Hiding Is NOT Wisdom or Strength

"Jesus wept"

John 11:35

I remember as a child being told, "What do you have to cry about? BE A MAN!  Real men don't cry."  What a lie that was and is!   Because of that statement, I began to hide my feelings and put on a stoic expression.  I took to heart the lyrics of a Simon and Garfunkel song "I am a rock":

"I've built walls,

A fortress deep and mighty,

That none may penetrate.

I have no need of friendship,

friendship causes pain,

It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.

I am a rock,

I am an island."

I quite honestly believed that wearing the mask of stoicism would protect me from the pain of having to let people see....me.

At one point, I was drawn into a discussion about the humanity of Christ.  I was skeptical of the idea that Christ had emotions as do we.  I followed the discussion with interest as both sides of the issue were discussed.  On the one hand, how could Christ effectively minister to so many hurting people if His emotions were expressed. On the other hand, how could Christ minister to so many hurting people if He had no emotions to express.  Good points!  Both sounded plausible and valid on the surface.  Then came the truth of the matter, found in John 11:35, "Jesus wept."

You see, how could Christ ever truly know what it's like being human if He locked away His emotions and became so stoic?  Over and over in scripture we read the phrase, "and He was moved with compassion." Does that sound like someone you'd want to know?  You bet your boots I want to know Him!  Why would ANYONE want a cold, calculating, unemotional being to rely on for their eternal life?

Compassion is Empathy in Action!  Because Christ knows exactly what we must endure, He can empathize with us and walk with us through that Valley of the Shadow of Death. I can love because He first loved me. 

Consider that!

 

AAUGH!!

"It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge .I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different." Romans 7:21-25

Have you ever decided that you're going to do the right thing every time?  What happened?  I foolishly believed that I could, somehow, make up my mind that I would always do what is right and pleasing to Abba. When I failed, the frustration set in and I would beat myself up because, once again, I had failed.  Once again, I had proven how weak I am. In my mind, I could hear the laughter of the whisperer and feel his rancid words to my soul "See? I TOLD you that you were a worthless waste!"

Sadly, for many years, I believed the whisperer because I simply couldn't seem to get it right.  I finally reached the place in my life where I just decided to give up.  After all, why bother if I can never do what's right consistently?  It was then I found a book entitled, "When Being 'Good Enough' Isn't Good Enough."  The title alone sparked my interest.  So I purchased the book, a cup of coffee and began to read.  I finished reading that entire book that afternoon.  I couldn't put it down.  It was as if Abba was talking directly to my very need.  

You see, if it were possible for me, in my own strength, to do what's right all the time, then the whole reason for Jesus coming to pay my debt was simply a wasted effort!  However, because Jesus came, walked among us, taught us, loved us enough to die for us, my debt is paid. I owe Abba EVERYTHING!

Did the whisperer go away?  Nope.  He still hangs around telling me how worthless I am and how I'll never amount to anything.  But we both know he is wrong!  Praise be to Abba for adopting me as HIS child and, thus, securing my eternity!

 

Let's Talk About Freedom

Live as free people, but do not use your freedom 

as an excuse to do evil. Live as children of God.

1 Peter 2:16

As we prepare to celebrate Freedom this weekend, let's take a minute to consider...Freedom.  Freedom means many things.  For some, freedom from an addiction is true freedom.  For others, having the freedom to choose where they wish to live/work/relax is true freedom.  Still others consider the freedom to do whatever they want to be the true meaning of freedom.

Think hard...what does Freedom mean to you?  If I may, let me share my thoughts of Freedom.  We live in a time and place where we have the freedom to choose.  THAT is the basis for all freedom....being able to choose.  Now, the flip side of that is the simple fact that every choice will have consequences.  If I choose to save money, the consequence might be that I will be able to afford a nice car at some point.  However, if I choose instead to eat pizza for every meal, the consequence will most definitely be a health crisis.

Here's the fact: Abba sent His Son to pay the ransom for our sins, thus setting us free from the eternal consequence of being separated from Abba.  Yet some of us take that freedom to mean we can do what we want, to whom we want, whenever we want, without consequence.  This is the lie our enemy likes to whisper to us.  When Abba set us free, we are truly free to be His child!  We are free to enjoy His love.  We are free to talk with Him. We are free to enjoy His provisions for us. We are free to treat others in the same way we want to be treated.  We are truly free in Him.  And because of that, should we not seek to embrace and bask in His love and mercy?  Would we not want to share that gift with others?  Should we not love each other as Abba loves us?  We have been set free from the sin that destroys, let's take time to thank Abba for that freedom!