Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The temperatures are rising in Virginia so stepping out onto the front porch isn’t a bitter experience anymore…at least not for now. I had a staredown with the deer through the fog this morning and it was as if the deer wanted to make absolutely sure it was me and not something it should protect itself from. Nature relies on its own instincts and those instincts often have life-or-death consequences. Unfortunately, man is inclined to rely on “instinct” too, but the stakes are much higher with consequences that lead to eternal life or death. The Bible says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse”. When you look at the Journey of Life through the eyes of God, it’s impossible not to Believe. But for those so set on relying on themselves…well, they’re ‘without excuse”, and that’s where I come in before it’s too late for them. I don’t need “instinct” to navigate my way through the Journey of Faith, I need the Holy Spirit to guide me instead! And if I’m Willing, He’ll guide me to someone “without excuse” that needs a little Spiritual Enlightenment about the Future too. Isn’t it just like Him to use a foggy field and a deer to speak to my Heart this morning?

In some ways, I envy the animals. They don’t have an intellect or a conscience that gets in the way of decision-making. They aren’t attracted to “shiny” things and they’ll never need an “excuse.” They naturally surrender to something much bigger than themselves and they don’t waste time rationalizing the next move. They don’t hear the “noise” of other well-meaning critters telling them what they should (or should not) do and if another one takes something away from them, they don’t hate and hold grudges forever and they won’t gossip over the fence. Instead, they’ll speak their peace to the offender and IF they don’t get back what was taken away, they just shrug their furry shoulders and run off to replace what was lost. Yep, animal life looks pretty good sometimes UNTIL we remember that they will never have an eternal impact on this dark world and that the “wages of sin” have no relevance for them whatsoever. Our furry friends live a simpler life, that’s for sure, but nothing they do holds a candle to what’s coming for their friends who “are without excuse”.

Man’s quest to intellectualize the Journey of Faith is undoubtedly his greatest downfall. God doesn’t care how smart you are and He doesn’t care about degrees. God doesn’t (usually) share His next move and He doesn’t care if you like it or not. God’s ways don’t have to make sense to you and it doesn’t matter to God if man takes a million trips to the moon and back, we’ll never be able to intellectualize Creation. God has already proven Himself through His “invisible qualities, His eternal power, and divine nature” so you are without excuse to be searching for “proof” of His existence. Man’s need to intellectualize God is the very reason so many people don’t ever come to Faith, and it’s the reason EVEN MORE refuse to Serve Him. It’s a sad day when “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” is more common among the animals than it is among the man Created in the image of God.

As for me, I see God in everything. I see Him in the sunrise and I see Him in the stars. I see Him in the deer and I see Him in the birds. I see Him in my marriage, and I see Him in my children and grandchildren. I see Him in the trials and tribulations and I Trust Him through it all. I may not be the brightest bulb on the planet, but my God doesn’t care about that. He looks for the Heart that loves Him unconditionally and like no other. It’s when don’t get that part right, it will be the very thing that will cause Him to say “Depart from me – I never knew you”. He Created me for such a time as this and He’s already given me everything I need to face the intellectualized world head-on. He says He’ll never leave me nor forsake me. He says I have nothing to fear. He says that He’ll give me the “words to say when” I need them. With that in mind, why would I EVER dive into a foxhole in fear…and how could I NOT have compassion for those “without excuse?

How about you?