Sent: June 27, 2002
Subject: “Everything is A…OK!”
Good Morning Ethan & Emily:
I sometimes find myself using the expression “Everything is A…OK.” I bet you have said likewise, as this is a common expression that everything is all right. While we were vacationing in Aruba, Emily and I took a scuba diving course during which we were told by our instructor to make a sign across our throats if we were in danger or without air and to respond with index finger and thumb touching in the traditional “A…OK” manner if we understood or that we were not having any problems.
In a similar manner, as Christians, everything will be “A…OK” with us if we obediently follow our Lord and seek to honor Him with our life choices after we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. It’s all about “Accepting” and “Obeying”…”A” & “O” with a “K” added as a “kicker” for emphasis!
The advice Paul gave the early church at Colosse still applies today: “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to Him” (Colossians 2:6). And he continues: “Let your roots grow down into Him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught” (v.7).
We have the wonderful promise that “…God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes for them” (Ro. 8:28). And how can we know that we love Him? Jesus made it very clear when He said: “Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me” (John 14:21). He repeated this for emphasis in the same discourse: “All those who love me will do what I say” (v.23).
God has been giving the “A…OK” sign all through the Bible. When Moses gave the initial laws and commandments to the Israelites, he cautioned them: “Listen carefully, Israel, to everything I say. Be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you…” (Deut. 6:3). Jeremiah, during the time of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, admonished King Zedekiah: “You won’t be handed over to the Babylonians if you choose to obey the Lord. Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you” (Jeremiah 38:20).
Yes, obeying the Lord requires making a “choice”…just as accepting the Lord in the first place required a choice. In writing to the Roman Christians, Paul made this very clear: “Don’t you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive His approval” (Romans 6:16).
Determine to obey the Lord and you can expect to see God giving you His “A…OK” sign! Better than your dive instructor…when God tells you “everything is A…OK,” you are “OooooooooooK” in every way possible, and you can enjoy life to the max. Don’t settle for anything less! OooooooooooK??
Sending my love with an A…OK sign,
Dad