Whew! That chapter 4 is some tough stuff! Today we discussed two chapters, one of which is a hard pill to swallow for a lot of us. "Godless Judging" even the title sounds ominous. Lucado begins the chapter by talking about Jeffrey Dahmer and his conversion to Christianity. We, like Lucado, struggle with this concept, that someone "as bad as Dahmer" can reap the benefits of heaven by repenting and putting his faith in Christ....after all he has done! Most of us have a Jeffrey Dahmer in our lives, maybe he didn't slice us up on the outside but he cut really deep, straight to the core, on the inside. We struggle with the "f" word...Forgiveness. How can I forgive so and so for this and that? It hurt so bad, it messed me up so I don't know which way is up, it left me not whole, broken. As I focus on what someone else has done to me, I tend to forget what I may have done to someone else. I also forget that Christ’s compassion on the cross is what mends the broken pieces of our lives, it is what binds us up and helps us face the next challenge. I make a comparison between my sin(stealing a penny candy) and their sin(robbing a bank at gunpoint). Mine wasn't so bad. I didn't even use a weapon! No one got hurt and boy did that candy taste good! Only God doesn't see it that way....sin is sin. (reminds me of the commercial Parts is parts)Surely I can ask for forgiveness for stealing that candy...no big deal right? God will easily forgive that. He has enough mercy to cover that little sin. But here is the good news, no matter how bad we mess up God has enough mercy to forgive us. He can forgive the bank robber packin a 757(okay I know that's a plane but I couldn't think of a gun name). If we repent and put our faith in Him, He will forgive us and wash away our sins. More good news, God, unlike homo erectus, does not compare us to them or them to us. That's why in Romans 3:12 we read, "there is no one who does anything good" because the only standard we are compared to is God himself. Lucado lists two reasons why God gets to do the judging, #1 We aren’t good enough. What a blow to the overgrown ego we carry around on our backs! He uses a moon jumping scenario to illustrate this point. God is the only one without sin, therefore the only one qualified to judge those who are sinful. We wouldn’t want the world’s worst ice skater judging the Olympics figure skating competition. We only want the best to judge us, so let’s leave that up to our Father in heaven. Reason number two is that “We don’t know enough”. I love the question “How can you dismiss a soul until God’s work is complete?” Maybe I should have some t-shirts printed up that say “Warning—Work in Progress”. God is still working on me and I am thankful that I am not being judged yet. We expressed our frustration about people in our lives who are making bad decisions and who don’t know God. But some of us are slow learners. It will take some people until their last breath to accept the reality that is salvation through faith in Christ. We have to wait patiently as God softens their hearts. It is not our time schedule, it is not how we would do it, it is not what we want for them. But then again, it’s not really about us and our wants. Natalie Grant sings “I thank God for another day, another chance to love the ones I love, to find my way”… and I say it’s another chance to live for God. All we have to do is ask for mercy and “by heaven’s grace we all receive it”.
Chapter 5 started off a little easier, on a day as hot as today I would jump in the boat with anyone who would have me just hoping for a glimpse of the water. Godless religion is often hard to spot. Some sin is loud and clear while other is sneaky and silent. Godless religion is one of those sneaky types. It is when we proclaim our faith not based on the merits of true faith i.e., trusting in God, having a PERSONAL relationship with God, and studying God’s word, but rather based on the symbolic evidence of faith like taking communion, being baptized, and carrying a bible. While those things are all fine and dandy without the other stuff, the deep stuff, the hard stuff, our faith is just surface level, not eternal. We don’t have to come from a long line of church-goers to be saved by grace. Paul is fussing at the Jews for trusting in a symbol rather than in their Savior. They saw their circumcision as a sign of superiority rather than submission. As Lucado says, the wedding ring is a symbol of love it is not the source of love. The cross on my necklace shows people that I believe in a risen Savior but if I take that necklace off does it mean that I no longer believe? My belief goes deeper than a necklace and my faith is more than a decoration. Sometimes these symbols come in the form of good works. There are some Marthas (read Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World) who do, do, do and do some more without stopping to be. Be with God, Be still with God, Be honest with God. Now don’t get me wrong we love a Martha who whips up a delicious dinner and is content to clean it up but what about the fellowship and friendship? Wouldn’t you be disappointed if you were asked to come for dinner and your host shows you to the living room and leaves you there. You look at the pictures on the wall, you test out the chair, you even take your sandal off to see if the carpet is really as soft as it looks. You are called to dinner, where you eat by yourself because your host is busy fixing dessert, and after dessert your host retreats to the sink to wash all the dishes. Now wasn’t that fun? Don’t try to do it all. Let God do God’s part. Now, we all have our part. I could bring the rolls and dessert next time so my host won’t have to worry with them. I’ll even offer to help wash the dishes. But next time let’s just talk, fellowship, spend some time together. Isn’t that what God wants? Put down your bible school materials, stop making a “To be Saved” list, turn off that TV evangelist and spend some time with God. What a difference it will make. (Of course this is not a charge to become a lazy bum, but we will get to that in a later chapter.) We also discussed how thankful we are that we can have a personal relationship with Christ. I am so glad that my faith doesn’t have to look like someone else’s. I have tried that and it is too exhausting. I was too busy watching what they were going to do next to see where Christ was leading me. ME. Yes God has an individual plan for each of us. Mine will look different from yours and that, my friends, is a good thing!