Minute Meditations

There is an old fable that tells about a man that was so lazy that the local townsfolk decided to put him in a wagon and take him out to the graveyard and bury him. He was just too lazy to live. On the way, a farmer stopped the procession to ask what was happening. When he learned of the lazy man’s plight, he offered to give him a load of corn to prevent him from being buried alive. The lazy man lifted himself slowly on one elbow and asked, ”Is it husked?” The farmer replied that it wasn’t, and the lazy fellow laid down again and said, ”Drive on.”

In a way we are all born on a wagon that is going to the grave. Salvation has been offered us by God. It is free. It is the gift of God for ”God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Christ asks that ”whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Unfortunately, most men are too lazy to accept the gift of God and in essence say ”drive on.”

What a deplorable state! God is not willing that any should perish and yet the majority of mankind are too lazy to get off the wagon of death and take up Christ’s yoke. Jesus asks us to take his yoke upon us and he assures us that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

When we contemplate the glorious gift of God and the sorrowful plight that awaits the sinner, we are appalled at the indifference that our neighbors have toward God. At the same time we must be on our guard not to fall into the same state of do-nothing-ness. It is an insidious disease and is so prevalent and contagious that we can easily become infected if we do not keep our resistance built up.

The demands of life and the deceitful pleasures of sin constantly distract us and, if we are not careful, we will find that we just do not have time to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Soon we may find ourselves riding the wagon that leads to death. There are only two alternatives. We either live unto Christ or we live unto the flesh. ”The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.” The choice is ours.

James reminds us ”that faith without works is dead.” Salvation is the gift of God but he will only bestow it upon those who have works meet for repentance. It is impossible to do too much for the Lord. We dare not risk giving God anything less than our very best. In athletics the champion is the one who gives it all he has. We dare not be lazy or slothful in the Lord’s vine- yard. Let us do all that we do to the glory and honor of our Heavenly Father. We must be wise and climb off the wagon of death and get busy in the Lord’s vineyard. To ”drive on” leads to death. Each has a talent or two and it is our use of what we have that will decide our fate when our Lord looks upon us and asks us to account for our talent.

”Be ye not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love” (Heb. 6: 10).