"Bad People??" (July 5, 2013)

Bad People???

Have you ever been through a church split, a disagreement with a Christian friend or witnessed ungodliness in a trusted ministry? Most Christians I know have experienced at least one of the above - at least once in their Christian walk.

I've been through enough of this myself and have wondered how God could continue to use that ministry or person after "what they did to me (and others)." They must be "bad people" and since they hurt others God shouldn't use them anymore. Sounds like a healthy attitude, right? I'm being real with you!

Paul, Moses, David, Peter, etc.,etc.,etc.,were all considered 'bad people' at one time or another by other Christians. The amazing thing about God is that He chooses and uses 'bad people' even when we don't trust them and even IF we don't consider them to be good anymore. And in a show of His omnipotence, God even uses jack-asses to get His word across!

Now there are definitely some difficult things going on which cause us to have to make a choice to turn away from some relationships, but the point I'm making is that we, too, are being sanctified, just like the 'bad people.' But we cannot keep a root of bitterness and distaste against others, we must be reconciled in love and repent of our heart attitudes, words and actions so that we don't let that root take hold and bring distress into our lives and the lives of our family members. God does not excuse us from the call to repentance if the other person sinned, too-we are responsible to repent for our sins, no matter what the conditions that caused them.

Since every human being was conceived and raised in sin, we know that strongholds in our thinking and behaviors have grabbed ahold of us and affect how we view one another. I believe this is one of the reasons God has told us not to judge the motives of one another....our judging comes out of our ways of thinking, which are sometimes not sanctified! 1 Cor 13:7 "...love is always ready to believe the best in others."

I heard a clear directive from the Lord to go to the past to make the future better. What He was saying to me is that I can change the present and the future by rectifying the past. There were specific people that I needed to go to and repent of my attitudes and actions, regardless of what theirs were, in order to set things right and open doors to the future. God gave me a new revelation of His love before I did this, inspiring me to move forward with the goal of reconciliation in love. What a marvelous outcome He provided....not because everything is all sweet and we now live in a Candy Crush type world....but because He lifted off years of heartache and distress through repentance and forgiveness. The root which takes hold concerning these past situations can cause a distorted understanding of some parts of His word. You see, when we have allowed a root to be established in this way we will look for ways to justify it, either by misconstruing His word or bringing others alongside of us to agree with us. However, 10,000 people in agreement can never negate the Truth of God!

Matt 18 (21 to end) talks of the unmerciful servant who has his debt forgiven then harshly refuses to forgive others. What great forgiveness we have received-let us extend it to others freely, just as it was extended to us!