My Daddy used to have a phrase that he used. He would say, “Well if I’ve offended you by anything that I’ve said, I really don’t care.” He obviously said this in jest. Unfortunately one of his cousins took it to heart once. After Daddy said this to him, they never talked again. If allowed, offenses build fences between people and sometimes even between people and God.
We read this in the gospels when Jesus says that offenses will come. I know we typically focus on the part that says woe by whom they come, but for a moment I want to talk about the fact that offenses will come. You will not live your life and never be offended. Somebody somewhere is going to offend you. It may very well be someone that you care for, a friend or family member, it very well may be someone that you go to church with. As the psalmist said: Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me (Psalm 41:9 KJV).
It happens too often, so often you may have even seen it yourself. Someone gets offended, or a situation doesn’t work out like they think it should. Possibly life gets hard. Whatever it is, when it happens they decide that they can’t live for God anymore. They walk away from the one that died for them. I do feel for people that are going through these things. I know life can be hard, but walking away from God is not the answer.
I came across this scripture in Jeremiah 2:11-12 (ISV) Has a nation ever changed gods when they aren’t even gods? But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit. Heavens, be appalled at this, be shocked, be utterly devastated,” declares the LORD.
This is so profoundly true. People that serve false gods do not walk away from their gods when things go wrong. Think about that. They stay serving something that can’t do anything for them. People go to bars, get drunk, get in fights, get sick from what they are partaking in, yet they keep going back. It may not even be a false god that they are serving. It may be something as simple as Walmart. The cashier may offend you, but that doesn’t cause you to sware off of ever going back to Walmart.
Yet, people get upset and want to walk away from God. If you have walked away I beg you come back to God. Let’s be like the disciples in John chapter 6, when Jesus offered for them to leave. They responded “Lord, to whom would we go?” (John 6:68 ISV). Let’s get a bulldog determination that we will never turn away from our God. Will we walk away from the took such great offense to be crucified for the ones that He came to save? Yes, Jesus was offended too, yet how did He respond? He prayed for their forgiveness. You see offenses will come, but how will we respond is the question.
Hebrews 2:1 ISV For this reason we must pay closer attention to the things we have heard, or we may drift away,
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