Reminded by a blog that I was reading that 'with God all things are possible.' Not some things, or certain things, but ALL things. Such possibilities and hope for the day. Breathe in that fresh autumn air.
It's amazing how an extraordinary blessing that seemingly comes out of the blue can reenergize your capacity for believing that all things ARE possible with God. For years I prayed for a cure to my depression; struggling to make sense of the how and why of the condition and then when I wasn't thinking about it or trying to solve the problem an answer came that rocked my world.
So how do I make sense of God's timing? I don't. I believe that it had something to do with the current crisis that I was going through concerning my personal struggles in my marriage, but at a deeper level with the change in my moods and perception of my feelings and the world around me, I was able to deal with another friend with Jesus' compassion. This friend was in a similar situation in her marriage, but the circumstances had become dire. Had I not experienced the depths of my situation and the peaks of the emotional rebirth that the Lord brought me to, I doubt that I would have been able to minister to her with the empathy that she deserved.
In this way, I see His timing to be perfect and if I can see this much I expect that the true depth of His work is like the root of a glacier, hidden from the world not in darkness, but in our ability to understand the mysteries of God. We simply cannot know how the pieces of our lives fit together with the lives of those around us. To reject the interaction of those people based on our fleshly perceptions is to deny ourselves and them a chance to encounter God at His most empathic. We are His hands and feet. This is our work to do - to love others and how poorly and conditionally we sometimes do it.
I know that the scripture basically says that we are to cast off those believers who will not repent of their sin, but I take issue with that point of view. Jesus gave up on those who were religious legalists that keep the people in spiritual bondage. He didn't give up on Peter or Thomas or frankly even Judas, whom He knew would betray Him. He knew of the latter's heart and what he would do, but until the last moment of his life Judas could have repented and been restored to the Lord.
Shouldn't it be that way with our Christian brothers and sisters who backslide? The Bible says that God hates sin, not the sinner, but He doesn't advocate a culture of hate toward sin. If we do that how can we love the sinner? If I cast out my Christian sister who had divorced her husband, how will she become restored to our God? Simply 'remarrying the spouse' does not ensure that the relationship with the Lord has been restored. An alcoholic does not immediately become a recovered alcoholic. Growing in our relationship to the Lord is a process of growth not a process of meeting a certain checklist of requirements.
If I condemn a fellow believer for her sin, how can I stand in the illuminating light of God's presence and not be judged? Are all our sins visible? Why am I not confronted with the sin of my gluttony (I am very overweight.)? Why am I allowed to 'work out my faith' and one who has sinned openly is not allowed to do so without 'meeting certain requirements'? The scripture does say that we should confront each other with sin that we see, but it also says to 'speak the truth in love' not speak the truth and that is love. The truth is often delivered in a harsh and judgmental way that only helps to widen the separation between the offending believer and God because of guilt and shame.
I'm not advocating ignoring sin, but I am promoting using the compassion that Jesus showed sinners; letting God's love draw them back to Him. That is the love that will convict their hearts and bring them to true repentance, restoring them to their Savior. And that is the ultimate purpose, isn't it? It's not about us being right; it's about Him being King.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Today's cool quote is from Joyce Meyer and I love it because I've always been the strange one of any group: You will never be anointed to be anyone else. Be careful of comparison and competition. Just be yourself
The theme of this blog is about creative inspiration: how to find it, use it, and have a creative life. Sometimes, though I think there are issues that need to be discussed because they are inspiration blockers; negative feelings are simply that.
Here goes: There's part of me that doesn't like to tell people I'm a Christian. I'm not ashamed of my relationship with Jesus, but I'd rather say 'I'm a follower of Jesus' and hopefully not be linked with the many undesireable traits that our society associates with the term Christian or born-again Christian. This unfortunately works for all sorts of words that have certain connotations - Republican, Democrat, liberal, religious, or spiritual - any word that has lately gotten a lot of press in describing a certain people group. I'd rather not label myself. I hope I can state with certainty that I do not fit into a group whose identity is predetermined by society's perspective rather than reality.
The recent inauguration demonstrated to me that feelings sometimes determine how we act more than the truths we have stated that we have committed to. Many of my friends and aquaintances who are Christian are still bitter over Obama's successful bid for the White House. I did not vote for Obama simply because I didn't feel I could support a platform that supports abortion not because I didn't like his political ideas. This issue is very important to me and I stand behind the decision. However, Mr. Obama is now our president and I feel that despite the party difference that we need to come together as a people and be united for our country if we truly desire to affect change.
Contrary to my beliefs, some Christians feel that it's acceptable to spew hateful comments about President Obama because they don't feel that he is a Christian president (mostly based on the pro-choice beliefs though there are some who believe the propaganda that says Obama is a terrorist.) Don't we owe President Obama the respect that the office of the president calls for? Aren't we called as Christians to love one another and treat each other as people that God loves and died for regardless of whether they are or aren't Christians?
I find the negativity unscriptural and counterproductive. No matter who voted how, President Obama is in office because God let it be so. Therefore, as people under his authority, we are required to pray for him as a governemnt official. God will use whomever He pleases to accomplish His purposes for His glory. He chose. It's not up to us to dispute that choice. It's now up to us to pray for the good of our country to be done through this man.
I don't expect to agree with every decision that President Obama makes, but I know that I am called to pray for him with a pure heart, not one burdened with an attitude of bitterness or anger or hate. I also know that my Lord has called me to be steadfast, as He has been, standing for what is right and knowing that He has a purpose and He is in control. He is the victor, not the Republicans or the Democrats.
When I pray for my country now, I pray that our eyes would be opened to empathy and compassion, and that we would come together in unity and truly love those that we find it difficult to love and that we would be able to look past the circumstances that distract us and see the people God loves before us.
The theme of this blog is about creative inspiration: how to find it, use it, and have a creative life. Sometimes, though I think there are issues that need to be discussed because they are inspiration blockers; negative feelings are simply that.
Here goes: There's part of me that doesn't like to tell people I'm a Christian. I'm not ashamed of my relationship with Jesus, but I'd rather say 'I'm a follower of Jesus' and hopefully not be linked with the many undesireable traits that our society associates with the term Christian or born-again Christian. This unfortunately works for all sorts of words that have certain connotations - Republican, Democrat, liberal, religious, or spiritual - any word that has lately gotten a lot of press in describing a certain people group. I'd rather not label myself. I hope I can state with certainty that I do not fit into a group whose identity is predetermined by society's perspective rather than reality.
The recent inauguration demonstrated to me that feelings sometimes determine how we act more than the truths we have stated that we have committed to. Many of my friends and aquaintances who are Christian are still bitter over Obama's successful bid for the White House. I did not vote for Obama simply because I didn't feel I could support a platform that supports abortion not because I didn't like his political ideas. This issue is very important to me and I stand behind the decision. However, Mr. Obama is now our president and I feel that despite the party difference that we need to come together as a people and be united for our country if we truly desire to affect change.
Contrary to my beliefs, some Christians feel that it's acceptable to spew hateful comments about President Obama because they don't feel that he is a Christian president (mostly based on the pro-choice beliefs though there are some who believe the propaganda that says Obama is a terrorist.) Don't we owe President Obama the respect that the office of the president calls for? Aren't we called as Christians to love one another and treat each other as people that God loves and died for regardless of whether they are or aren't Christians?
I find the negativity unscriptural and counterproductive. No matter who voted how, President Obama is in office because God let it be so. Therefore, as people under his authority, we are required to pray for him as a governemnt official. God will use whomever He pleases to accomplish His purposes for His glory. He chose. It's not up to us to dispute that choice. It's now up to us to pray for the good of our country to be done through this man.
I don't expect to agree with every decision that President Obama makes, but I know that I am called to pray for him with a pure heart, not one burdened with an attitude of bitterness or anger or hate. I also know that my Lord has called me to be steadfast, as He has been, standing for what is right and knowing that He has a purpose and He is in control. He is the victor, not the Republicans or the Democrats.
When I pray for my country now, I pray that our eyes would be opened to empathy and compassion, and that we would come together in unity and truly love those that we find it difficult to love and that we would be able to look past the circumstances that distract us and see the people God loves before us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
