The Bible shares the story of Queen Vashti who was married to King Xerxes, the ruler of the Kingdom of Persia and Media. A proud man, he celebrated his power for 180 days. He invited officials from 127 provinces and made sure they feasted with drinks, food, and entertainment while he showed off his accomplishments.
Toward the end of the festivities, he was "merry with wine" when he summoned Vashti to show her off to his guests (Esther 1:10). After all, his beautiful wife was but one more conquest to be flaunted in the face of all who had gathered. Esther 1:12 - Queen Vashti, however, refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs. And the king became furious, and his anger burned within him. His advisers counseled him to replace Vashti with someone else and that eventual replacement was Esther, whose story is well known to Christians and Jews alike.
Now back to Vashti. She was married to a proud man, so there should have been no surprise that she would mimic the very pride he displayed, right? She was only doing what he did. Shouldn't that have counted for something? After all, Xerxes spent months celebrating himself. Plus, this couldn't have been the first time she ignored his request. What made this time so different that he reacted as he did? Shouldn't he have been used to her behavior?
The answer to those questions could be yes. Yet, none of that mattered. What mattered was that Vashti didn't realize a day would come when her pride would prove her downfall. She ignored the possibility that she would eventually cross the line with the king and pay the price. Had she known, she might have done things differently.
We Christians have the opportunity to be wise and learn from Vashti's mistakes. We must not replicate the erroneous attitude she had. When dealing with the Lord, we must remember to revere and venerate Him. Just because we got away with repeated disobedience does not mean the Vashti line - a point of no return - isn't a possibility. Thus, we cannot afford to ignore the call to repent and return to a life of righteousness in all areas.
We need to allow God's grace to transform us from the inside out as it is meant to. God is in the business of transforming people. For instance, Saul met Jesus as an arrogant and spiteful man who killed Christians. Today, we know him as Paul "The Humble" who went on to serve God's kingdom with fierce zeal.
Besides, there's no way of knowing where that Vashti line is. Though invisible, it exists. Wisdom would therefore dictate that it is best not to cross it and we can achieve this by not abusing God's grace and mercy.
God is kind and patient. He is intent on saving as many souls as possible so they don't spend eternity in hell with satan. Still, He gives each person a choice - through the way they live, they determine where they will spend eternity. Many think that there will be countless opportunities to get right with God and that is true. But they fail to realize that they do not get to choose when that point of no return will be. Only God does. And when they ignore Him, the risk of crossing the Vashti line increases. When that happens, the chance for eternity in heaven could be too late.
As we inch ever closer to 2025, may the good Lord help us. May our hearts yield to His beckoning and submit to His will, IJMN Amen.
Romans 6:1-2 - What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
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