PARKING LOTS -- Devotional for July 6, from "Good Seeds"

When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)

Any time you drive by one of the many Indian casinos that dot the American landscape today you see the parking lot bulging beyond capacity. The casino in our rural area just finished construction of a multi-level parking garage that rivals any big city parking facility. And these places are always open for business and buzzing with activity. Why are people so anxious to throw their money away? But gambling’s not the point of this discussion. We’re just talking about parking lots. Even on Sundays, you can hardly find a parking space at a casino. Now, if you can’t find a spot, as long as you don’t mind the walk, you can always go down the road till you come to a church – they’re everywhere – where you’ll find plenty of spacious parking! Why is this, that wild horses can’t keep people away from frivolous gaming, yet those same people will avoid deeply meaningful fellowship and worship – avoid it like the plague? Why is it they’ll drive any distance to gamble away their life savings, but won’t go around the corner to investigate and invest in their life’s destiny? They’ll flock in hoards to casinos – like cattle to the slaughter, but stay away in droves from the still waters and green pastures – like sheep that don’t know their own shepherd. But there’s our answer: After our first parents had sinned, friendship with their Creator was broken. Rather than confessing their disobedience and begging for mercy and forgiveness, which surely would have been granted, they chose instead to cut off relations with God altogether. Besides, by that time they had already taken up with a new master, and even they knew “no man can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). The Bible says someday each and every human being, in the resurrected state, will pass before the judgment bar of God, who will ask just one question: “What have you done with My Son?” Each man’s answer will be the deciding factor regarding his eternal destiny – whether he winds up in heaven or hell. Just as the fruit on the tree of Eden was the crossroads for Adam and Eve, so Jesus on the tree of Calvary is the crossroads for the entire human family. Those who disobey God in this generation are no different than those who disobeyed Him in that generation: they’re going to hide themselves, away from God’s presence, in all the lush greenery of His creation, and of their own clever invention, rather than come to Him – come back to the very One their soul, if they would admit it, longs for. In the meantime, don’t be surprised by the parking lots – just be sure your car’s parked in the right one!