a reply to:
Khurzon
Thank you brother/sister! The risk of posting at length is that it comes across as preachy, but in truth all I try to do is fit the scripture to the
message, delineating the path of understanding, 'rightly dividing the word of God'. We must understand the entirety of the principle scriptural
message (work justice, love mercy & walk with humility before God - that's the entire Old Testament summed up in one sentence - Jesus summed up the
commandments as love God & love your neighbour as yourself - that's the New Testament in a nutshell) - when we understand that, we can start to apply
sections of what is written as a means of emphasising a particular point we're trying to make. Sadly there are many, many deceivers & misled folk who
muddy the waters. I can't abide hellfire & damnation 'preaching', because those who truly know God understand that
"God is light, in Him there is
no darkness at all" - the fundies who rail against 'non-believers' will probably get a bit of a shock one day.
One of my favourite quotes from the Lord Himself follows a question from one of his disciples:
“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not
against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose
their reward.
The bold section highlighted above sums up the Lord's mindset towards those who do not practice a spiritual path, but have no opposition to the
principle message of Christ as stated by my emphasis in the preceding paragraph - nobody is turned away, if they are decent, loving & humble people.
Those fundies who claim that you must say 'the sinners prayer' with repentance in your heart otherwise you're damned forever are both deceiving &
deceived. They do not understand the message of scripture & they do not know God in the way they ought to. Ideally yes, it is better to walk with
God through decisive action in your heart - but God doesn't punish those who do not.. Perhaps they were let down by a supposed spiritual counsellor
in their youth, or a hypocritical parent - maybe they were abused by a disgraced priest - the reasons why good people don't actively practice a
spiritual path are many & varied. God's mercy & grace covers them, for
"People look at the exterior circumstances of a person's life - but God
looks at the heart.."
Just prior to the first quote above, in the same conversation, Jesus had given an example of the heart we must have towards all children (all of us,
basically - we were all innocent children once):
He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children
in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
Christ is the fullness of God made manifest as a man - even many of the angelic orders & the spiritual powers of the Earth did not realise He had come
until either some point in His three year ministry, or even after the resurrection in some cases. To welcome Him is basically to welcome anyone with
love & grace, forgiving each other as we are forgiven. To love our neighbour as ourselves.
A little further in the conversation He issues a stern warning about causing others pain, or causing them to sin - just try to imagine how terrifying
it would be for this to actually be the cause of one's demise, and you will see just how important it is that we do not manipulate or abuse anyone,
ever (which should be obvious, but some people are warped & broken & need the warning - in particular He refers to crimes against children, who are
yet to understand the world & therefore require love, grace & good counsel in abundance).
NB - Prior to the quote, I will just say that all children instinctively believe in the personhood of Christ, for He is a perfect father, it is
impossible for any child not to love Him if they are blessed with the knowledge of His presence. My youngest son had a dream when he was five years
old, which was utterly glorious - he was taken up through the clouds (an archetypal symbol of ascension which he instinctively understood) into the
wide vistas & landscapes of Heaven. He was led by the hand by Jesus Himself, and was counselled to listen carefully to everything his parents would
teach him, because we understand the world & can help him to remain on the right pathway throughout his life.. We believe he was given this
experience to help him focus & follow the straight & narrow - he actually has 'pragmatic language disorder' (also known as social communication
disorder, though the preceding term describes it better, for it is an artefact of language processing in the brain - he cannot holistically process
language, and must link concepts together in a sort of web made from chains of conceptual links.. He also has high functioning autism, so he really
does require careful guidance to properly interpret the world & to walk with confidence throughout his day to day life.. We were so incredibly
overjoyed when he reported this wonderful dream to us - we had never 'coached' him in religious terms, he just knew that Mum & Dad pray & go to
church, we never forced our faith on either of our sons - the dream was a true gift, inspiring him to this very day).
Anyway, back to that super-important warning about how we treat our children & those of others:
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung
around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.
And so with deep reverence we must protect & guide the young, helping them on the path to a life which is rooted in the core messages of both the Old
& New Testament as elucidated earlier in this post. Of course there is much wisdom in other paths - there is no way that God punishes people who
follow the 'wrong' path due to cultural heritage or misunderstanding. But I sincerely believe that all should reverence Christ as the door for those
who are fallen, weak or broken - "I came to seek & save the lost" & "Only the sick have need of a physician".
He is the lifeline - the only One who can actively save any & all from anything or anyone. "There is no other name under Heaven by which we can be
saved" (as in - those who need saving).
"Every knee shall bow & every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord.."
"The thief comes to kill, steal & destroy; but I (Jesus) come to give you a rich & satisfying life.."
We have Enemies in this world - but we have knowledge of the One who will make a footstool of those enemies, the only authority by which even the
greatest Enemy can be cast out & destroyed, no matter the gravity of the situation.
Sorry this post got a bit hardcore - but life is a serious business at times! Having said that, a rich & satisfying life is the goal, and everyone
has a seat at the table if they wish. Blessings to any & all who read this - message me if you want to talk about any of these things, I'll be happy
to discuss anything & everything under the Sun.
FITO. (..wearing his lay preacher's cap today).