interrupted, “No, no Mr. Smith, there is no mistake!” “The reason you only just now received your certified letter is that it took us so long to find you.” “We are sure there is no mistake.” “You are definitely in his will!” “Please be here at 2:00 PM the day after tomorrow.” “OK, thank you”, he said. And he hung up the phone.
Now he had a choice. Was he going to believe and have hope or was he going to continue in unbelief and wallow in despair? If he chose to believe, the hope would cause him to act in accordance with the level of his belief and hope. The four hour drive to Bedford would be an adventure filled with peace and joy. It would feel like perfect freedom and not like labor at all. But if he allowed unbelief to rule the day, then either the trip would seem like endless work and trouble or unbelief would paralyze him and lead to total inaction and despair.
Ironically, no matter his reaction and response, the truth would still be the truth. If he was in the will, he was in the will. If Alexander Smith had truly included him in his will, whatever promises were ordained were at his disposal and belonged to him. All he had to do was believe and they were his. Only his unbelief could keep him from benefiting from the blessings. In fact the only thing required for the promises of a will to be enacted is the death of the creator of the will. Alexander Smith had done his part.
When you open the Bible you are reading the will of God. It says that all the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus. What that means is that the promises of God are actualized by the life and death of Jesus. A will can only take effect upon the death of the maker. When Jesus died on the cross, the will of God was perfected. All the promises of God are in effect. Our choice is to believe or not believe. Everyone who is a child of God is in the will and the truth is the truth. If we believe that we are in the will of God, we understand what it means that “He who began a good work in you will complete it” and “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” God says that “you will accomplish the good works that He has prepared in advance for you.” He also says, “He will cause you to walk in His ways.” And finally, He says “that all who receive Jesus, who believe in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but by the will of God.” You are in the will of God. Will you believe and hope or continue in unbelief and despair. The truth is still the truth.
I can only hope and pray that I may accept and receive the generous gift that the lord has provided. Nice story and reminder, Steve.
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