LEFT BEHIND -- Devotional for March 17, from "Good Seeds"

For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. (I Samuel 12:22)

These two words, put together, spell out the most tragic of all scenarios of human existence. At the very least, it may describe what happened to me when just a lad of four or five years old. Most people, including me, have very few memories of their earliest years – but I remember vividly the day my family drove off on a Sunday morning, headed to church, and left me behind. I actually saw the car disappearing down the street from my upstairs bedroom window. My first reaction was unbelief – how could they possibly have done this to me? The second was soon to follow: sheer panic and fear! The Bible repeatedly reminds us of God’s great promise, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5). But anyone less than God can be expected to forget or forsake a loved one from time to time. I never accused my parents of not loving me, but I could never expect to be on their minds twenty-four/seven like I am on God’s mind. But WHO is this promise given to? “His people,” the verse says. There will be those who someday will be totally abandoned by God, that sad company of Christ-rejecters. Those seeking to come to God or the good life – or heaven – by any other means than Jesus have a rude awakening in store for them, when they wake up from their earthly death to their conscious eternal death in hell! This is “left behind” at its very worst! Am I harsh for saying such a thing? No, I’m just quoting the most tender Soul who ever lived, who said, “No man can come to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6). Another question answered by this verse is WHY? Why did God make this wonderful promise? Two reasons: 1) Because of His PERSON: “…His great name.” The Bible says, “God is love.” He doesn’t just have love – He IS love! He’s our loving Heavenly Father, and how could a father ever desert the child of His love? 2) Because of His PLAN, which is to make us “a people for Himself.” God doesn’t just love us and save us for our sake – but for His own sake. And that’s why He will never forsake us!