"Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the Nephites, yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites—drinking in with the traditions of the Lamanites; giving way to indolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God."
Alma 47:36
This is a good warning for us. As disciples of Christ, we have a greater responsibility than people who don't know the Lord... and if we walk away from God, we become "more hardened" against the spirit than they are. Because we know what we are walking away from, and choosing that is worse than not knowing.
It is scary how fast we forget spiritual things if we aren't renewing our relationship with God daily. Daily prayer and scripture study seem such small parts of the day, and at first we don't think it is a big deal to let them go now and then... but at that very moment when we do, the justification and the forgetting start. We find it easier to let it go in the future. We forget how important it is, how necessary it is to our lives and to our sanity. :) We start trying to go it alone, without God, and we wonder why things start to fall apart. But it is just us, forgetting God... forgetting our focus and the solidity beneath everything that we are.
Today, let's try not to be the wild dissenters. Let's work on maintaining our relationship with God. Let's read and pray. Let's talk to God about it if there is an issue in our lives, and get it taken care of. Let's remember that God is the most important thing, and that everything else in our lives comes through him. Staying close to him brings us peace, even in the midst of the storm. Let's not wander out there alone.
Alma 47:36
This is a good warning for us. As disciples of Christ, we have a greater responsibility than people who don't know the Lord... and if we walk away from God, we become "more hardened" against the spirit than they are. Because we know what we are walking away from, and choosing that is worse than not knowing.
It is scary how fast we forget spiritual things if we aren't renewing our relationship with God daily. Daily prayer and scripture study seem such small parts of the day, and at first we don't think it is a big deal to let them go now and then... but at that very moment when we do, the justification and the forgetting start. We find it easier to let it go in the future. We forget how important it is, how necessary it is to our lives and to our sanity. :) We start trying to go it alone, without God, and we wonder why things start to fall apart. But it is just us, forgetting God... forgetting our focus and the solidity beneath everything that we are.
Today, let's try not to be the wild dissenters. Let's work on maintaining our relationship with God. Let's read and pray. Let's talk to God about it if there is an issue in our lives, and get it taken care of. Let's remember that God is the most important thing, and that everything else in our lives comes through him. Staying close to him brings us peace, even in the midst of the storm. Let's not wander out there alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment