One of what I call my "Thorntonisms" is this: "There is no virtue in lack of opportunity." That means that if you aren't able to do a thing, it isn't your goodness that's preventing you. Or when we see another person do a strange or illegal thing, we shouldn't brag that we don't do such things, and we never would. Because only God truly knows each of us. Only He knows how we would conduct ourselves in a situation we haven't yet encountered.

I've read that one of the main concerns of a soldier is his worry over how he may act when facing the enemy for the first time in real battle. He worries that when real bullets start coming at him, whether he'll have the nerve to stand and fight, or whether he might turn and run. His fear is that he might let his buddies down. And as I've already said, only God knows what he would really do.

I don't remember the Apostle Paul's exact words, but in one of his writings, he says, "I don't do what I should do, and I do those things that I ought NOT to do." We can't imagine Paul, one of history's greatest Christians, doing something he shouldn't do, but he was human, like us. And the Bible also says we have all sinned.

Another example of how we don't know how we would react to a situation: In wartime, women are used to great advantage in getting the enemy to reveal secrets, and I've read that this is being done among prisoners we've taken during the war in Iraq. And probably some would have sworn they'd never cheat on a mate, finds this too much to combat. And another: I fear that if I were a judge, and a person came before me who had killed a child while driving drunk, I might show no mercy, because I don't drink and am not able to fully understand the craving that has made that person take such a chance of driving.

There are things that can happen in a life that I'm afraid to even think about, because I don’t know how I would react. And it's only by God's grace that we're spared many of these situation. If you haven't given your life to Him, this very moment is the time to do it, so you can ask Him to protect you from those temptations or situations you wouldn't know how to face alone. Ask forgiveness for weaknesses you don't even know are within you, or sins you've done and then forgotten. And even for things you should have done but failed to do. Christ is your mediator; the buffer between you and God, so ask Him for forgiveness and tell Him you're ready now to put all things in His hands. He'll take that request straight to God, His Father, in your behalf.
In times like these, it's more important than ever to have God on your side. I remind that the setting for the final battle before the end of the world is the Middle East, where things are in such a turmoil now. The Christian will be spared the horrible times depicted in the book of Revelation, as Christ's second coming will take us away before it happens. Check it out. It's all in the Holy Bible. 37BT Bill Thornton April 4, 2005