Are we selling out?

Looking carefully . . . lest there be any . . . profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. — Hebrews 12:15-16

Have we “sold out” the way Esau did? (Heb. 12:16). Has the lure of wealth, power, prestige, position, security, style, or the approval and praise of others led us to barter away God’s riches for a single meal?

Esau sought to change his father’s mind and gain the inheritance he had forfeited by his duplicity, but he could not set right the damage he had done. He had to live with his decision. Neither can we turn back the clock and undo the wrong we have done to ourselves and to others.

Although the past is irrevocable, there can be a new day before us, filled with new chances, new opportunities, and new expectations. God will not redo the past, but when we repent He can and will forgive us and set us on a new path.

The Lord can give us opportunities to show how we have truly repented of the decisions of the past and how much we long to serve Him in the decisions to come. He will never mention the deeds by which we’ve shamed others and ourselves; they are forgiven and forgotten forever.

God will give us a place to begin again — to love, to serve, to touch others profoundly and eternally for His sake. This demonstrates the greatness of our heavenly Father’s forgiving love to us. — David Roper

Dear Lord, be merciful to me;

My sin has grieved Your heart;

And grant to me Your strength anew

To make a fresh, new start. — D. De Haan

READ: Hebrews 12:12-17

God’s forgiveness is the door to a new beginning.

The Bible in one year:

• Daniel 8-10

• 3 John