May 03, 2012

Relocating

While playing on the school swings nine year-old David got a rock in his shoe. He took off the shoe and then as he was retying his sneaker his aunt asked if he’d gotten the rock out. “No,” said David, “I just moved it to where it doesn’t hurt.” I have to say that in spite of all the thoughts running through my head I was speechless. I can’t help but wonder if the Spirit doesn’t sometimes feels the same way with us when we just move our sin to a place where it doesn’t hurt.

1 comment:

Steve Corey said...

Gail;

-----A little bit of reasoning bears out that this boy is more right than we are comfortable to admit. Although the Bible bids us to turn from our sins, it tells us that we are not able to rid ourselves of sin. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8) So the fact is, until we die and our bodies are perfected upon resurrection, the stone remains in the shoe. Our response is then to move from practicing this sin to confessing that it is yet there. Then it is in the confession that we receive forgiveness, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) Therefore sin is moved from a place where it would have been merely disregarded (in trying to claim we have none) to a place where it is counter-regarded, admitting it is there and approaching the Lord for a better consequence of it (forgiveness.)
-----Don’t take me as saying it is ok to sin. The slightest sin lands its doer in hell, even if done only once. This is not how mean God is. It is how holy His place is. Perfect is as perfect does: without error, absolutely. If there were any error whatsoever, perfection would end. Certainly nobody would notice an electron jumping to an improper orbital level around the nucleus of just one atom of all atoms making up the entire of God’s created existence. That’s a pretty tiny flaw. But it is. And that is just it. The truth can no longer be that His created existence is perfect: the electron is out of place. It has ruined perfection. Neither is it that God is a ninny-nanny blowing trivia out of proportion. Things must be substantively and actually what God means them to be for them to be true. And if they are not, then He must acknowledge their discrepancy to avoid taking part in their fallacy. Having acknowledged their discrepancy, He must then choose to either relinquish the perfection of the existence He created and let the discrepancy be, or perfect creation again by eliminating it. I thank Him above all things that He chose the latter.
-----We live on the out of place electron. We are part of its being out of place. He will annihilate it. But He will not annihilate any upon it who love truth, that is, who love Him and what He loves. They will not be saved from the annihilation because they have made themselves perfect like Him. They will be saved because they want to be perfect like Him in spite not being perfect, in spite of the stone in their shoe. So, until the day we die off this electron, we move the stone from the place in us of disregard and practice to the place of continuous repentance and confession.

Love you all,
Steve Corey