I remember as a
kid looking forward to weekends. Looking
back now it seems almost ridiculous but back then weekends were special to my
family.
Saturday night we
always had hamburgers for dinner; and with that dinner we were allowed to have
potato chips and soda. That was the only
time we could have them and it made Saturday night dinners a true treat and
something we looked forward to throughout the week. On Sunday mornings we had donuts and sticky
buns for breakfast. As with the chips
and soda, this was the only time we could enjoy these alternatives to cereal
and other healthy breakfast food. We
loved weekends. As my siblings and I grew older and became adults we could have
these treats anytime we wanted to buy them.
But something was lost; the specialness, the delight, and the pure
enjoyment of the moment of eating those things.
In our worldview
today everything is seen as special; everything is seen as sacred. There is no ordinary; there is no sin. Everything is the same in our inclusive
worldview and everything is accepted. I
don’t see things that way.
If everything is
special, nothing is special; if everything is sacred, nothing is sacred. If everything is good, there is no bad, no
evil; I don’t believe that.
Because we want
everyone to feel good we have taken away sin and evil and we have done away
with guilt. Rather than see guilt as a
sign that something is off center and needs to be corrected, we have made the
things that caused guilt acceptable and done away with guilt, rather than the
other way around. Not only do I think
that is wrong, I think it is sad; it deprives people of the most wonderful
thing one can experience; the mercy and grace of God available in forgiveness.
David talks about
his life when he is not living as he knows he should.
“Be
gracious Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and
my body also. For my life is spent with
sorrow, my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity” (Psalm
9,10).
Paul talks about
his life when he is not living as he knows he should.
“The
saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Jesus Christ came
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (I Timothy 1:15).
Knowing their condition
and confessing their condition brought them before a loving and merciful God
who pours out grace upon grace upon a broken and contrite heart. There is nothing sweeter than a soul that
knows the mercy, grace, and forgiveness of God; nothing. But many will never know that special feeling
of love, true acceptance, and true inclusion, because the world, and
unfortunately many in the church, have blurred the distinction between
righteousness and wickedness, allowing evildoers to not only prosper but actually
put God to the test by denying His righteousness and authority.
I like David and
Paul, know the absolute wonder of the mercy and grace of God. I have sinned big time in my many years and I
know what it is like to live in that sin, that place of being off center,
and it eventually wears on one, even
when all around are saying, “don’t worry, be happy.” I know what it is like to have a broken and
contrite heart because I have done what I know is wrong. Thankfully I also know how truly great it
feels to be shown mercy, grace, and forgiveness by God. I know what it is like to:
“Sing
praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his
favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may
tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning…You have turned for me my
mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with
gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you
forever” (Psalm 30: 4, 5,11,12)!
There is truly
nothing better, more fulfilling, and soul satisfying in life.
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