Huh. Well, look what I found. All this time I was feeling badly for those whose eyes and ears are closed (please read previous posts to understand what I'm saying before continuing:)
I was actually kind of feeling like it's not entirely fair, because if God closes people's hearts and minds and ears, but opens other people's, then that's not an equal playing field. Yes, I know that some people choose darkness and evil and whatnot, but not everyone is choosing it, right? Some people are seeking God so it's not fair that they're sitting in darkness. I was actually feeling like it wasn't those people's faults, like God was allowing them to remain in darkness for His greater purpose. I actually made excuses for some of the people in the situations I'm dealing with. I excused their behavior, thinking, They didn't know better. God's purpose will be revealed in the darkening of their hearts and then everything will be set right again.
But here's something I found in my Bible yesterday morning. The weird thing was that I highlighted it in my Bible just a few weeks ago and yet when I reread it yesterday, I had no applicable memory of having read it before.
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all godlessness and wickedness of people, who SUPPRESS the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been CLEARLY SEEN, being understood from what has been made, SO THAT PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, bur their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were DARKENED. Romans 1:18-21
So there you have it. No excuse for anyone who suppresses truth by wickedness. That would include all of us since we all have wickedness inside of us that overpowers truth, otherwise we'd be saints and we know that we're not. God's "invisible qualities" have been "clearly seen" so that no one could have excuse.
Why should this be such a big deal for me if I choose to walk in the Light? Isn't it okay to go ahead and make excuses for others so I can be more sympathetic and loving to them, since it's not their fault?
But here's the problem, if I make excuses for them, I can make excuses for myself as well. I can look back on a situation and say, "Well I didn't know any better; I did my best with what I knew. I'm just glad that God allowed me to see truth at the right time." But that won't fly. Because if I make excuses for myself then where is repentance? What prompts me to fall at Jesus' feet and admit wrong and ask Him for His grace to cover me?
If I'm constantly making excuses for my lack of knowledge, how will I wear Christ's robe of righteousness? And if I'm not wearing it, how will I stand in His presence?
Well, I won't. That's all there is to it. I won't stand in His presence if I don't wear His robe of righteousness that is given to me to cover my sins. If I don't recognize my sins... I think you get the picture. It's a hamster wheel without end if I just "make excuses."
On the other hand, like I said, I thought that making excuses for others (still in obvious darkness) would cause me to be more understanding and loving, so I figured that was good. But it's not. Being understanding and truly loving others (even if I disagree with them) is a result of spending time in the presence of my Savior, not a result of making excuses for their sins. So although my sin -- of excusing people's sins -- was producing some good fruit (periodic love, acceptance, etc), the overall aim of that process would have been defeated by Truth. Plus, you won't believe how many times I have fluctuated between being understanding and loving and just downright hating what some people have done to my life, to the life in my church, and to the life of my family and friends. That's not a true fruit of the Spirit. I don't recall a roller coaster ride being mentioned in the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Gal 5:22-23
So, I will no longer make excuses for those that are in darkness and will no longer make excuses for myself. I stand in the Truth that God is visible and those that choose to defy His sovereignty will suffer the consequences of their rejection of Him. No excuse.
I will continue to seek God's presence so that I can be more like Him and love people like He loves them because of who they are in Him, not because of pity for their darkened situation. Because I know, for a fact, that being angry and unloving of these people is not a reflection of God abiding in my spirit, it's outright sin. And I'm not going to make an excuse for it because I can't stand in God's presence with such darkness in my heart.
I once spoke with some friends about a painful situation and how I found myself hating the person who had done so much damage in my life. I felt I had valid reason for my hatred. And my friend responded with something like this, "Yes, you do have good reason and no one would blame you. These kinds of emotions are acceptable for people in your situation. But not for you. Because you know this is sin." I can't remember the exact words, but the gist of the response was that I can't allow the world's standards to guide my responses towards people because I am not part of this world; I live in God's Kingdom. God's Kingdom has always had a different view of revenge and anger and everything. As the world encourages us to find it within ourselves to go on in spite of abuse or to exact our revenge in order to heal, God's world invites us to surrender the pain to Him so that He can bring healing to our hurting hearts and replace the pain with love and acceptance.
That's the path I choose. And so I invite prayers from anyone reading this blog to allow God's angels to bring healing to my heart so that I do not live in sin and hate others while professing to love Jesus. There is darkness in my heart on this matter and I have made excuses for it long enough. It's time to stand in the Truth of my sin against those that have hurt me, and bring it to Jesus for a cleansing and a filling of His Love.
No more excuses.
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