…is the lie of believing that you are separated from God and that the Father’s face toward you has changed! Believing that lie has actually done GREAT damage in your life and mine!
We have all believed it for so long, we can hardly believe the Truth. But the truth of the matter is, when we believe lies, we experience lies. When we believe Truth, we experience the Truth (even in the middle of a pack of lies! John 8:32)!
So what do you WANT to experience?!
I can pretty much guarantee that if something in your life is not good and right, it stems from you and others believing lies instead of believing the Good News that you (and we) are, and always have been, secure and adopted in God the Son!! That’s a fact in Jesus!
Sometimes this Good News seems so unbelievable because we human beings think and act so poorly toward one another, and toward God, but the Father, Son and Spirit assure us that His character never changes! Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8!
I urge you, along with the Holy Spirit, to rethink and believe this Good News! Believing this truth allows you to experience the greatest longing you have in your life….ASSURANCE!! Deep down, you want to KNOW that you are unconditionally loved, liked, accepted, celebrated, and wanted, and that is EXACTLY how God the Trinity thinks and feels about YOU now, and always will!!! Romans 5:6-11, 8:31-39!
Deep inside you already know this, and that is why hope springs up in your heart when things like what I am saying are written or spoken! The Light of Jesus is stronger than everything else and cannot be put out because of our darkness! John 1:3-5! We were all created to know, hear and experience the truth that everything is going to be alright, and in Christ everything IS and WILL BE alright!
So don’t let those harsh attitudes or adamant faces fool you! People often act in harsh ways when they have been enveloped in a world primarily proclaiming their exclusion in one way or another! They are acting this way for one reason: They ARE included – and because the word of exclusion, or the lie, is so painful and unbearable, we must do something to avoid it at all costs – hence the sour, mean and blank expressions that “shield” us from the suffering! You remember (know) what that is like!
I conclude with these encouraging words from Paul’s letter to the Colossians in The Message translation of the Bible by Eugene Peterson:
“26 This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. 27 God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. 28 We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. 29 That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.”
July 13, 2008 at 10:04 pm |
Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Acts 13:10
The Apostle Paul
Champion of Political Correctness and Sensitivity
Why didn’t he just tell him he was included and leave it at that?
July 14, 2008 at 5:14 pm |
Hey Franco!
That is a GOOD question coming out of our struggle to see the Gospel more accurately, considering what most of us have learned about theology most of our lives in this day and age.
Your question “Why didn’t Paul just tell Elymas he was included and leave it at that?” is answered by considering the following things:
1.) Paul is one Apostle that God used to help us see that EVERYONE, including Elymas, is included in the Life of God in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1 – 4:10), and that is what Paul knows as the Good News (Col 1:27). So we must not now think that Paul is speaking the opposite of that Good News to Elymas, or we can hardly trust Paul at any point!
2.) Actually Paul DOES tell Elymas about his inclusion when he says, “Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?” There is no way Elymas, who also has life, movement and being in Jesus – Acts 17:28, could pervert the right ways of the Lord unless he was included in those ways! He can’t just create right ways to pervert, he can only pervert what is already created and that of which he is already a part – right ways!
3.) This helps us see that Paul is coming across to Elymas in this strong way BECAUSE OF HIS INCLUSION and not apart from it! Paul knows that the Father, Son and Spirit are passionate that Elymas know Him, and himself, in his inclusion, for who he REALLY is, so he can live in a way that aligns with Trinitarian Love and Peace! When we don’t see God and ourselves properly, we hurt ourselves and others. As the saying goes, “Hurt People Hurt People!” Elymas was trying to turn people away from the faith and in the process was going to be hurt and hurt others!
The Father won’t just stand by and let that happen without trying to help us see! He is adamant that we participate in a way that is beautiful NOT ugly! Elymas’ thoughts and actions will never make for harmonic inclusion, but only hell riddled inclusion! That is most certainly NOT how we were created to live in relationship with the Triune God and others.
I hope this helps you think through such passages by staying grounded on the Gospel of our adoption FIRST. Only then can we see how we might still have to deal with challenges and troubles within our distinction even though we are all forever included in Christ!
Peace, Love and Blessings!