Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
“‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

• Luke 14:16-24

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

• Luke 15:22

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

• Romans 1:20

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

• Romans 2:1

As for the Scriptures, this is the complete exposition of the word “excuse” in the NIV.  We have no excuse.  If God calls us, we say “yes.”  If we fail, the answer must always be “No excuses, Lord!”

I have mentioned it in past posts that every U.S.Army officer is taught to deflect praise to those under his command/leadership.  But if there was something done wrong, or not done at all, the officer was to look his commander in the eyes and say, “No excuse, Sir!”  This would be followed by taking the blame for whatever a lowly private had not done or done poorly.  If the officer had just explained the task better and given the sergeant full authority in doing the task, then the private would have done the job correctly.  Thus, it was always the officer’s fault, and not the NCO or “underling.”  In practice, it did not always work that way.  I always followed that rule, which meant I had some strange things to “explain” later in life.

But with God, we are not going to get any second chances.  Those invited to the banquet in Jesus’ parable would not taste even a crumb from the banquet table.  They preferred the excuse rather than the “Yes, Sir!”

If we cannot see the grandeur and wonder that God has designed in great things and small things, we have no excuse.  The atheists that go before God will find that they have lost the ability to even talk.  There will be no excuses.  And the same goes for those who would pass judgment without seeing the same faults in themselves.  Yes, we are to correct those in the church who openly slip into a sinful lifestyle, but only after there are adequate witnesses, and then only judged for the purpose of correction and guiding back to God’s path for their lives.

That sums up the verses where “excuse” is mentioned, but why did it come to mind today?

I awoke with a big goose egg in my brain.  Any thought that I came up with was blank.  I even thought that my next quiz would be a fill in the blank, but when you only had the blank, how do you fill in everything?  Oh, I suppose you could write down ten memory verses and say that was what I meant.  I could not claim you were wrong.

But then, I did the discovery syndrome.  I think that is what my blogger friend from New Mexico said was the malady when you walk into a room to do something and you forgot why you went there, but you always find something to replace it.

With a blank between the ears, I started a load of clothes.  I paid a bill and got it pinned to the mailbox.  I checked my vital signs.  I unpacked a few things from my suitcase – yes, days after I have returned from Tennessee, I still have things in the suitcase.  I adjusted the thermostats since we no longer needed air conditioning.  I had wasted enough time to need something for lunch, and I warmed some leftovers.  I gathered trash since that has to be taken to the street by the end of the day.  I planned some future posts that were mini-series entries.  I developed a short story in my mind although I am well ahead of schedule in that regard.  I shredded trash paper to pack empty pickle and sauce jars into a non-recyclable plastic container – thus nothing gets broken when the trash guys drop and drag the trash bag to the truck.

Then, I looked at the blank computer screen in front of me and said, “Stop making excuses!  Hey, wait!  That is the next post to write!”

God gets your attention, even when making excuses.

Now, that I am on a roll…  Okay, I have no idea what the next Babs and Harold conversation is going to be about…  And I need to do my pill pack before bedtime…  And the watermelon needs to be chopped up and refrigerated…  And the dryer just buzzed, so I have to fold clothes… 

Okay, Lord, life happens, and in the midst of life, we worship You.  I may not be writing a post about folding clothes, although that may be an interesting Babs and Harold conversation, but I can glorify Your Name while folding the clothes.

I left for Tennessee with my writing a month ahead of schedule.  I returned with my writing slightly under three weeks ahead of schedule.  That is not that bad when I went through a bout of COVID while there.  But in just a few days, I am “catching up.”  Meaning I am back on pace … until this morning.

Sometimes, we need God to give us a swift kick.  There is plenty of time in the day to do what God wishes to be done.  It is up to us to keep our eyes on Him, even when folding the clothes.

Note: When I checked the clothes, the towels were not completely dry, so chop the watermelon and then fold the clothes!  The watermelon was a must in that the rind had to be in this week’s trash pickup.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.