RUNNING

Often times we can get so caught up in our own self-centeredness about how people abused or abandoned us that we end up running from ourselves, totally unaware of our surrounding environment. Some incidents that cause pain in our lives have the potential to blind us in such a way that we fail to see how others are hurting as much as we are. I don’t know why Jonah in the Bible (Jonah 1-4), ran from God or what kind of turmoil he might have been personally experiencing. I do know that we all share one thing in common with Jonah—we hold cards in our hands that can determine life or death. The strategy, especially in a card game that requires a partner, is to choose someone who knows how to play well enough to win; because we all desire to be winners. Likewise, in the Game of Life, there are only two partners that you may choose from, Christ or Satan. The question is: 1. Who are you going to choose as a partner, once the Cards of Life are dealt to you? 2. How are you going to play your hand? In this book, Jonah’s story is similar to mine. For many years, I ran from God feeling like I had been cheated with the cards that life had dealt me, because it appeared I had received a “stacked deck” and the short end of the stick. I’d like to suggest to you that God has been in this card game of Eternal Life since the beginning of time. In closing, I want to remind you as you read the pages of this book, to view the whole image of God’s love and compassion, and realize that no one is beyond redemption. It is my intention, for you to arrive at a crossroad where you will begin to pray for those who seem to be the farthest from the Kingdom, and look for ways to tell them about God. That somebody might be you! God bless.