"The Bad and The Good"

Everyone constructs an image of God in their own mind, may I ask what is yours?  Everyone in their own mind has an image of the Devil, may I ask what is yours? 

Feb 19 2017    Readings:   Galatians 5: 16-26, Matthew 5: 38-48

Have you ever wondered why God allows bad to exist in the world anyway?  If God is all powerful why doesn’t God just zap out the bad and leave all the good to live in peace and harmony on earth.  In biblical times these same questions were being ask. Why do the innocent die, why do bad thing happen to good people and why is it that evil in our world seems to get away with murder.    In the readings from Galatians and Matthew this morning, Paul and Jesus gives us a bit of insight behind some of Gods amazing creative wisdom about bad and good.    May I suggest to you that in the moment of conception all are innocent?   Now folks think about this for a moment, just as in the garden narrative before Adam and Eve exercised their free will, innocence prevailed and everything was as it should be.   So, in the womb when your conception took place everything had to work together just as God intended, otherwise you would not be hear listening to me this morning.   Once we emerge from of the womb our innocence is stripped away as we are birthed into a broken world where the wages of sin have already taken root and have become a part of everyone’s life.  No one escapes this reality.  And so sing songs like: Amazing Grace or

“Softly and Tenderly”  

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,

Calling for you and for me;

Patiently loving He’s waiting and watching,

Watching for you and for me.

Choirs:  Come home, come home he who are weary come home

Earnestly softly Jesus is calling, calling oh sinner come home  

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,

Pleading for you and for me?

Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,

Mercies for you and for me?

Choirs: --------------

Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised,

Promised for you and for me!

Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,

Pardon for you and for me.

As we heard read in Galatians 5: 16- 26  the Apostle Paul knows that our struggle in life will be between our two natures.  First we have our human nature, sometimes referred to as the “The Beast,”  found in all of us.  Now I do not know about you but it has reared its ugly head in my life a few times.   Then we have our spiritual nature, sometimes referred to as the “Divine Presence, God within” which is also found in all of us and is shown to others through acts of humility and compassion.   

As strange as it may be, God gave us both natures to live in contrast side by side some good and some bad.  But let us not forget as Genesis 1 teaches us, everything God created was meant for good.   

Our human nature finds it’s kinship in mischief and mayhem.  Its primary source of attraction and strength will come from the world and worldly teachings.  Like money brings happiness but we all know money attracts thieves don’t we.   On the other hand, we have our spiritual nature, which finds it kinship in God’s unconditional love and in loves forgiveness, now that’s true happiness because the Spirits love is indestructible and its forgiveness is stronger than the greatest sin.   Its primary source of strength comes from God and the teachings found in our Holy Scriptures and so we often sing that wonderful old hymn:

”Bind Us Together Lord:

 Bind us together Lord, Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord, Bind us together,
Bind us together with love.

There is only one God, There is only one King;
There is only one Body, That is why we sing:

Everyone is born into our broken world, yet while we await birth in the womb we remain innocent.  We have no conception of hatred, lying, stealing, greed, anger, pride, jealously, self-centeredness or lust but as the writer Paul explains we have been given a human nature, that is susceptible to these things, and it is only natural that we will be exposed to them, learn and respond to them over time.   On the other hand, while still in the womb we also have no conception of unconditional love, grace, peace, joy, goodness, charity, forgiveness, and truth, but as Paul points out again, we have been given a spiritual nature that is susceptible to these things and it is only natural that we will be exposed to them, learn and respond to them over time.

 FOLKS! Here is the wisdom tip for today if you have the ears to hear it.

I need you to consider the attributes of the 2 natures I just spoke about.   Whichever nature gets feed the most in you, that is the nature that will denominate your personality, your behavior, your response to life and eventually your death.   Folks we need to take time to listen to the words in this great hymn:

“Take Time To Be Holy”     

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy be calm in your soul

Each though and each motive beneath his control

Thus lead by his spirit to fountains of love

You soon shall be fitted for service above.

As we grow in spirit, even under the worst possible circumstances as many have to endure, we the faithful have been given a choice in the matter of good over evil concerning our lives.     God does not force us to choose but life does!!!  God’s gift to us is both natures and the option to make choices.  Our free will can be our best friend or our worst enemy.   It is up to us to choose to develop and strengthen our spiritual nature so we can weather the storms of life. 

The Devil, why he gives you no choice, as he tricks your human nature into

believing and trusting in worldly ways that keep you from choosing the ways of

the Spirit.    Here in lies the human dilemma, the struggle we all have between

good choices and bad, God gives us the freedom to choose, and so we live side

by side the good and the bad as it was meant to be.   The difference here for the

Christian is that we believe Gods grace and love are sufficient for all and in all

circumstances and that God will never forsake or leave us even as we choose

poorly.  And so I leave you with this quote from Isaiah 49:  I will never forget you my people.  I have carved you on the palm of my hand.  I will never forget you I will not leave you orphaned I will never forget my own.    

                                               "Come Lord Jesus, Come To Us"