I am still processing the Sermon on the Mount. I have gone through the 25 posts and edited them for clarity and to revisit them for myself. Now I want to look at the applications I should be making for myself.
Relationships are tough. It does not take much to get them headed in the wrong direction. It did not take long for Adam and Eve to damage their relationship with God. It was not unrepairable, but it would take some work. That work was finished on the cross, or was it? In some senses yes. We do not need to and cannot go above that which Jesus did for us on the cross. However, as we see in the New Testament again and again, there were issues that the apostles had to deal with as the church developed. Those issues continue to this day. Apparently, Jesus's death on the cross did not completely restore our relationship with God from that moment forward.
As Jesus began His ministry, He wanted to set forth what a true relationship with God should look like. Did He start over? No. Did He do away with the law? No. He took what was there and went even farther with it. Today's verse has to do with mourning. Sorrow. Perhaps regret. I think all of those emotions are valid and present when we face death. We are sad, we will miss our loved on. We think of what it might be like to have just one more day with them, or had we known this would be their time, what we might have done differently. Regrets flood our mind. Jesus wants us to mourn? He wants us to be sad? To have regrets? This is going to help repair our relationship with God?
Yes, provided those emotions are dealt with in a healthy way. But what are we mourning here? I believe it is what we have done to God. We put away our pride and start thinking about the pain that our sin has caused to Him, us, others. Perhaps regret enters in as well. I believe it should. I believe that if we don't see the harm our sin causes, then we won't be as likely to distance ourselves from it. This is what brings repentance. A definition I once heard for repentance goes like this, to be so sorry for something I have done that I wouldn't do it again, even if I knew I wouldn't get caught. I ties in with all kinds of ideas, such as surrender, confession, denying self, etc. But it starts with repentance. It's not just about getting to go to heaven, it's not just about not going to hell. It is about relationship. Real relationship.
So here is my take away. In order for me to have a relationship with God as it should be, I have to be honest about who I am and what I have done. I have to put aside my pride and see with open eyes. See who I am and see who God is. That should cause me to mourn. If I see the pain of what I have done, it should bring me sadness and regret. Not that I need to stay there. That would be unhealthy. That should drive me to repentance.
Let the healing begin?
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