On Sin

The Problem:
Sin, and the temptation to commit sin is the product of the Devil. The purpose for him doing this is to separate us from God, in His three parts. The Devil particularly likes working on Christians because we already have a connection with God that he wants to break. A person who has already been promised the Kingdom is a bigger prize, in his eyes, than one far away from, (or even on the way to), a faith in God through Jesus.

 

The Dangers:

We commit one ‘little’ sin: Take a pack of paper from the office; Tell a lie to save yourself embarrassment; Flirt with someone’s wife – What the actual sin is isn’t important: That ‘pack of paper can soon become a 5 ream pack and more; That lie can become a habit; That mild flirtation can become a full blown affair, and so on. The problem with sin is that it’s rarely ‘occasional’ and almost invariably ‘obsessional’. The more that we are gripped by the obsession, the more we are ashamed to talk to God. We try to hide, just as Adam did in the garden after he had eaten the forbidden fruit; Just like Adam we blame someone or something else for our own sin. Because of this we run the risk of getting farther and farther away from God, and the Devil is rubbing his hands with glee!
 
I manage a staff of 4 to assist me in my daily living needs and although the people that work for me are directly employed by me our relationship is necessarily, whilst being professional, a very personal one, (I often refer to them as my extended family).
I know that whenever I’m going through a period of sin, (big or small), the Holy Spirit won’t hang around if I am not ‘tuned’ to receive Him. With the Spirit gone from my life I feel alone and I get unhappy, irritable and quick to flare-up over minor issues that, normally, I would deal with quietly and efficiently as a good employer should do.
In these circumstances feelings get hurt and relationships soon break down.
 

The Good News:

God recognises that we are not like Christ, (As hard as we might try). We are not pure; We aren’t able to go into the desert and spend 40 days resisting temptation – That is why He sent Jesus to give us a way back.
We don’t have to be ‘out of sin’ to go back; HOW WONDERFUL! We just have to recognise our sin and ask for His forgiveness and His help to get out of our bad ways, (Daddy, I’m sorry I was naughty. Please forgive me). Jesus said, “Be as little children”. Us humans always try to make things so complicated, (I can’t go back, I have to stop doing….. first”, I’m not good enough”, “It’s been too long”, “God will never forgive THAT! etc.), and all of the time God is patiently waiting, yearning that you will ask for His help. He won’t ‘push in’ or coerce us. We must make that first crucial step.
Every time that I come home from my church, St John’s, or when I go to the local shops in my powerchair, as I turn into the Road that takes me home, I am confronted by a poster on St Peters notice board that says, “It’s never too late to start again with Jesus”. This truism always gives me great encouragement as I pass by as I’m sure it does to many others.
I hope and pray that I will, as I have so far, always have the courage to turn away from wrong-doing and say, “I sorry I was naughty Daddy. Please forgive me.

God the Parent

 

There are many aspects of God: All powerful King, Creator of the world, etc. but recently I have been thinking about what it means to me to have God as my parent.

I had a father who loved me, (but like most men born at the turn of the 20th Century), he found it really difficult to show his feelings. The ‘manly’ mask would occasionally slip a little if we were more than usually ill. On these very rare occasions Dad could show real tenderness. At all other  times the mask stayed firmly in place. Dad also disapproved of Mum’s affection for her children, often accusing her of ‘spoiling’ us.

This was far from true: Although Mum was not only a really loving mother but also a very practical and optimistic one, (With 4 children, 2 of whom were disabled, during those dark days of the 1940s & 1950s, she had to be practical and optimistic!). Although Mum was very affectionate we were still not allowed to do just anything we wanted and were subject to the loving discipline that all of our peers were handed.

Whether we were children, teenagers or adults our parents were able to have a ‘particular’ love for each of their children whether we were good or bad, obedient or not. This love was strong enough for them to keep the differences and disagreements for when we weren’t around.

Anyone who was fortunate enough to have grown up as I did with at least one loving and responsible parent will recall how they cared for, protected and encouraged us as we grew in age and experience. They will also remember how as the years passed we were given more freedom to test ourselves and to take risks and to explore our potential.

These risks and explorations of course often led to minor disasters such as grazed knees, cuts and scalds, broken limbs and, perhaps later on even broken hearts! But our Mums or our Dads were always there; First to console and to tend any wounds and then to offer advice to try to help us avoid a repetition of the mistake. People who grew up in this way will also recall how;  as childhood led to adolescence, (and rebellion), and finally adulthood the whole parent/child dynamic changed.

When we grew up the relationship with our parents grew into one of being ‘Best Friends’, (Especially  with our ‘same gender’ parent); Going out, working, joking and doing things together or just enjoying each other’s company. In spite of the ‘best friends’ aspect of the new  relationship it was however still very much one of parent and offspring. As adults we didn’t always follow our parents advice and they didn’t love us any less if we took our own way.

Of course I am fully aware that many readers did not have the advantage of a stable childhood; Many parents will not or can not put away their differences for the stability of the children. There are many pressures that weren’t around in the 1950s that can make a family dysfunctional and there are other tragedies that happen to prevent normal parent/child relationships developing in the same way that I was able to enjoy.

Leading on from all of this however my reason for writing a potted life history is not to add another few paragraphs to my autobiography.

My purpose was that I believe that, whether we had the advantage of a loving relationship with our parents or not, we all have a parent who gives us unconditional love:

Our Father God is the God of all people and the God of all time. He is so big and so complex, that He can have an intense love for every individual one of his children past, present and future.

Because of Jesus we are able to share that ‘Best Friends’, parent/adult child relationship that I shared with my Mum but so much more intensely.

No matter how disappointed He is with us, how much we hurt Him by our actions He is always ready to forgive us and welcome us into His arms.  Even if we refuse to recognise His existence still He longs for us to come to Him and claim Him as our Father.

Once we recognise the price that God paid for us by the sacrifice of Jesus, showing His amazing love for us we can be assured of never being separated from His love and we can feel His comforting arms around us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only then can we see our own little piece of the jigsaw-puzzle of this life and of eternity.

Our God is indeed a ‘Great Big God’ but He is also a loving, tender parent who will always be there for us.