Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

There is one scene in the first "Lord of the Rings" movie, "Fellowship of the Ring", that always makes me cry. The Hobbits, Sam and Frodo are in the glorious Elven city of Rivendell. A special counsel is going on to decide the fate of the One Ring. The powerful, the wealthy, the wise sit together and discuss what must be done, and it is decided that the ring must be taken to Mordor, the land of the evil One, Sauron. It must be taken deep into fiery Mount Doom, where it was forged, and it must be thrown into the molten lava to be forever destroyed. It is a perilous, almost impossible endeavor. Warriors, leaders of lands, the wise, the great, all begin to debate who will take the ring to Mordor. Who is strong enough? Who can be trusted with the ring, which threatens to enslave any ambitious soul that touches it? Who is big enough for this task?


Frodo, not much more than 3 feet tall, mop headed, young, peace-loving Frodo stands and says, "I will take it." At this point, I am usually weeping. Frodo is so small, no one hears him at first. He says it again, louder. They hear him and quiet. They turn to look at him. He says it again. "I will take the ring to Mordor." Then he pauses, "Although, I do not know the way." Battle worn faces soften. Wise, elder faces light up with a new perspective. Powerful faces bow to a different kind of strength. Understanding flutters into the room and rests on them all. They had been asking the wrong questions. Seeking the wrong answers. The issue wasn't who was strong enough to knock down the front gates of Mordor, but who was unimportant enough to slip through the back door. Not, who would be strong enough to resist the temptation for absolute power promised by the ring, but who was humble enough not to want absolute power in the first place. Not who was big enough, but who was small enough. The wrong questions.

I don't know what questions the 72 disciples of Jesus asked when He was preparing to send them out into the world to minister in His name. From Jesus' instructions, we see that what they needed to know was simple logistics. What to bring, what not to bring, what to do and say under different circumstances, etc. They needed to know where to go, who to go to, and what Jesus wanted said to those they saw.

Then there is this. "On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?

What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" " (Luke 10:25 - 29)

You know something I have noticed? Often when Christians read Scriptures that address opposite mindsets, like the humble sinner who prays quiets and the braggart who thanks God he is not like the sinner, or the Pharisees and the lost "undesirables" that Jesus hung out with, or the proud, rich people and the poor widow giving her last penny, we tend to identify ourselves with the poor, weak, humble, lost ones. Could it be that we do this because they are the ones in the incidents that Jesus favors? And who among us doesn't want to be favored by Jesus? And yet...oh there's always an "And yet...", it is possible that at least some of the time, we are in the other boat.

Christians, especially in our wealthy countries of North America, have much more in common with the powerful than the powerless. We're not the poor lost sinners. I am sorry to say that the majority of us are the people that prostitutes and "tax collectors" (drug pushers?) feel judged by and uncomfortable with(and before we blame our obvious purity for this discomfort, remember that they did not feel this way with Jesus, the Holy One). We are the ones who struggle with pride, who prickle when we don't get our own way, who offend easily and like our toys new and shiny. Have you ever heard anyone say, when looking at a sinner, "But for the grace of God go I" and wonder just a bit if the spirit of the thought doesn't match the "Thank God I am not like HIM." attitude of the Pharisee of Luke 18:11? Have you ever said it yourself and wondered the same thing about your own heart? I have.

Yes, I would like to be the poor, simple, broken one that Jesus gathers into His arms as He holds back an army of self-righteous, self-important, proud, affluent Pharisees. But I'm not. I am either going to be a disciple of Jesus, sheltering the broken from the proud, or I am going to be one of the proud, being opposed by God.(James 4:6)

So when I ask myself which questions I am asking, I do not want to assume that I am asking the right ones. I pray for honesty, clarity, truth. Who cares who I am in my own eyes. I need to know who I am in God's eyes. What does Jesus see when He looks at me? When He looks at us? What questions are we asking?

Following Jesus - the Good Samaritan

The parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10 is powerful and deeply meaningful on it's own. Bracketed by the Scripture before and after it, it staggers the imagination. Chapter 10 begins with Jesus sending 72 disciples out ahead of Him, to prepare the people for His coming to them. He gives His disciples instructions on what to bring, how to react to those who would not want to see them as well as to those who welcome them. There is some really rich stuff in these verses. The disciples come back on a ministerial high. They had discovered that serving in the name of Jesus Christ gave them a supernatural power that they never, in their simple, quiet lives, imagined could be theirs. They were able to heal, to cast out demons, to speak w/authority and strength. I can just see Jesus, laughing with them, enjoying their excitement. He warns them gently, though, not to rejoice in the fact that demons listened to them, but to rejoice in that they belong to Him, and that their names are written in Heaven.

Then He rejoices in them, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." He turns to His disciples, and encourages them, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."

Little children. Uneducated, unaccomplished, simple. Do you think they ever had conflict in their lives? Of course they did. Later on, when they heard Jesus talking about loving their neighbors as themselves, is it possible that they wanted to frown and question, "What, even this guy? The one I can't stand? The one who lied to me/robbed me/hurt me? Really?" Of course it is. They were real people with real lives, real families, real neighbors, real troubles.

Yet when Jesus sent them out on the road trip of their lives, they went. And when they returned, they returned amazed. Full of joy. Full of stories about what happened, what they were able to do, who they were able to be. I can imagine them running to Him as they came into town, in pairs, chattering between themselves and once they approached Him, pulling Him into the chatter. I can see Him listening, asking questions, laughing as they trip over their tongues and each other in their eagerness to tell Him what they had experienced. Maybe He even touches them gently, on the arm, a hand on a shoulder, as He reminds them where their true joy comes from. "Remember," He smiles into their faces, "Your true joy comes in your citizenship in Heaven."

There's something about the entire scenario that calls out, relationship. Discipleship. Friendship. Love.

There is something about the entire scenario that stands in stark contrast to Jesus' upcoming interaction with the expert in the Law.

Following Jesus - The Good Samaritan

The parable of the good Samaritan is not really just about health care. It is one of those parables, the teachings of Jesus, that many people touch very lightly. Jesus said a lot of things that people touch very lightly. If you push too hard, dig too deep into the heart intent behind a lot of things that Jesus said, you could get hurt. Well, maybe not you, but your schedule, your wallet, your perception of yourself and others. Touching Jesus' words lightly to avoid hitting the root of what He was saying is not an easy feat, simply because Jesus was so clear in many of His statements. We sometimes have to resort to full-blown denial to be able to nurture some of the attitudes that we do while still claiming to love and follow the Jesus who told parables like this one.

The issue is not how well we do what Jesus asks of us. It is whether we believe we need to do it at all. When disciples of Jesus read the parable of the good Samaritan, they understand that Jesus is calling for radical giving, not just to friends and family, but to enemies, as the wounded Jewish man would have been to his Samaritan helper. Disciples understand this, believe it, and even want to live this out. The living it out is hard, though. Disciples soon find this out. But they continue to believe that Jesus was serious about it, and so even when it hurts, they pray for strength and guidance and keep following Jesus in this matter, even if the walk is a stumbling one.

Rule followers debate what Jesus meant by this parable. They talk about what the Jewish/Samaritan equivalent is in our day, so as to pinpoint who exactly we have to be a neighbor to. If they talk about it long enough, they may find that it is impractical in this day and age to act as the Samaritan did, that there are safety issues to consider, that other verses (usually Old Test. ones) give a clearer indication of what Jesus meant.

Rule followers examine, evaluate and autopsy Jesus' words until they are comfortable with them. Disciples take Jesus' words at face value and realize they may never be comfortable again. And still they follow.

If you have been keeping up with this series on following Jesus...wow. I admire your perseverance. I read a quote once that said an appropriate fast for preachers is a fast of words. I think it also applies to writers. I know it applies to me. I am going to make an effort to write shorter posts, to be more concise and to try to make these posts easier to read. I really have no plan as far as content goes. I think, I pray, I read, I observe, and God seems to be pulling it together for me. I am grateful to Him. I'm still thinking and praying about the parable of the Good Samaritan, as it pertains to the issue of health care, yes, but more importantly, how it illustrates for us what is required from a disciple of Jesus Christ. At the same time, we will look at what rule-following looks like in the light of verses like these.

I want to thank those who are reading these entries, and to tell you that I am honored and blessed by your presence here on this page. I write for an audience of One, my God, the only One that I seek to please. It's expected that He's paying attention - He's my God, He has to love me and read my writing. Anyone else who reads what I write is a gift. I am grateful for you. Thank you.

So, if you want to read the parable of the Good Samaritan, it's in Luke 10:25 - 37. It's an important parable. Any time our rabbi says "Go and do likewise", it's a wise thing to know what exactly He is telling us to go do!

Sunday - Home sick, taking care of Pip

I thought I would take a breather from Following Jesus...just the blog posts, not the actual practice. I'm staying home from church this morning because yesterday I had a pretty intense angina attack. It was the first time in a a few years that I thought I might need to go to the ER. I think the angina attack may have been triggered by the IC (interstitial cystitis)flare I've been in lately. I've been in a lot of pain, and that can cause stress. The nitro eventually worked, but I thought it would be wise to take it easy for a few days.

Pippin has an infected bottom lip. Which in bunnies, apparently, means infected eyes and nose as well. He has a problem with his teeth, in that they grow much too quickly and the normal means of dealing with them, gnawing on things, isn't effective. We cut his teeth, and after the first cutting his top teeth never grew back (huh?) but his bottom ones did. They must be weak or something, because occasionally they break off. This happened recently, which I am always glad for because even though Pip doesn't seem to mind having them cut, it gives me the willies. This time, though, as they were growing back, he must have hit his bottom lip on his teeth because he has a sore that has gotten infected. Can't imagine how he hit it - the little fool likes to play with the dog and gets run over on a regular basis. We had a friend's dog, Teddy, stay with us for a few days. Teddy's a sweet little mild-mannered Pomeranian. I heard a commotion outside and went out in time to see Gracie yelling at Teddy, who had Pip by a hind leg and was flipping him head over puffball tail across the lawn! Apparently, that's all it takes to make Pip fall in love, because he wouldn't leave Teddy alone for a second after that!

Pippin doesn't seem to be suffering much. He's as adventurous and annoying as ever. But his little lip is all swollen and sticking out. And his front paws tremble when I touch it. Poor little mister. So several times a day, I pick him up, flip him over on his back, hold him tightly in my arms, put antibiotic drops in his eyes and up his nose, clean his sore lip, inside and out, with Listerine, and put antibiotic gel on it with a Q-tip. He quivers and trembles and when I flip him back on his tummy in my arms he buries his face in the crook of my arm and does this little snuffly, whimpering noise. I kiss him and put him on the floor, he thumps his hind legs in a show of defiance, and hops off to look for Mini. Because when a fella isn't feeling well, there is nothing like his beloved to make him feel better.

Pippin is pretty smart for a little guy. I think I'll take a cue from him today, and spend some time with my Beloved Lord. Works for Pip...

Following Jesus - Health Care

"Following Jesus and following a list of rules is not the same thing. At times they may look the same. But they aren't."

I have a confession to make. I am an idiot when it comes to politics. Any politics. Church politics, school politics, municipal, provincial/state or national politics. I try, I really do. The whole thing just overwhelms me. I have a hard time seeing the big picture, and to think of making decisions for such a large group of people on such a large scale makes me want to run the other way. I see the world one person at a time. I'm not saying that this is right or wrong. It's the way I am, and I thank God for people who God has gifted to lead others politically. They amaze me, as do most people who's gifts and abilities are so different from mine. That being said, I am aware of the new health care legislation in the States, and have no idea if it is the right thing or not. I am not from the U.S., and to me the problem seems so huge and the information so copious, I don't know that I would have anything helpful to say even if I did have a vote that could make a difference.

I mentioned that I see the world one person at a time. I have been listening to a lot of the talk surrounding the issue of health care. Some of it is pretty intense. People have strong feelings, on either side of the issue. I have been especially interesting in the reaction of Christians. I was thinking of taking a break from the Following Jesus series to write about what I have been hearing from Christians on the subject of finding a way to make sure everyone is adequately taken care of, health-wise, in the U.S. I was lying in bed this morning praying about it, and I realized that what I have been hearing illustrates the point that I wanted to make anyway, about the difference between following rules in order to appear as if one is following Jesus with one's whole heart as opposed to actually following Him.

Yesterday I read a statement on a website run by a Christian ministry that I respect and have benefited from. The leader of this ministry wrote in opposition to the new legislation. I'm not going to go into the details, because believe it or not, the details don't matter, except when they are useful to highlight motives and heart attitudes. People were invited to comment on the ministry leader's letter. Remember, these are all proclaiming Christians.

In reference to someone's reminder of Jesus' words in Matt 25:31 - 46, where he says that those who do not care for the hungry, homeless, needy, prisoners, or sick will have not cared for Him, and therefore He will not know them at the judgment: "Keep reading that verse...it is about taking care of the BRETHERN... not the world."

In reference to the Canadian health care system: "@ ****, then leave if you cannot handle the TRUTH.......I am from Canada and the health care there sucks. Why to you think many come to the US for health care." Later, from the same guy, "The truth is Jesus. and ****, Canada's healthcare SUCKS" I posted and let people know that I am a chronically ill Canadian, and out of over 80 posts, not one person asked me MY opinion about Canadian health care. Given the opportunity to expand their knowledge base by hearing the thoughts of another Canadian who obviously frequently uses Canadian health care, they refused.

In reference to those who do not have health insurance: "Healthcare is not a right. many do not by it because they do not what it."

"Entitlements cripple us - giving "free" healthcare to all will just encourage people to continue overspending someone else's money. "

"It is pure selfishness and greed for people to expect and demand that others pay for their healthcare(or anything for that matter)."

Add to this lots of biblical references on who we have to help and who we don't, whether our mandate to serve applies to believers and/or non-believers, the deserving and/or the non-deserving, etc. There were also much discussion on the scriptural view of the gov't's role in things like this. Lots of intelligent, learned, practical discussion. Lots of opinions on how much we, as Christians, have to help the poor and hurting. And a few lone voices proclaiming the absolute joy of serving those that Jesus was and is passionate about. It made me want to pull my hair out.

Hence the difference between following the Law, and following Jesus. Hence the reason why the Law could not save, but Jesus can. Hence the reason why the Law, if solely depended on, brings death and destruction while following Jesus brings life abundantly. Put the issues, the facts, the politics aside and listen to a group of Christians talking about people in their communities who suffer daily from lack of adequate health care. Following the Law means we scour the scriptures to find the boundaries of what is required of us. What is the least that I have to do in order to please God? Yes, I have to help the poor...oh, but look this verse could be interpreted as meaning I only have to help Christian poor people. Okay, I can handle that. I like most Christians...even the poor ones. How much do I have to do to be okay?

Following Jesus means walking the road He walked for the reason He walked it. And He walked it for love. Love says, not how much do I have to help, but how much do I get to help. Love is compelled to help. Love doesn't count the cost, or look for loopholes. When the Holy Spirit of God lives in us, we are passionate for the things He is passionate about, and He is passionate about people. All people. That doesn't mean that we always help. There are times when I am unable to help, or when I feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to say no. But I want to help. The more of me that I give over to the Holy Spirit of God, the harder it is for me to say no, not because I am a pushover, but because I am wounded by the pain of others.

Last week, a dear struggling friend of mine came to ask us for help. She was dealing with problems caused by her own choices, and she was still adamant about sticking to the choices that she was making. The consequences, though, were rough. My husband and I tried to find a way to help her, but were unsuccessful. Circumstances prevented us, and later my husband told me he realized that if we had been able to help, we might have gotten in the way of her growth in obedience to the Lord. But we were (and still are) both heartbroken for her. Part of the consequences she would have to deal with included not having a clean, warm place to sleep at night. Before she left, I took her in my arms and told her that we would keep the porch light on, blankets and a pillow on the couch, the front door unlocked, and it would be our joy to see her on our couch any time she needed it. Every night as Marc & I prepare for bed, he flips on the porch light and I fold the blankets and place them neatly with the pillow on the couch. Every morning when I come down, I look for her. She has not come. Marc and I share the pain of this. Of course it is her choice. She even deserves to be in the cold and dark alone. But every night Marc and I lie in our warm beds and think of our precious friend alone in the cold dark and ache for her. We will do this until we know that she is warm and safe. We cannot take credit for this. It is the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts who is loving her in us. We simply agreed to give ourselves over to His love.

Yesterday I walked into a theological debate about ministering to the poor and sick, presented myself as a poor, sick person who knew other poor, sick people who needed help, and was for the most part over-looked. Because the Law pays attention to the rules, the behavior, the limits, while the Spirit of God sees only people. I tried to share the sheer joy of giving out of our poverty, of pouring God's love extravagantly into the lives of others. It was as if I was speaking a different language. If a Jesus follower has a problem with the gov't taking over the responsibilities of health care for the people, it is only because he or she wants to take care of the needy themselves!

I really want to write more about this tomorrow. I want to study Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan and address it here. God has a glorious plan for us, if we will follow HIM!

Following Jesus

"And God spoke all these words: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me..." Exodus 20:1 - 3

And so began Moses' delivery of the ten commandments to the people of Israel. If God's people had any desire at all to please God, He wanted them to know how to do it. He is holy. People are not. Just as bringing darkness into light destroys the darkness, so sin that enters the presence of the Most Holy God is destroyed by His holiness. Likewise the sin-carrier. So if people just knew what they needed to do, if they just had a list of rules given to them by a God who cares from them, delivered by a great leader equipped and empowered by God to help them, couldn't they just follow the law that was given and please God? Apparently not. Not then, and not now. Even if it was obvious that the law was for their own good, and would provide social security, familial comfort and peace, and personal health and happiness, people would still struggle to obey.

I have two young girls that spend one week-end a month with me, and sometimes they get into skirmishes that involved a bit of pushing and shoving. If one of them has been clobbered by her sister, I often take the offending sister aside and offer to change the rules. Shall we do away with the no hitting rule? That means sister is allowed to hit you as much as you can her. We need to make it fair. Is that a good idea? Not once have they ever agreed to changing the rules. Even young children are able to understand that they benefit from the rules that adults set into place, even as they struggle to obey.

The struggle to obey is rooted in our wills. We want what we want when we want it, and that wanting can compel us to do things that God and others don't want us to do, even if the consequences to us are unwanted by us as well. We have ingenious tools, such as blaming others, making excuses, presenting ourselves as victims (cause victims can get away w/a lot more, can't they), deception, and denial to make it easier for us to see ourselves as good people while we continue to do things that are not good, for us or for others. Every time I yell at my daughter or speak sharply to her, I could justify it by pointing to her offending behavior. But I'd still be wrong. I know that not only am I hurting my child, but yelling will simply not be effective in helping her change her attitude or behavior. Wrong is wrong.

So we struggle to obey. As the Israelites did. The remaining writings of the Old Testament document Israel's efforts to obey God. And God's broken heart over their failure. It's a personal thing to God, when His people disobey Him. It's painful for Him to watch His beloved turn their backs and Him and walk their own way, just as it is painful for Him to watch them suffer the consequences. Sin is a very big deal to God. It destroys us, if not now, then in eternity. It separates us from God, and that puts us into great danger. Why do parents react so strongly to a child who wanders away in a crowded mall? The wandering may not be a big thing, but the danger is. Sin is "running into the middle of a busy highway/wandering into the arms of a molester in the mall" kind of danger, and God reacts appropriately.

The Israelites loved God. They wanted to please Him. They wanted to please Him so much, they took the Law that He gave them and elaborated on it, just to be sure. Honor your mother and Father (Ex. 20:12). What exactly does that mean? How far does it go? Is rolling your eyes when Mom says something foolish(this mom does it all the time!) dishonoring? Is wanting to, dishonoring? What about disagreeing with Dad's political views? Forgetting to do all of the tasks required, is that dishonoring? And how much money should be spent on a Mother's day gift for it to be seen as honoring? If your salvation and relationship with God depends on getting this right, figuring it all out can get pretty overwhelming. And important. God gave them as much info and guidelines as possible to help them follow the Law. Entire books of the Old Testament are set aside to explain the Law and it's practices. They just couldn't do it. And before we get all hoity toity about the Israelites' failure, just remember, we can't do it either.

So God provided a way by which they could be forgiven to some extent. He set up a system of sacrifice rituals and offerings to help them pay their sin debts(see the book of Exodus for more). The rituals were incomplete in that they had to be repeated and couldn't actually erase the sin debt, but God was setting the stage for His ultimate sacrifice. I realize I am doing no justice to the wonderful and elaborate plan of God and His people by skipping through this. My hope is to just touch briefly on it in an effort to help us understand that the Law had a purpose, in it's intricate details and at it's heart. God made provision, temporarily, for the fact that people would never be able to keep the Law. The fact that people couldn't keep it was never a surprise to God. He provided for that. The Law set the boundaries and made clear to us what was important to God and good for us and others. What it didn't do was provide a way for us to follow it. It revealed to us our true natures as people who want our own way. How would we know otherwise, if God did not say, "This is my way, walk in it", resulting in our promptly heading in the other direction?

Then came Christmas. The ultimate solution, planned from the beginning of the age. A new relationship with God, made possible by Jesus' birth, perfect life on earth, sacrifice on the cross and resurrection. He was the sin offering that would open the door for all people, not just the Israelites, to have full access to the Presence of God, because Jesus' death would pay for their sin fully. Once Jesus paid the debt, it was ripped up and thrown away. The blood of the sacrificial lambs on the altar covered the sins of the people. But the Son of God's sacrifice blew them out of the water. We could be clean, now. There were no receipts. No records. When Jesus pays a debt, it is payed in full. There was now nothing to keep us from God.

In John 14:15 - 31, Jesus talks to His disciples about what will happen after His death and resurrection. He promises them that though they will no longer have Him in bodily form with them after He goes away, He would ask the Father and the Father would send someone else, a Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to them. He promises that the Holy Spirit of God will not only live with them, but that He will be in them. Once the people of God were completely cleansed from their sin debt, by some divine and beautiful mystery, the Spirit of God would actually come and live in them. He would be a teacher, a comforter, a strengthener, and would make His will known to people directly. Jesus was promising heart-to-heart contact with the Living God! Being good would not just be connected to a Law outside of ourselves. We would have ultimate Goodness living inside of us!!! He would give us power to obey, if we would let Him be in control. Not only did we have a way to deal with past sins completely, we were being given a way to live free from sin today! And tomorrow! All we had to do was trust Jesus' sacrifice and believe that we were indeed clean, and welcome the Holy Spirit into our hearts, trusting Him with our futures. Following Jesus took on a whole new meaning. Galatians 5:1 says "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..." Freedom!!! Before, sin claimed us, by it's earthly and eternal consequences as well as by it's control over us. We were powerless. Now, if I have given myself to Jesus, He claims me. The Holy Spirit lives in me. I have the power through Him to please God by obeying Him.

For me, it comes down to two things. Do I trust God, and do I want to obey Him? For God, it's all the same question. Do I love Him? What gets in the way of loving God? Pride. Fear. Rebellion. Idolatry (loving something or someone else more than God). Greed. Selfishness. We are complex creatures. Proverbs 20:5 says that the purposes of a man's heart are deep waters. It's almost as if we go from, "I want to obey You, I want to follow You, but I can't!" to "Through Your Spirit, I can obey You, I can follow You...but I don't want to." Not completely. Not with everything I have. That commandment that Jesus said was the most important one is in Mark 12:30, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind and with all your strength." This calls for a major commitment, a major heart change. Ezekiel 36:26 prophesies that God will "give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you". God even takes care of that! But we have to let go of the old. And when we don't want to, but still want to walk with God, we do the one thing that makes following God such a imitable chore. We head back to the Old Testament, figuratively at least, and create a new set or rules and laws and try to stick to them. Following Jesus and following a list of rules is not the same thing. At times they may look the same. But they aren't.

More on this tomorrow.

Following Jesus

One thing that I didn't get right away in my relationship with Jesus was that I was someone who sinned. I guess I knew it intellectually, but I didn't realize the seriousness of it. I knew that God was holy and just, and that the penalty for sin is death. Somebody has to die spiritually to pay the price for my sin. But death was a long way away in my mind and I just didn't think I was that bad. I learned that sin was more than a set of acts that are wrong - sin is a position that we take, in that we choose to reject God. God, by very virtue of being God, makes the terms. Heaven is His domain. I realized that I couldn't expect to live my life as if He didn't exist, or to insult Him totally by telling Him that I would be in charge of this relationship and He would adapt to me, and still show up in Heaven looking for my mansion. The last thing that I needed was a God that I could control. I couldn't even control myself by putting the fork down when I needed to, and was overweight because of it. And that was only one of the areas of my weakness. No, I needed a powerful, just, all-knowing, ever-present God. And the only thing separating me from Him was my sin. As all of this began to sink into my mind, I began to be overwhelmingly grateful and amazed at the solution God provided. Someone had to pay the price. What I needed was to be forgiven of my sin, to have the debt erased, which seems like a pretty wild thing to even expect or hope for. Could God let me get away with years of rejecting Him?

Then I read this, from the apostle Paul in Acts 13:38, "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses."

In Romans 3:21 - 27, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so that to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."

Justice says that no, God can't let me get away with it. It's funny, how there are times when we think that our "stuff" isn't so bad and should be overlooked, but we certainly don't want those who hurt us to have their "stuff" overlooked. I understood the feeling. But I was beginning to understand that God loves everyone as much as He loves me, and as angry as it makes Him when others hurt me, He is also angered by the things I do and say to hurt others. It just wouldn't be fair. And at this point, there was no point pretending that I hadn't ever really hurt anyone. I had. There was also, hallelujah, no reason to pretend I hadn't hurt anyone. Because not only was Jesus my new "best thing that had ever happened to me" friend, He was also the payment for my sin. When He died on the cross, He was paying my sin debt, along with the sin debt of the entire world, if they wanted Him to. It was my choice. He was the perfect sacrificial lamb.

In a very real sense, by believing that Jesus lived and still lives today and died to pay my sin debt, and by asking Him to provide forgiveness for me, I was tying myself to Him for life. I belonged to Him. I was His disciple. But what a person to belong to! I asked a question at the end of yesterday's post. Why (and when) did it get all complicated and difficult? I think it got complicated and difficult when I began to confuse belonging to the person of Jesus Christ with belonging to religion, or a set of man-made rules and regulations that we hope will enable us to please God. It may sound like the two go together, but in fact they are total opposites. Tomorrow I'll discuss why.