It's always fun to play a bit with words. One of the things most apparent about us human beings is our tendency to sin. It is said that we are sinful in the womb, and though I would probably choose to debate that idea, I believe in the notion of a sin nature that we are born with, dating way back to the original sin.
If we honestly look into our behaviors and into our hearts, we have to agree that we sin. It isn't that we are guilty of the BIG sins, necessarily, but there are countless "respectable" sins, to borrow a phrase, that we deal with daily. These are, it seems to me, the ones that many find most difficult to really repent on. These sins just keep popping up, sometimes without our actually intending them.
Now if we believe that God truly abhors all sin, and we wish to worship Him with our lives, this Sinclination creates an issue. It gets even more complicated when we realize that God knows us completely- He even knows that we are going to sin before the sin occurs.
He doesn't accept any sin; yet, and this is the key, He provided for a way that our sins could be forgiven. He provided for a way for us to be in a relationship with Him through the atoning death of His son, Jesus, on the cross.
It was and is the ONLY way that our sinclination could ever have been dealt with- He became, through a plan devised before the beginning of time, the one to save us from the wrath He holds against evil, darkness, sin. He provided a light, life and an answer that only He could provide. We are blessed beyond words that He has initiated this life-saving and life-changing outreach.
So it is also important, I believe, to understand that even after we accept this Gift, come to believe upon His son and become 'sons' adopted into the church family of God, we will continue to battle this sinclination. We need to work with the Holy Spirit to guard against the problem of sinning, but we also need to be secure in the fact that God has forgiven our sins, past, present, and yes, future. They were forgiven, are forgiven and will be forgiven because God has chosen to love us sinners, not our sins.
Sinclination- a problem, a reality and a battle. Alone, we will not make a lot of progress. With the Spirit, we are on a journey to eradicate sin, a journey of sanctification, a journey of love.
Praise our God!
Monday, April 9, 2018
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
To Whom Do We Belong?
Well, in my seventieth year, I have become the only surviving member of my nuclear family. My parents and both brothers have gone on from this existence to, I hope, wait for me in Heaven. It is truly a weird feeling.
When one thinks about it, every situation we find ourselves in, as members, is truly temporary. My career was teaching in public schools which I did for thirty-four years before retiring. How weird it felt to walk out of that building realizing that the school would go on without me as a member of the faculty.
I have been blessed with a daughter I truly love, her husband, my son-in-law,and a glorious grand-daughter who I just wish you could meet. I so enjoy being in their presence; yet I get grumpy when I do not see them enough. Yet, I know the time is coming, it is inevitable, when we will no longer be together.
You know the old saying: I cane into the world naked and alone, and I will be leaving in much the same way.
Let's face it- belonging is probably a primary need for almost any person. Being loved and giving love to people who we value and to whom we wish to be of value, in return.
Feeling lonely? It is a bit hard to comprehend.
Yet, we really belong to the One who created us. We are His because He formed us in the womb, stamped His presence on our hearts and sustains us from conception to our last breath. Nothing temporary, here. In some magical way, through the greatest love ever known, He holds us in His hands and brings us, eventually, to Him simply because we
are His children.
As His children, each of us must accept a return to His presence. We must reach out to belong to the One who was always meant to include us. We weren't created on a whim; we were created with a purpose, designed by the Potter. It's all written. It's the eternal
promise and purpose. WE belong, in the end, to Him.
Praise our God!
When one thinks about it, every situation we find ourselves in, as members, is truly temporary. My career was teaching in public schools which I did for thirty-four years before retiring. How weird it felt to walk out of that building realizing that the school would go on without me as a member of the faculty.
I have been blessed with a daughter I truly love, her husband, my son-in-law,and a glorious grand-daughter who I just wish you could meet. I so enjoy being in their presence; yet I get grumpy when I do not see them enough. Yet, I know the time is coming, it is inevitable, when we will no longer be together.
You know the old saying: I cane into the world naked and alone, and I will be leaving in much the same way.
Let's face it- belonging is probably a primary need for almost any person. Being loved and giving love to people who we value and to whom we wish to be of value, in return.
Feeling lonely? It is a bit hard to comprehend.
Yet, we really belong to the One who created us. We are His because He formed us in the womb, stamped His presence on our hearts and sustains us from conception to our last breath. Nothing temporary, here. In some magical way, through the greatest love ever known, He holds us in His hands and brings us, eventually, to Him simply because we
are His children.
As His children, each of us must accept a return to His presence. We must reach out to belong to the One who was always meant to include us. We weren't created on a whim; we were created with a purpose, designed by the Potter. It's all written. It's the eternal
promise and purpose. WE belong, in the end, to Him.
Praise our God!
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