restoration

This morning I read the words of Paul penned to the church in Galatia - Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

My mind went to the religious elite of Jesus day. The example set by their actions opposes the words of Paul. Several times we find them eager for judgment, not caring a whit about the one caught in sin. At least twice they attempted to use someone in bondage as a tool to trap Jesus. Their concern seemed to be more about religious protocol. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Should we stone a woman caught in adultery as the law of Moses required? Furthermore, when Jesus ate a meal with the sinners, the religious leaders complained about His association with those who were "less than".  

The title of my last post several weeks ago sums it up pretty well - Some things don't change. Beverly recently had a conversation with a person who finds herself in the midst of a web of deceit and sin. Her comments to Bev was this - the church does not know what to do with people who have become entangled in sin. She also spoke of people, people that she knows, that struggle for freedom from sin. The judgmental attitudes of the religious hinder the open confession of sin that brings healing. As a result, their bondage strengthens.

I believe our attitude toward sin ought to be more like Jesus attitude. Jesus spoke harshly to the religious elite. Why? Because they attempted to hide their prideful judgmental attitude behind a facade of godliness. They were more interested in the preservation of their religious systems than in the restoration of people. In their mind, people that threatened their appearance of goodness were expendable, people to be discarded and rejected. Jesus rebuked them for the fact that they were a hindrance to people entering the realm of God.      

On the other hand, the "sinners" elicited a differant response from Jesus. While Jesus always freely pointed out their bondage, He also always spoke of restoration. He had no interest in the appearance of goodness. He had no concern about His reputation with religious elite. His stated purpose for coming was to seek and save the lost.

Since the sinners freely admitted their "lostness" they became candidates for abundant life. Conversely, the religious elite, in their smug goodness, had no need of a Savior. Anyone whose actions violated their religious code became a candidate, not for restoration, but for rejection.

In the past number of years, Bev and I have been involved in the restoration of a number of people. In every case, instead of working at restoration, the religious elite in the church opposed the restorative work of God. As I read the words of Paul this morning, I had to think of the words of almost everyone with whom we have been involved with God's restorative work. To a person they have communicated with us that it is the church that has been most hurtful and judgmental toward them.

Truly the harvest is ripe - If the realm of God is to be expanded, then let us heed the words of Paul.

some things don't change

This morning I read the account of Jesus' interaction with people as recorded in John chapter eight. Interestingly, these were people who believed Him.  As Jesus speaks words of truth, the interaction begins to deteriorate rather quickly. His words began to expose the condition of the heart of the listeners. In the place of exposure they searched for a way to discredit His words, for an excuse to discount the truth He spoke.

Their excuse for discounting the truth of which He spoke was his out of wedlock conception. Initially their comments rather vaguely alluded to the fact that Joseph was not his father. As the conversation progressed and Jesus words of truth continued to prick them, they became more pointed, accusing Him of being a Samaritan. (The implication was that He was not even a full-blooded Jew; that his mother had slept with a Gentile.) Instead of embracing the truth that could transform their heart, they chose to attack Jesus in an effort to validate their rejection of the truth.

And so it still is today. When pricked by transformational truth, people frequently look for a reason to reject the truth. Usually the reason for rejection is that the messenger is flawed, therefore his flaws allow for the rejection of the message. The flaws of the messenger do not change the truth in any way. Truth is truth. If we are to be transformed, then we must embrace the message in spite of our perception of the messenger