We have been offered abundant life. This Jesus vowed. It's ours for the accepting. Riches of wholeness combined with a thriving potential are ours for the claiming. However, there is this burr under our saddles that we deem necessary to maintain. This restriction is that we are subtly (if not intentionally) driven to hurt others by the blatant refusal to overlook and forgive another of sins. This costs...the refuser.
We have in our possession one of the most powerful gifts ever known to mankind. It's as old as the cross, as new as the day, and as enriching as fresh air. It is called mercy; our will to forgive others when they have not only not asked for it, but in many cases don't even realize the depth of their sin against us.
Our egos insist that we speak in a way that cuts others down while simultaneously lifting ourselves up. This is personal deceit at its gravest power. Regardless of how much we believe that we have legitimate accusation, we have no one in our vision guiltier than self....ever. Jesus made this clear in John 8. It wasn't that the woman wasn't guilty of adultery; but it was that her accusers were blind. They were blind to their own deep, deep sins.
The very great gift we have on the table before us is waiting to be unwrapped and accepted. Yet, go ahead. Go ahead and hate. Go ahead and despise others for their failures; for their blatant, awful, sinful, violational behaviors. Go ahead. By doing so one will fail to unwrap a very special gift indeed. It is called mercy which forgives others and, in turn, discovers our own freedom from our own sins which have been an undercurrent of frustration and hope all along.
Why is it that many leave the church in a huff? Often because they see the hypocrisy in others; the preacher, the elder, the spouse. But why do others stay? They see the same hypocrisy in the others with one major difference. They see the preacher, the elders, the spouse, the same way with one additional truth. These also see themselves. Consequently, they stay for we must have the mercy of God and we will not receive it from Him if we will not give it to others.
There is no gift as strong as finding the freedom to believe that Jesus died on the cross for our own sins...all of them. I would ask that you consider throwing down those weighty stones of accusations toward anyone else. Get a grip. Look in the mirror and decide just exactly how generous you would like God to be over your deep, awful, embarrassing, and costly sins. This might change your accusatory heart which would, in turn, open the gift.
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this,testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one,Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
No comments:
Post a Comment