35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.
Ammon rejoices and praises God perhaps unlike any other. He is so filled with joy and gratitude that he has not the ability to hold it in! Perhaps like the stones that would have cried out in praise to Jesus at the Triumphant Entry if the people had not, Ammon too just had to cry out.
How would it be to feel such joy? Well, since no man has had reason to rejoice like him since the beginning of the world, I guess most of us will not know until we have the same experience. But we can, little by little, have those “carried away” moments in small increments and increase line upon line. I admit there have been times, though few, that I had to cry out in my heart in joy and gratitude for God’s bounteous blessings, and one in which, while driving alone in my car, I could no longer hold it in and had to cry out loud in thanks and praise.
May those experiences continue to grow until the perfect day.
And Amen to want Ammon said about God! Amen to God being a merciful being, to those who repent and have faith. For he is a merciful and kind and gentle and patient being with his wayward children who have all, and continue every day in some way, go astray.
Many Christians believe that all is necessary to be saved is to have faith. Yet this is a fallacy. It is a heresy. It is a lie of the darkest hue. No man can be saved in his sins, only from them by both faith in Christ and repentance.
Let’s imagine for a moment you are driving home from a far away land and are dreadfully lost in the the middle of the night in a strange and unfamiliar place, and this is in the days before GPS and you have not a road map. As you meander through dark streets in seedy neighborhoods, confused, frightened and alone, suddenly you see a police car up ahead with its lights on!
With great hope and anticipation of finding your way home, you quickly approach and ask the officer if he can give you directions back to the highway. The officer thankfully knows the roads like the back of his hand, and gives you step by step directions to get you back on track. hanging on his every word, you write the directions down meticulously, and with profound and sincere thanks to the officer you go on your way.
But, instead of following the directions, you decide that you don’t need to. You believe that following directions doesn’t matter. Rather, all that matters is that you believe the directions are true. Which of course, they are. So you cling to that piece of paper with all your might and mind, pulling them into your chest, holding on to them for dear life, believing that all you need to get back home is to believe in those directions with all of your heart.
Will this person ever find his way home with this flawed belief system? No, he will not. He will wander in strange roads and perhaps lose his life as a result of remaining lost in a dangerous land.
Our Savior showed the way. He is the way, the truth and the life. But when he said to believe in him, he meant to Believe in him so as to follow him. Belief comes before action, and in that order only. What good is it, once we believe in something, if we don’t act on that thing? if we believe that eating healthy will cause us to become healthy and lose weight, what good is that belief if we don’t go on a diet! ”Come follow me” implies action as an extension of belief. Belief that taking a certain road will get us home must come before we take that road, but choosing to not take that road leaves your belief dead with having no meaning or purpose.
Believing in or having faith in Christ is a prerequisite to following him. But follow him we must, for that is what he has asked and even commanded. Believing in him without following him, obeying his commands, and doing our best to emulate him (be ye therefor perfect...) is like getting directions when you are lost and foolishly choosing not to follow them.
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