Day 2407 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.
1 Timothy 1:15 NIV
Yesterday we talked about this foolish practice of taking the Bible out of context in order to make it fit what we want it to mean. We don't have the right or the authority to twist Scripture or to find ways to undermine its power in order to make ourselves feel more comfortable in our sin. We need to understand our role in this thing. What we have to realize is that we're not the heroes of this story. We're the messed up little heathens that ran off and got lost. We don't have any ground to go back and blame the One we left behind!
I think we're so used to living in a world where everyone goes out of their way to justify their actions that we can quickly fall into that trap ourselves. We look around and there's no accountability anymore. No responsibility. No owning mistakes or admitting guilt. Everyone seems blind to the truth that we're all sinners who mess up countless times every single day. But what do we usually hear instead? That everyone is perfect, no mistakes are made, and we're all free to do as we wish knowing that we can just find someone else to blame if it all goes south.
That mindset where we're justified in everything we do won't fly here. Our faith requires humility. It requires us to own up to the fact that we're broken. If we don't realize our mistakes then how can we ever find forgiveness? If we don't understand just how screwed up we really are then we'll never understand the depths of His love and mercy. It may hurt to repent of our sins, but pain precedes healing. We don't need to find some way to skip the miserable feeling of admitting our sins. We need to endure every second of it because it helps us see just how far we've fallen.
I understand that this world is completely built upon selfishness, denial, and the choice to remain lost in sin blind to the truth of God's word. But if we want to follow Christ then we can't fall into those same worthless ways of thinking. We simply don't have any room to focus on what we want, because as I said yesterday, what we want is pretty much always wrong. Our hearts are bent toward sin and when we follow those wicked desires then that's exactly what we're going to find. As long as we're believing that lie that tells us we're not wrong then we'll never be able to see how much better we should be doing.
That's one of the biggest aspects of the Gospel. The opportunity at redemption and growth. The chance to start over with a heart set on following Christ rather than the evil desires we've always chased before. But if we can't see that we're the problem then we'll never come close to finding His solution. The fact is that Christ didn't come to pat us on the back for being such good little humans. He came to carry our sins to the grave because that's what we deserve! He came to pave the way back to the Father that we left behind long ago. Stop taking the power out of that truth by thinking that you're better than you are.
The way I've come to see it is just as this verse says. I'm the worst. I'm the biggest thorn in His side there has ever been. I'm the most problematic, troubled, and foolish of them all. I don't see how we can afford to see it any other way. As soon as we get it in our heads that we're not all that bad or that our sins aren't so filthy then we'll stop looking for His salvation. And friends, we do not want to miss out on that gift because we've foolishly fallen for the lie that we don't need it. Please don't do that to yourself!
I know that avoiding the truth is far more comfortable. But as I said earlier, pain precedes healing. Own the mistakes you've made because it's only when we realize them that we can ask Him for the forgiveness that we so desperately need. Again, we're not the heroes. We're the prodigals that thought we knew better. Why keep blindly walking away from our Father when He's right there ready for us to turn around so that He can lead us to a better life than we could ever deserve?
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