Make 2014 a year of Sharing
“He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the
lovingkindness of the Lord” – Psalm 33:5
There are people in
this world that I despise. Yep, that’s
what I said. As ugly of a word as that
is, it describes a part of me that I have tried for years to eliminate from my
life. It’s not any one individual, but
rather groups of people that have done something so vile that I find it unfair
that God would love them as much as He loves me. Their acts are unrighteous, criminal and
disgusting in many cases, and I dig deep to find a way to rationalize how their
mind can justify their actions. In my
eyes it is evident that evil is deeply ingrained in their very soul. I am angered every time I think about their
actions, and the victims that they have left in their wake as they move through
life without abandon, concern or care for others. Without going into specific details on this
group of individuals, can you resonate with my un-Christlikeness, or am I alone
in my bitterness and judging attitude? If
I were to try to describe the single biggest part of God that I have trouble
rationalizing is this.
From the first sinful act, complete disobedience and denial of righteousness and justice, Adam and Eve chose to turn from God and follow the enticing invitation of evil into their bloodline. Now, thousands of years and hundreds of generations later, we are still bound by the same sinful nature. Prior to that moment their lives were fully righteous and the lovingkindness of the Lord permeated through every action, thought and moment of life on this planet. This righteousness, this love has never ceased to exist here, but is completely overshadowed by the filth, the vile wretchedness and disgusting perversions we have chosen as life. In this life we chose sin on a daily basis without even trying.
In your day you are given 24 hours of life. It is linear, you can’t re-live the moment that just passed, for once it is gone, it becomes your memory. You might have used that moment to increase God’s presence in the world, to worship Him, to love Him and to further His Kingdom. What an incredible example you are of His righteousness and love, when you want to be. But, alas therein lies the problem. For you see, for every moment you are choosing to live for Him, there is likely an equal of greater amount of moments that have passed in this day that you are choosing to live for yourself and your self-centered interests. In these moments your flesh is ruling and your sinful nature becomes evident.
How can one ever live a righteous life without sin then? One cannot. It is literally impossible, despite the wonderful things that you are doing for the Lord, you are still living a life of sin. For even if you are holier and mightier than any other since Jesus Christ himself walked the earth, you are incapable of living in righteousness and justice. This brings us back to my original commentary above. How can God love “those people” as much as He loves me and you? The reality of His lovingkindness is that it is immutable and ever present despite our transgressions and ugliness.
Every now and then I find my thoughts drifting to places they shouldn’t go. Yes, I am sinful in my thoughts. This simple act, which takes less than 20 seconds of brain signals within my neurological system is vile when compared to the righteousness required of our Lord. Sin is sin. Jesus Christ came for the redemption of mankind’s sin. Not some sins, but all sin. My sinful thoughts, or the vile act that we hear about on the nightly news, are both covered by the same drop of blood from our Savior. The greatest example of God’s love for His children is the provision of redemption and salvation. My sins can be forgiven, despite how disgusting, repulsive or simple they are; because God loves me and calls me His child.
I find this unbelievably hard to comprehend. We take His love for granted every day of our life. We act as if He owes us the right of salvation, and we somehow rationalize our sin under His forgiveness and the gentleness of His love. The reality is we deserve Hell, and it is only by His grace that we are given life eternal. He owes us nothing, based on our inability to live a sin-free life. We are choosing to pursue our own interests in life rather than being 100% committed to Him and His call. In that choice we are basically spitting at His feet and saying, ”I realize how wonderful You are, but I want to do________.” (you fill in the blank for today) You are His child, and by His incredible loving grace, He has given you redemption and salvation. So when you die, and you will, you are given eternity in heaven rather than the pit of Hell. What else do you need? Seriously, are your wants and desires in this life (money, a new car, a job, even health) really something you need in order to better serve Him, or are they something you want to make your life more comfortable.
We all need to stop to realize that nearly everything we desire in this life is temporary. We all need to realize that we are not here for our happiness and comfort, but to serve Him until such time as He calls us home. Everything around you is temporary and there for no other purpose than to make you feel better about yourself. Don’t get me wrong, it is not evil to have a home, a car or a job. But, it is unrighteous when you become dependent upon these things instead of God. His righteousness and justice are all around us and if we take our eyes off of ourselves and focus on how to serve Him each day. We become His lovingkindness to the world around us. Even if it’s only for a few moments of that 24 hour period, it’s a start.
© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com
If you would like to be added to the email distribution please click here: Daily Thoughts
From the first sinful act, complete disobedience and denial of righteousness and justice, Adam and Eve chose to turn from God and follow the enticing invitation of evil into their bloodline. Now, thousands of years and hundreds of generations later, we are still bound by the same sinful nature. Prior to that moment their lives were fully righteous and the lovingkindness of the Lord permeated through every action, thought and moment of life on this planet. This righteousness, this love has never ceased to exist here, but is completely overshadowed by the filth, the vile wretchedness and disgusting perversions we have chosen as life. In this life we chose sin on a daily basis without even trying.
In your day you are given 24 hours of life. It is linear, you can’t re-live the moment that just passed, for once it is gone, it becomes your memory. You might have used that moment to increase God’s presence in the world, to worship Him, to love Him and to further His Kingdom. What an incredible example you are of His righteousness and love, when you want to be. But, alas therein lies the problem. For you see, for every moment you are choosing to live for Him, there is likely an equal of greater amount of moments that have passed in this day that you are choosing to live for yourself and your self-centered interests. In these moments your flesh is ruling and your sinful nature becomes evident.
How can one ever live a righteous life without sin then? One cannot. It is literally impossible, despite the wonderful things that you are doing for the Lord, you are still living a life of sin. For even if you are holier and mightier than any other since Jesus Christ himself walked the earth, you are incapable of living in righteousness and justice. This brings us back to my original commentary above. How can God love “those people” as much as He loves me and you? The reality of His lovingkindness is that it is immutable and ever present despite our transgressions and ugliness.
Every now and then I find my thoughts drifting to places they shouldn’t go. Yes, I am sinful in my thoughts. This simple act, which takes less than 20 seconds of brain signals within my neurological system is vile when compared to the righteousness required of our Lord. Sin is sin. Jesus Christ came for the redemption of mankind’s sin. Not some sins, but all sin. My sinful thoughts, or the vile act that we hear about on the nightly news, are both covered by the same drop of blood from our Savior. The greatest example of God’s love for His children is the provision of redemption and salvation. My sins can be forgiven, despite how disgusting, repulsive or simple they are; because God loves me and calls me His child.
I find this unbelievably hard to comprehend. We take His love for granted every day of our life. We act as if He owes us the right of salvation, and we somehow rationalize our sin under His forgiveness and the gentleness of His love. The reality is we deserve Hell, and it is only by His grace that we are given life eternal. He owes us nothing, based on our inability to live a sin-free life. We are choosing to pursue our own interests in life rather than being 100% committed to Him and His call. In that choice we are basically spitting at His feet and saying, ”I realize how wonderful You are, but I want to do________.” (you fill in the blank for today) You are His child, and by His incredible loving grace, He has given you redemption and salvation. So when you die, and you will, you are given eternity in heaven rather than the pit of Hell. What else do you need? Seriously, are your wants and desires in this life (money, a new car, a job, even health) really something you need in order to better serve Him, or are they something you want to make your life more comfortable.
We all need to stop to realize that nearly everything we desire in this life is temporary. We all need to realize that we are not here for our happiness and comfort, but to serve Him until such time as He calls us home. Everything around you is temporary and there for no other purpose than to make you feel better about yourself. Don’t get me wrong, it is not evil to have a home, a car or a job. But, it is unrighteous when you become dependent upon these things instead of God. His righteousness and justice are all around us and if we take our eyes off of ourselves and focus on how to serve Him each day. We become His lovingkindness to the world around us. Even if it’s only for a few moments of that 24 hour period, it’s a start.
© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com
If you would like to be added to the email distribution please click here: Daily Thoughts
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