A writer experiences the problem of finality in using words once public. He may wish he could add or subtract words. Too bad; nothing can be changed.
He can post an addendum to clarify. Which is the purpose of this post. In the above blog, I suggested that Christians need not, and should not, seek to vacate relationships where one party has caused needless, perhaps repeated, offence. I should have added that the rule applies where shared values exist in both parties. Such as the harmony between God the Father and God the Son. Such unanimity existed between God and Christ that Jesus considered no harm or pain excessive in obeying the Father. The principle applies in family’s of shared values: in homes between husband and wife, parents and children and among siblings; in churches between members of Christ’s church—though we often, and far too quickly, dissolve those ties. Another rule applies where no shared spiritual values exist, even in families and in churches. And certainly true where Christians relate to non-Christians, hoping to influence a decision for Christ. In those relationships, should Christians ever start to feel neutral towards the non-Christian’s lifestyle, they should immediately distance themselves from the relationship. Our faith in Christ has to be so strong, and our commitment to his teaching so inflexible, that even the strongest shared human relationship means nothing. We stand with him against anyone who doesn’t submit to him. The principle in this case is: if our Christian faith encourages the unsaved to draw nearer Jesus, retain it. If the unsaved draws us farther from Jesus, or even if it weakens our relationship with Jesus, severely reduce or eliminate the contact. No need exists to lose a saved soul while trying to save a lost soul who doesn’t want to be found. Fini
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Consider God’s response to Adam and Eve when they failed by sinning against him. He made a garment of skin and clothed their nakedness Genesis 3:21. In other words, his immediate response was to forgive their sin by sacrificing an animal, then to cover them in long-wearing clothing.
Consider that every person in every generation since, once reaching the age of accountability, continues to offend God by SINNING against him. And what is his response once we repent and ask forgiveness? He forgives. As Jesus said in Matthew 18:21-22, he forgives repeatedly since we repeatedly sin and ask forgiveness. When a child of the family rejects parental teaching to practice gratuitous pre-marital sex, the offended parents still consider him their child. When a friend offends, and apologizes, we still welcome him as a friend. And only after repeated offenses do we distance ourselves from the offender. When we fail even our own expectations and pledges, and sin against God’s, do we not still accept ourselves as his children? Pop theology would say, forgive but don’t let yourself be hurt again. (I confess to once thinking that way. More mature spiritual growth has corrected that assumption.) Consider: we won’t know the kind of Christian we are until we’re hurt/offended/failed by another, the hurt as deep as the love we had for and the trust we placed in that person. More importantly, we won’t know how strong a Christian we are until we put ourselves in a position to be hurt/failed/offended again. Remember Jesus. He repeatedly put himself in a position to be offended: by his disciples, by his enemies, by God’s will for his life, by everyone of us who repeatedly sin and as repeatedly ask his forgiveness. There are two ways a relationship can be a burden. One, by the decisions of a person we know. Two, and only Jesus experienced this, by letting God HURT him for the good of all humanity, as Isaiah 53:4-12 so eloquently predicted. Since Jesus knew that God willed his sacrifice on Calvary, John 12:20-33, Jesus accepted it. It pleased God to burden Christ. It pleased Jesus to be burdened by God so his will could be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Jesus never said, “Enough, I can’t take it anymore. Lighten the load to the level of my strength.” He allowed himself to be crucified as a criminal because God saw him as the Overcomer, the Conqueror, the Majestic Glory! Since Jesus alone could forgive sin, he stayed on the Cross those terrifying hours, including the last three of separation from God, when mockers challenged him to come down Matthew 27:41-44. To live in a fallen world is to expect disappointment, failure and broken promises. To live as a forgiven sinner in a fallen world is to experience being disappointed, aggrieved, offended and betrayed, sometimes most egregiously by OUR OWN SELF! Remember that our personal relationships are bigger and more important than the offences against them. And…a challenge to all Christians…surely, when having the chance to PROVE the greatness of Christ’s love in us, we don’t want instead to choose grudges, vengeance and alienation. |
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