This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit (Amos 8:1 NIV).
Ease and comfort are dangerous beds for a Christian to sleep on. For often they breed sin. It was just like this for the nation of Israel. They were lounging in their security and indulging in sin.
But what made them do so was a false hope in which they trusted. They thought that their situation will always remain the same.
As an answer to this false hope God shows Prophet Amos a basket of ripe fruit. It was richly symbolic of what God thought about their false security.
He was making it clear in unmistakable terms that He would not tolerate sin and evil for long.
God was showing that as the fruits become ripe and are plucked off; in like manner the sins of Israel had become ripe. Now they will be plucked off.
One of the great dangers in Christian life happens when we tolerate sin in our life. The danger is ever greater when this harboring of evil is done with the thought that disaster will not overtake us. We do so hoping that judgment will be delayed for ever.
But God speaks otherwise. He shows by this symbol that as fruits become ripe, so does His time for judgment. There won’t be much more delay. And it shall fall swiftly, surely and without mercy!
So repent if God is showing you a basket of ripe fruit today. This may yet be your last chance. To still hope for escape without leaving your life of sin is folly. God cannot and will not spare the sinner who does not repent. So look! Are you seeing a basket of ripe fruit?
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