I think the Lord endowed a lot of Coffee Stains readers with a vivid imagination. Here’s your chance to use it.
It’s Dallas versus Washington in Jerryworld, there in Texas. The captains of the two teams advance towards the fifty-yard line where the referees wait. The supporters are yelling insults at each other. The police will have their hands full after the match.
Just after the coin flip the Redskins’ captain says to the refs, “Listen, we won’t be needing you today. We’ve decided with the Cowboys that we can express ourselves much more fully if you guys aren’t around with your yellow flags. So, we’d like to invite you to go back to the dressing room.”
The Cowboys’ captain nods his agreement.
“But, but…” stutters the main referee. “How are you going to play without us?”
“We’re well able to take care of business between us. We’re of age you know, and there is a tremendous potential in each human. Frankly we just don’t need you.”
So the refs, dragging their feet, heads down, head for the dressing room.
Flash forward four hours (one hour for the game and three hours for commercials). The refs come out of the dressing room to see who won. “What’s going on?” they ask each other. Fists fly in the stands as the fans fight with each other.

It’s the Ref’s Fault

On the field, players lie prostrate everywhere. The refs advance until they see one luckless fellow lying on his stomach, both arms and both legs broken. His jersey is torn and all they can read of his name is “omo.”
When the player finally manages to turn his head sideways and see them he groans between the few teeth he still has left, “It’s your fault—you referees! If you had done your job none of this would have happened!”
It seems I’ve heard that argument before.
“If God exists why are their wars?” “If God exists why famine? Why injustice? Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why is my mother-in-law so hateful?”

Let Us Alone!

Wait a minute. We’ve basically asked God to let us alone. God created the world perfect but our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, opened the door wide so that sin could charge in and since then the world has been out of sync.
Men tell God to leave them alone…until things don’t go their way, that is, then they often send up an “SOS.” And frequently God helps them in spite of their attitude because He’s like that.
But finally there comes a moment when God says, “You don’t want a judge, a Lord, a Savior? Okay, but you’re going to eat the fruit of the way you’ve chosen.” And how.
“Because of this God gave them over to shameful lusts …Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.” (Romans 1:26, 28 NIV)
He let them go their own way! “Gave them over.”
Until they hit bottom and call on God for help. Me, I don’t know if I’d do it. A part of me would grin and say, “Hey buddy, you didn’t want anything to do with me? You stewed that meal, now eat it!”
But God?
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…” (Eph. 2:4, 5 NKJV)
If you’ve kicked the Referee out of your life, it might be time to call on Him. He’ll apply his grace to your life and nothing will be the same after Jesus comes in.
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Hummm …

John Maxwell said, “One is too small a number to achieve greatness.”