| George Sand |
| Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé. |
| Deutéronome 7:13 BDS |
| 13 Il vous aimera, vous bénira, vous rendra nombreux, et il bénira vos enfants, il vous bénira par tout ce que produiront vos terres: votre blé, votre vin nouveau, votre huile fraîche, et en accroissant les portées de votre gros et de votre petit bétail sur la terre qu'il a promis par serment à vos ancêtres de vous donner. |
| Psaume 31:7 BDS |
| 7 Je les hais, tous ceux qui s'attachent à des idoles de néant; je me confie en l'Eternel. |
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| Unnecessary Burdens |
| Thursday, August 27, 2009 |
http://www.hope1032.com.au
LifeWords
28/8/2009
UNNECESSARY BURDENS
Read 1 John 3:19-20
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
For people who have been forgiven by a God who is rich in mercy, Christians can be surprisingly guilt ridden. Perhaps we have over-sensitive consciences. Perhaps we are keenly aware of the holiness of God. Perhaps we read and re-read the Scriptures and get overwhelmed by how far short we fall of their standards. The result is the same: we condemn ourselves.
In this passage, John encourages us to enjoy God’s presence rather than shrink from him out of misplaced guilt. If we have trusted in Jesus for pardon the slate is wiped clean. We have new clothes to wear. So it is a great pity if we cling to the filthy rags of our shortcomings. After all, who are we to tell God that our badness is greater than his goodness? If he has shown mercy to us, who are we to withhold mercy from ourselves?
God is far more understanding of us than we are. He knows our secret histories, how we have struggled with deficient upbringing and the burdens of physical and psychological disease. He affirms our albeit imperfect endeavours to live for him. He knows thoroughly what handicaps us. He constantly searches for what is good and true in us and is bound to come up with something. In other words, he is a lot kinder to us than we are to ourselves.
Of course this is only possible because Jesus has carried all the true guilt on himself as he hung on the cross. God is no softie, but all that would condemn us has already been dealt with. Life has enough genuine burdens to bear without us loading ourselves down with ones that have been lifted by God himself. His goodness is greater than our badness. |
| posted by cheesy-pops @ 1:58 PM |
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