All too often we think of ourselves and count our selves to be righteous and thus welcome at the table. We think that we can claim such a right since we can say that we in our recollection committed any sin. We have had good standing in the community, we are not the black sheep of the family, we no record of crime nor have ever been arrested and thrown to prison. We come to the table every evening puffed up and never once thinking of ourselves as sinners. We may give thanks for the food but do we give thanks for God's forgiveness for our sins firstly so that we can be at the table. Everyone who lives in this corrupt world is a sinner. Calling ourselves Christians as in being dead to sin and alive in Christ means that we recognize sin in us and are able to be alive because Jesus Christ shed His blood for our sin. Thus, we can say we are alive in Christ, alive only because of what He did for us, not by our works. Anyone who accepts this sacrifice is a new creation. The point of this post is to remind us about our sin and God's mercy and grace in our lives. It is because of His sacrifice that we are at the table of life enjoying food with family and friends. There are those who have sinned and now find themselves denied access to the table of life. The table of life is that which we share with family, friends and the Lord. In this world, especially, we need each other, it reminds us that the Lord created us to be social, to be in relationship. He wants us to be in relationship with Him and each other. If you know anyone who is not welcome to the table of life that you are welcome at, reach out to them.
I am reading a book now by Tom Horn and Donna Howell - Redeemed, Unredeemable: When America's Most Notorious criminals came face to face with God. For anyone with a weak mind and stomach, this is not good reading. Yet, it is incredible reading to say the least. Horn tells us that we all are sinners. We are all living in the swill of this corrupt world. Some are exposed to more than others, they receive less help or are not rescued as children from situations of cruelty, abandonment, ridicule, or simple left alone with no one to guide them, no one to talk to, to have nurture or nourish their mind and heart with positive words and images that the future is bright. The expression, 'you didn't make it' by yourself ' goes both ways. This is how God sees us here in this world, we sees the bigger picture of our lives, our choices, the good, bad and ugly of them and where those choices have taken us. He is with us in all and He asks us to be with others through their choices, to forgive them and bring them back to the table. We stumble in forgiveness because emotions are finite (bound) as in tight. Think of such tight feelings as emotional purse strings that are short and or closed securely to keep in what we value and keep out anyone who wants to access that. Horn writes that God trumps our finite emotion as He is able to feel several emotions for every person at once. His emotions are never limited to our predetermined, fragmented human expectations. He does not experience mood swings. He is emotion and it is only by our corrupted humanness in this world that we move from one emotion to another. His is a perfect balance of emotions. We as Christian people are our own enemies and victims as well as the enemy and victim of others' selfishness and thus we may never find the strength to forgive someone's acts against humanity. I agree with Horn that the same cannot be said of God. I am certain that there needs to be a huge and deep restructuring of the correctional system in this country, one that is about bringing the lost sheep back to the table of life. All Christians ought to know and do know this..."You, my brothers were called to be free. But, do not use our freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love ~ Gal 5:13-14." We must serve one another - as all are sinners, all are obligated in the task of bringing another back to the table... because "..., if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36
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