Have you ever seen a tongue in cheek petition like the one on the left displayed in the home of someone you know? Have you ever felt as if those words might be a pretty fair description of your own circumstances?
I know I have!
Sometimes the pace of the work in progress known to me as my spiritual life seems painfully slow or to even be moving in the wrong direction!Named among my numerous transgressions are things such as mean spiritedness or being judgmental and becoming quickly irritated or impatient with people or things I interact with daily. As much as I don’t like those aspects of my personality, what’s far more disturbing to me is my own tolerance,nay comfort with them!
It’s a bit of a mess…
One the most difficult,and yet most important things about being a follower of Christ I’ve struggled with is how a Holy God could love a very un-holy sinner like me…There are exceptions, but for the most part Love as I’ve been able to understand it is about deserving or qualifying for it in some way.In this world we pick winners and losers,we analyze and judge people constantly choosing to love in others the “good” aspects we recognize in ourselves. At it’s core it’s selfish and based on lies fed to us via our own personal self-exhalation express the ego. We rationalize their validity based on societal dogma, which is nicely packaged and fed to us under headings such as self esteem and positive affirmation. The truth is the only real basis for “self” esteem any of us can actually claim is that we’re loved by our omnipotent Heavenly Father!
That’s it!
That’s our “claim to fame”
And it’s much more than enough!
Why?
Because it’s a claim that’s based on something real, real because it’s unthreatenable! It doesn’t change or cease to be for any reason. All of the things we esteem in this world will fade away or can be lost in an instant, but NOT Gods love!
Recently I read a status on FB which said that God works through imperfect people and circumstances to accomplish His purposes. My reply was,
“Is there any other kind?”
Our Father loves each of us Just the way we are…
Warts and all
But He loves us too much to just leave us that way!
His death on the cross was a victory over sin and death that was done on our behalf, that we may have eternal life. I also believe that the power of His shed blood gives Christian’s the opportunity to claim that victory over their own here and now life circumstances
Truly, we’re all a bit of a mess!
How wonderful is it then,that…
Jesus is the Great Mess-iah!!
Seeking The Kingdom 
3 replies on “Bless This Mess!”
“…The truth is the only real basis for “self” esteem any of us can actually claim is that we’re loved by our omnipotent Heavenly Father…”
This truth takes more than a few years to soak into a hard-headed person like me, but thank God, a little has hit the mark. I’m hoping for more.
I should’ve said “rightfully claim” instead of actually…
I can identify with your “numerous transgressions” Jeff, but I thank God for the everflowing blood of Jesus and for New Testament Galatians, because in there it shows us that regardless, we are dead to this present evil age, the law, sin, the flesh and, the world. How’s that for love! What would we do without the word of God?