If A Frog Had Wings

I’ve heard it said that if a frog had wings he wouldn’t bang his sphincter when he hopped. I’ve come to understand that “if” is a pretty big word for having only two letters. I’ll call you if I remember and if everything goes well. The word if is used in many of our conversations and is a convenient link that leaves plenty of room for doubt. It’s in the same class of vocabulary as but or maybe; along with a fifty-fifty chance and whatever. I’m not an English Major but I play with words in my spare time and if I quit my day job to write full time I’d be broke in a timely manner; if time permitted. I will only examine the word from what I’ve come to see in the scripture. Search it out for yourself if you have the inclination and especially if I have upset your dogma.

It all started with an encounter that God had with Cain prior to the result of Cain’s bad attitude and impending crime. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door… Gen 4:7. The first coin toss was instigated by none other than the God we serve. Could it have turned out differently? Yes it could have; based on the choice that Cain would make. Did God know the outcome? Certainly; was it predestined? No. Cain had a free will in this matter. God used if twice and Cain had two choices. As we know, it didn’t go well.

Pharaoh got the if treatment from Moses and when Moses was handed the law it had more if’s than I can keep up with. Exodus to Deuteronomy contains many of these little gems. One that stands out in the crowd is found in Leviticus 26 and two big IF’s sum up the whole of this investigation at Mount Sinai. The good side of if starts in verse 3 and goes to verse 14. Then IF gets ugly for a long time. There’s a tasty example of the bad side of if in verse 29. At verse 40, 26 verses later, an if shows up that saves the day. If we repent of our sins God will remember His promise.

We hear 1 Chronicles 7:14 quoted to no end when it comes to retrieving a blessing from the Lord. We milk it for all that it’s worth and the plaque and tee-shirt industry has made a killing on the phrase; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. What we can’t seem to get past is the very first word; IF! It’s not the world that this refers to, or their sins or their wickedness. It refers to the Christian’s who have an iffy nominal life in Christ. It comes down to a pro-choice view. God is very much pro-choice. He says; choose you this day who “you” will serve. Choice divided by two equals IF. IF hasn’t changed in 6000 years. So much for the; God is pro-life bumper sticker philosophy. The scriptures seem to prove otherwise.

Allow me briefly ( as there are too many examples to digest in one sitting ) to go to the Gospels. I’ve heard it said that Jesus said that the truth will set you free. I find in the scripture that Jesus didn’t say that at all. 2+2=4, the sky is blue, and we all have opinions. Somehow those truths don’t do that much for me. There is truth about 911 and the Apollo moon project that will never be known but if it was it wouldn’t set anyone free. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32. The recipe calls for three key ingredients. 1. IF 2. You continue and 3. In His word; then and only then will you be a disciple with the end result being that you will know the truth. That truth and that freedom is a direct reflection of being alive in Him and remaining in Him until He comes again; if you live that long.

There is much more that could be said and I will hazard a guess that I’ll be misinterpreted if I take a stand for or against Calvinism. What I have learned about predestination I have retained little of and what there is to learn I do not care for but I do know that if you endure to the end you will be once saved always saved.

If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. Mark 4:23

T. LaVigne