A Rebel With Conviction.

I am a rebel.

Like James Dean, I am wearing my white t-shirt and leather jacket while smoking my Marlboros... or Camels... (or whatever brand he smoked) as I cruise around on my motorcycle. Like him, I defy authority and live my life on the edge not willing to succumb to moral instruction. I am less defiant in that my rebellious nature is not intentional... but rather because of my lack of will to follow what has been spelled out to me as being right. I don’t know what’s worse... someone who is a rebel because they intend to be defiant or someone that is a rebel because they are apathetic and are too lazy to do what is right? Does it matter? Whether you intend to be defiant or you are defiant by default of not doing what is right... you are still opposing the One who rules... Correct?

And so here I sit... on a dangerous precipice... toes dangling over the edge because I fail to follow instruction. Not that I want to be here... many times I just don’t find myself caring enough to NOT be here... not willing to do something about it. Too many times I am fine with the status quo... failing to keep in mind that I will be held accountable for my lack of effort.

Thankfully, I am a rebel with conviction... I am convicted to take steps toward a living God who requests more from me. Steps... I don’t have to “arrive” ... just need to take steps toward Him. Rather than just standing there or even worse... walking backwards.

Hebrews 3:7-14.

7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
9 where your fathers tested and tried me
and for forty years saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said,
'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.'
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.' "

12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15 As has just been said:

"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion."

Convicting.