Would you purposefully eat something if you knew before hand that it would make you ill?
I stay away from certain foods because of their effect on me.
I know that the moment that I do, I will pay a high price, too high so I don’t indulge myself.
But I know of many people that drag themselves to work complaining of what they ate the night before.
One man told me that he gets sick every time he eats Mexican food.
When I told him not to eat it anymore, his response was that he love the taste of it so much.
The apostle John was told exactly what was about to happen to him concerning something he would eat.
Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”
So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”
And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”
Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. Rev 10:8-10
What was this book?
There is only one answer I can think of.
It’s a book that has a sweet message of hope, love, encouragement, and forgiveness.
And yet it speaks of judgment, punishment, death, and loss.
It’s the Bible.
Knowing this now we can see how many people will avoid coming to church or reading the Word because it makes them feel ill.
It’s okay to say that God loves us but to balance that with a God of wrath is too much for most to handle.
That’s called conviction.
Next time you hear a message or read a scripture and it turns your stomach, try praying and asking forgiveness for unrepentant sin.
You’ll feel much better.