You know when someone does something really bad to you, and you say 'that's terrible!'
I have a question:
Compared to what?
Now, I'm not belittling what people do. There are terrible things happening right now and there have been and will continue to be terrible things happening.
But, I find it hard when someone does something horrible to me to not say 'that's horrible' and not have very unpleasant thoughts about that person and compare that person with other people who say, haven't done things so terrible.
It's easy to have a league table of horrible things isn't it?
This thing over here... that's not so sinful. That thing over there... that's absolutely horrendous.
The reason that I hold unpleasant thoughts about people who do unpleasant things is because I have not grasped the weightiness of my own sin against God.
You see, I, like you was born, not just - turning my back from God. I was born with my back turned from God. We all were.
Thing is..... that doesn't tend to sound as horrendous as the horrendous things we hear about people doing to each other.
It is infinitely horrendous to be born with your back turned away from an infinitely most High God.
But we don't see it.
Why?
We place too low a value on God.
You see... if I placed the proper value on God and someone did something against me... it would merely serve as a reminder of the horrendous thing I did against God and it would remind me of the infinite cost that was paid so that anyone who receives Christ can have - Christ - forever.
If I had the proper value of God and someone did something to me, I would consider how this most High infinite God has forgiven me - very low, finite, flawed, imperfect person - and because another very low, finite, flawed, imperfect person has done something to me - who has been forgiven by God, I would forgive him. I mean, of course I would right?
But I don't place a high enough value on the infinite God who forgave me of my infinite sin, so I have a problem forgiving people who sin with their infinitely smaller sins against me.
So. I don't really do New Year's Resolutions, but I'm starting early this year.
I am going to plunge deeper and deeper into God's love. Deeper than I have ever before. Deep.
So that I can glory in the love and the grace and the forgiveness He has for us all and see more and more of the huge price that was paid so that we, who are flawed, can be with He, who is Perfect, forever.