THE HUMAN CONDITION
Today I want to talk about the misguided, so called 'religious' people that so misrepresent God, Jesus, and the scriptures. We all know them. What makes them the way they are? I don’t know, perhaps they think that this is what is expected of us...they are wrong!
Many, many years ago a man could be stoned to death simply for gathering firewood on the Sabbath! Yet Jesus himself when walking through field of Barley with his disciples, on the Sabbath, plucked the heads of barley and ate them, they were hungry! When he was taken to task for this he replied “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath". What did he mean?
That the Sabbath is God's gift to man, a day of rest, of respite from their labours. A day to spend time with their families, to relax Definitely not a day where you could be executed for doing anything that could be construed as work!
They got it wrong, as mankind has got it wrong since the beginning of time. Very often with good intentions.
We had a lovely member of our Church, affectionately known to everyone who knew him as 'Pete the preacher', it didn't matter where he was, the bus stop, the shops, the pub, even lying on the beach on Holiday, he shared his beliefs with one and all. He drove his poor wife mad but no one was ever in any sort of doubt about what he believed in.
He gave a wonderful Exhortation many years ago now but I still remember it. He held up a large white board and in the centre of this board was a small black dot.
He asked us all what we could see and, of course, we all said a black dot. "And why", he asked, "is that all you can see"?
There is far more white on this board than there is black... and he went on to tell us to guard against only seeing the badness in people when most folk have a certain amount of good in them too. That we should try to see folks' good intentions, their good bits and not just their bad bits, their failings.
It was an excellent sermon. I wish that I could say that it had made me a better person; I did try...but failed miserably most of the time. It’s called 'The Human condition'.
Thankfully we are saved by ‘The Grace of God’ not by our own efforts. I know a lady who talks too much, in fact, I know several people who talk too much, it's a common failing. But this lady, in particular, is one of the kindest, most loving people I know. She has a heart of gold, would do anything to help you, and truly would give you her last penny.
Everyone who knows her loves her...Yet mention her name and what do people say...'oh, the one that talks for England'. All her virtues, of which there are many, are totally overlooked. Just her nuisance value is remembered. How very sad is that, but how very human.
We get our Christian guidance from the Scriptures, The Good Book. Is it a book of rigid instruction? Instructions that will incur punishment, retribution if not strictly adhered to? NO IT MOST DEFINITELY IS NOT! It is a guide book, to show us the best path to take through this life. How to avoid the pitfalls, the stumbling block, and the temptation to wander from the path and into the mire that is this world. It is not a book of condemnation; it is a book full of love and forgiveness. In it we are told to show the face of Christ to this world! Has anyone ever heard of Jesus being anything other than loving, kindly, understanding and so full of compassion?
I could quote you many instances in the bible where it appears to be condemning certain 'conditions' it isn't. It is just trying to make us look at our own failings before we sit in judgment on others.
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone but remove the beam from your own eye before you try to remove the splinter from someone else's. What is this saying to us?
Surely that we cannot condemn anyone else until we consider ourselves to be perfect in every which way. Which we will never be. So, those folk you know who bring religion into disrepute...who do not show the face of Christ, in all his loving kindness, to this sorry world, they are the black dot...but quoting the words of Jesus himself...”forgive them, they don’t understand what they are doing.
So why not try to see the many caring, kindly folk who represent ‘the white board’?
