Ignorance is Bliss?

I just read a great joke online. Let me share it with you here.

A friend whose husband was stationed at Fort Bliss, in Texas, actually got a letter addressed to "Fort Ignorance."
"How did you know where to deliver it?" she asked the mailman.
"We were stumped at first," he admitted. "But then I remembered, Ignorance is bliss." ;-)

Are there times in your life when you are so overwhelmed you don't want to know what you don't know?!

I would call that a time when you might think that "Ignorance is bliss."

However, if you get pulled over by a policeman for a traffic violation, or get audited by the IRS, or have to appear in court for violating a law you weren't aware of, you will quickly find out that ignorance is not bliss!

Ignorance truly is something to be avoided in regard to the important areas of your life. In this age of information overload it can be a daunting task to keep up with everything relevant. But the most important thing to make sure you're not ignorant about is the purpose and meaning of your life.

We only have a brief time on this earth. It's like a drop in the bucket compared to the timeline of human history. And when you get to the end of your life and look back, it will seem like a flash as well.

Make no mistake - you will be accountable for how you lived your life: the choices you made and the things you did. What will you say to Almighty God when you stand before him one day and he asks why he should let you into heaven?

Many people think that if they are good enough they will enter. But think about that for a minute.

After all, God makes the rules, does he not? What does HE say about his entry requirements? He tells us that all have sinned; none of us are righteous - no not one.

Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned - Romans 5:12

So if none of us are righteous and no amount of good works could pay the price, how could we then be worthy to enter heaven?

This is where we must receive and accept the answer that God in his love and his wisdom provided for us.

In the Old Testament the only way the Israelites could be forgiven was to offer blood sacrifices. This was a symbol of God's solution to us in replacing the continuous daily sacrifices by one final sacrifice in the blood of the Lamb, God's Son Jesus Christ. Jesus was God in the flesh - totally God and totally man - the only possible answer to the problem. He was the only one who could be holy and perfect enough to qualify as a spotless, sin-free sacrifice for us.

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. - Romans 3:21-25

The grace of God is all that can save us from our self-righteousness and pride, and our hearts that naturally turn away from God. Once we realize and grasp the truth that we are incapable of saving ourselves, according to God's requirements, we then can be ready to accept the finished work of grace and love that was provided for us through Jesus' death on the cross - the ultimate - and final - sacrifice.

But the glory of Easter and the symbol of the power we have in Christ is in the Risen Christ. It is He who overcame death, and along with it sin and the devil and the power of our fleshly nature (with death as its ultimate outcome).

Our spirits are then reborn and we have the power to live by the new nature of our enlivened spirit man instead of the fleshly nature with its striving for its own desires. That is where the wonderful fruit of the Spirit can burst forth in new life, bringing forth love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Hopefully, you are well aware of the above concept and have chosen to accept God's grace and love into your life. You truly have something to celebrate every day, not just at Easter.

But if you have never heard God's love and plan for you expressed quite this way, reread the above and ask God to reveal his truth to you. Allow the direction, purpose and consequences to line up to be the best possible for you - not only while you're living here on earth, but forever after you've gone on from this earthly realm. You will live a life beyond your dreams!

Ignorance is definitely not bliss! I trust you will be celebrating this Easter with new eyes and a blissfully overflowing heart for God's wonderful gift of new life to you today!