Well, I'm Worse Than I Thought I Was!

COMMENTS

While I believe what I said in my last post is true, God was not content to leave me there.  I praise Him for that.  This blog will best be understood if read in connection with the last one, “Well, I’m Not As Bad As She Is!”

NOTES

After I wrote that last blog, God started working on my heart.  Shortly thereafter, I started reading 1 Timothy.  It was written by the apostle Paul (formerly Saul) to Timothy, a young man who was the leader of the church in Ephesus.  I didn’t get very far before the Lord stopped me in my tracks.  Here’s 1 Timothy 1:15-17:

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.  Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Now, I know that Saul was a passionate enemy of the early church and even hunted down Christians, believing them to be blasphemers and heretics who had abandoned and even turned against the One True God.  But was he truly “the worst of sinners”?  Worse than those evil kings we read about in the Old Testament who attacked, tortured, and took millions of God’s people into slavery?  To my mind, no.  He came after a few, but they came after the entire nation.  Still, he considered himself “the worst of sinners”.

As the days went by, I was consumed by Paul’s words.  He considered himself the worst of sinners, but he was TONS better than me.  As I said in my last post, I KNOW I’m a sinner.  No question about that.  However, if Paul was so much better than I am, how could I not surpass him as “the worst of sinners”.  Something just wasn’t adding up.

God continued working on me.  Although I don’t believe I will ever be able to fully grasp it, I began to get a glimpse of things from God’s viewpoint.  That “comparison” thing is what’s hanging me up.  In spite of what I think, say, or write, I still compare myself to others—preferably to those to whom I compare favorably!  In other words, I compare myself to people who, in my mind, make me look like less of a sinner.  That led me to an eye-opening revelation:

COMPARISON ITSELF IS A SIN.

It DISCOUNTS and MINIMIZES my sin.

Last time, I asked what I thought was the “right” question:  Am I a sinner?  This time I must ask an even more basic, more probing question:  What is sin?  REALLY.  At its deepest, most critical level, what IS sin?

I’m ashamed to say that I’ve only looked at sin from a bird’s eye view, a “dictionary” meaning:  Sin is “an offense against [God]”; a “transgression of the law of God”.  I truly recognize that I am a sinner, and I name the sins I’m aware of and ask God to forgive me for them all, known and unknown.  I have truly accepted Jesus as my Savior, and I dearly love Him.  However, God has chosen this moment in my life to call me to a deeper understanding of sin and why He doesn’t see sin in levels or degrees.  SIN IS SIN!

I doubt that I can put into words the thoughts in my head and the feelings in my heart.  I pray that God will take the words I write and do in your heart what He wants to do.

Sin is truly not anything that can be compared.  I have deceived myself (and listened to Satan) by falling into the “comparison” trap.  The last verse of the passage quoted above (1 Timothy 1:17) says:  “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Anytime I don’t honor God as the “King eternal”, the “immortal” God, the “invisible” God, “the only God”, I discredit Him.  He is good, kind, patient, loving, strong, forgiving, and generous.  More than that, He is worthy of all blessing, honor, glory, praise, adoration, and OBEDIENCE.  He is God Almighty, Lord of All.

Sin is not telling a lie, stealing, or even committing murder.  Although these things qualify as sins, sin is more; it is deeper.  Sin is anything that doesn’t treat, recognize, and honor God for who He is.

When I recognize that and stop the comparisons, I can begin to get just a glimpse of how truly ugly my sins are.  Lord, I beg you to pierce my heart with the realization that I truly am the worst of sinners.  Break my heart every time I dishonor You.  Help me to fight the temptation to compare.  Give me a heart that longs to bring honor and glory to Your Name in all that I do, think, and say.  Most of all, THANK YOU that you have covered my sins with the blood of Jesus and that I am your FORGIVEN child!!

Well, I'm Not As Bad As She Is!

COMMENTS

A question in my Bible study this week caused me to start thinking about how we all compare ourselves with other people.  Even though it wasn’t the point of the question, my thoughts wandered to sin and how easy it is for me to dismiss it with the above statement: “Well, I’m not as bad as she is!”

 

NOTES

I’ve been told all my life that, in God’s eyes, sin is sin.  For Him, there are no “levels” or “degrees”.  SIN IS SIN.  If I’m honest, my human mind cannot wrap itself around that thought.  I don’t care what you say, that lie I told or the pen I took (stole) from work in no way compares to the atrocities that Hitler committed in the 1930s and 1940s.  I’M NOT AS BAD AS HE WAS!

As I pondered all of this, I realized that I’ve actually been asking the wrong question.  The question is not, “How bad is my sin?” or “Is my sin worse than that of someone else?”  The question is, “Am I a sinner?” 

Many people believe that they should be allowed into heaven if their good deeds outweigh their bad.  So, what’s the cutoff point?  51% Good Deeds to 49% Bad Deeds?  60% to 40%?  75% to 25%?  What if we look at numbers instead of percentages.  50 or fewer sins gets you in?  1000 or fewer gets you in?  Taking the latter number, I get in if I have 999 sins, but I go to hell if I have 1001?  I can already hear the cries of how unjust this “arbitrary” number is!

Our God is a holy and righteous and just God.  Holiness, righteousness, and justice demand that a penalty be paid when a sin is committed.  Even one.  So, comparisons must be thrown out the window.  Whether or not I’m a sinner has nothing to do with how I compare with anyone else.  If I have committed even one sin, I have disqualified myself from Heaven and its perfection; and I have earned hell.  And I will be bold enough to say that every one of us has committed MANY more than one sin!

So, there you go.  Maybe I’m not as bad as “she” is or as Hitler is.  But is that an excuse?  Does that make any difference at all?  Bottom line:  No.  I’m still a sinner.  I still deserve hell.  I still don’t deserve heaven.

Now for the GOOD NEWS!!  God loves me enough that He wants me there anyway!  Go figure!  So the Three-in-One decided that Jesus would come in human form—100% God and 100% man—and pay the penalty for me.  I don’t have to earn it (which is good because I can’t earn it anyway).  I didn’t even ask for it.  It’s a gift, and all I have to do is accept it.  I can pay the penalty in hell, or I can accept His gift and spend eternity in Heaven with Him.  Why in the world would I refuse a gift like that?!

Plagues

COMMENTS

Our local Community Bible Study class is studying Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers this year—at least we were before the Covid-19 outbreak.  Exactly one week to the day before Arkansas had its first case, we studied a chapter in Numbers that was eerily similar to what we were about to experience.

NOTES

Let me fill you in.  In Numbers 16, a man named Korah led a rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron.  If you’ve ever heard about a story in the Bible where the ground opened up and swallowed a bunch of people and a bunch more got burned to a crisp, this is that story.  The Lord made it very clear that Moses and Aaron were HIS chosen leaders.  The Israelites stood right there and watched as all of this happened.  They didn’t just “hear” about it; they WATCHED it happen!

I stress that point because THE VERY NEXT DAY, “the whole Israelite community” came to Moses and Aaron complaining that they (Moses and Aaron) had unjustly murdered the rebels.  (Like they had the power to open up the ground!  Really?)  Now, God and Moses had a very close relationship; and God frequently told Moses what he was about to do, and Moses would intercede for the people when God was ready to just wipe them all out.  I find it very interesting that Moses didn’t do that here—God didn’t give him time.  The people had gone too far.  God immediately sent a plague that swept through the community.  Even as God was sending the plague, Moses was acting.  He told Aaron:

“Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them.  Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.”

Aaron, of course, did exactly that.  He “ran into the assembly…stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.”  But not before 14,700 people died.

Now, I’m not saying that God told me that He sent this plague (Covid-19).  He didn’t tell me that, and I don’t know.  But whether it’s a judgment from God or a devastation from Satan, I believe there are elements in this story that we need to observe and apply.

We have rebelled against God.  The entire world is in rebellion.  We don’t like being told how to live our lives.  We don’t like not getting our own way.  We don’t like being told we’re selfish.  Many don’t like being told there is only one way to God.  Etc., etc.  Whether this virus is a judgment, an attack, or a natural result of our fallen world, we are defying the Lord God Almighty, and we need to repent.

As Believers, we are priests.  Aaron was God’s priest to the Israelites.  But guess what?  If you’re a Jesus-follower, you are also a priest—a priest in this current age.  Speaking to Christians, Peter proclaimed:

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”  (1 Peter 2:9)

The incense is the prayers of the saints.  Moses told Aaron to put incense in his censer.  In Revelation 5:8, we are told what our incense is:

“And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb.  Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

If you are a Christian, you are a saint.  Who says?  God says.  He tells us so in Acts 9:13, Acts 26:10, Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 4:12, Philippians 4:21, 1 Peter 1:15-16, and many other verses.  In fact, according to compellingtruth.org, “saints” is used 67 times in the New Testament, always as a reference to all believers.  So, your prayers are the prayers of a saint.

CONCLUSION

We currently find ourselves in a situation that is at least comparable to the one Moses and Aaron faced centuries ago.  A plague is running rampant through a rebellious people.  I submit that, as God’s “royal priesthood”, it is our responsibility to figuratively “run into the assembly” with our incense of intercessory prayers and to stand “between the living and the dead” and the critically ill.  Perhaps God, in His mercy, will stop the plague. 

Praying for you and yours…

Brenda Edge

Judging God

COMMENTS

No, you didn’t read the title wrong.  It doesn’t say “Being Judged by God”; it says “Judging God”.  If that seems backwards to you, GOOD!  But it’s still our subject today….

NOTES

Pardon my trip into the past, but I was watching TV a few days ago; and Wagon Train came on.  I remember watching it occasionally as a kid, but I was usually too busy with other stuff to spend much time watching TV.  Anyway, I sat down and watched this particular episode, just expecting an entertaining trip into the past via a shallow 1950s-60s western.  Imagine my shock when Flint McCullough (played by Robert Horton)—the handsome, womanizing scout for the wagon train—made a statement that still has me thinking!

Let me set the scene for you.  Flint finds a man (Luke) in the desert, alone and seemingly out of his mind, wanting to die.  As the show continues, we learn that he had been a minister in a small town.  His wife ran off with the proverbial traveling salesman.  His church, instead of supporting and encouraging him, defrocked him because of the scandal; and he had to leave town.  As a result of all this, he has now lost faith in God and in God’s people.  Without hope, he no longer wants to live.

Flint listens closely as Luke tells his story and bemoans the treatment he has received from the church back home.  God must not be the good God Luke thought He was.  When he finishes, Flint says, “You can’t judge God by the people who worship Him.”* 

That’s the statement that got my mind spinning:  you can’t judge God by the people who worship him.  People are flawed, but God is not.  He is good, kind, benevolent, caring, patient, forgiving, merciful, generous, loving, and on and on….  You can’t look at flawed humanity—even the Christians—and judge God by what you see because He is SO MUCH MORE.

BUT:

People do it all the time.  A Christian is judgmental, so they think that God must be judgmental.  A Christian is unkind, so God must be unkind.  A Christian is selfish, so God must be selfish.  When the unbelieving world sees a Christian, they think they are seeing what God is like and impart that believer’s characteristics to God Himself.

Jesus knew that would happen because He knows human nature.  Did your parents ever tell you to be careful what you did because it would reflect back on them (even if they didn’t approve of it)?  Were you ever embarrassed by something your child did because it made you look bad?  It’s the same thing with God.  We’re His children, and what we do reflects back on Him (even if He doesn’t approve of it).

Thinking about Flint’s statement has given me a new and deeper understanding of at least part of the purpose of Jesus’ commands to His followers.  BECAUSE people judge God by the people who worship Him (Christians), the people who worship Him are called to a higher standard. 

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” (Matt. 7:12)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you:  Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matt. 5:43-44)

“If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matt. 5:39b)

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)

We must look and act like Him so that the world gets an accurate picture of our God.  We can only do that when we are “filled up” with God (the Holy Spirit) and leaning on the Spirit to guide us and give us the strength to do what He commands. 

Think about your day today.  Would you want someone who watched you to say, “That must be what God is like”?  What’s scary to me is that there’s probably someone who is thinking that about me—someone I’m not even aware of.

In Matthew 5:13 Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.”  Then, he followed that with a command:

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16)

Let’s go out and behave in such a way that we show the world what our God is truly like!

*Wagon Train, Season 3 Episode 34, “The Luke Grant Story”

Solar Power (Power from the Son)

COMMENTS

I’m not a science person, but I’m married to one.  You can be sure that if one of us is watching TV and “How Things Work” comes on, I’m not the one who stays and watches it!  So, I found it quite interesting when I became obsessed with how solar panels work.  Here’s how it happened….

NOTES

Last summer, my husband, James, and I were going to visit my dad at the North Little Rock (Arkansas) VA Hospital, when we passed a parking lot that had weird-looking covers over the cars.  I commented on it, and James informed me that the covers were solar panels.  Fine.  That’s all I wanted to know, so now I can forget all about it.  Did you hear? Now I can forget all about it!  Why can’t I forget all about it?!

Since I couldn’t forget all about it, I went online and searched “how do solar panels work”.  There was one for kids and one for dummies.  Fortunately, I found what I wanted in the kids section—I’d rather think of myself as childish than dumb!  If you’ll bear with me, I’ll share what I learned.  Remember, I’m not scientific so I’ll stick to the basics (which, of course, are STILL scientific).

The type of solar power we observed at the VA collects the sun’s light with solar panels.  A solar panel is made up of a bunch of solar cells.  Each one of the cells collects light.  When the sun shines on them, it generates DC electricity (that’s Direct Current).  The DC electricity is fed into a solar inverter that converts the DC power into AC electricity (that’s Alternating Current).  The AC electricity is used to power appliances in your home.  (Info found at www.energymatters.com.au) (Image found at https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/solar-energy/433607)

That explanation was simple enough for me to get the general idea because it wasn’t weighed down with words like “atoms” and “photons” and “electrons” like some of the other sites were!  Well, good.  NOW I can just forget all about it.  Right….

A day or so later as I was NOT thinking about solar cells and solar panels, I decided I wanted to read 1 John again.  It had been a good while since I had studied the book and that just seemed like a good thing to do.  As we all know, our God is in control of all things; and that INCLUDES what book of the Bible we just DECIDE that we’ll read 🌝.  So, as most of us do when we start to read a book, I started at Chapter 1 Verse 1.

Then I got to Verses 5 - 7!  Wow!  Let me read them to you:

“This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you:  God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

I read on in 1 John and came to Chapter 2 Verse 6:

“Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”

Then, I came to Chapter 2 Verses 9 – 10:

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.  Whoever loves his brother lives in the light….”

On this earth where Satan has so much power, the darkness often seems overwhelming.  Yet, God is light; there’s no darkness in Him at all.  As we walk through this world, our thoughts, words, and actions show who we are walking with.  No matter what we say, if we take the dark path, we are not walking with God.  And 

1 John 1:7 and 2:10 make it clear that walking in the light means that we not only love God but that we also love our brothers and sisters.  We have a holy example in Jesus, who loved God the Father enough to obey Him and loved His brothers and sisters enough to die for us.  While He was on this earth, He spent all of His time fellowshiping with either the Father or the people—or both! 

Suddenly, I was glad that all of that effort to forget about solar panels hadn’t worked! Did you see what John called Jesus in 1 John 1:7?  The SON!  Not the

“s-U-n” but the “s-O-n”!  Now I have a whole new interest in solar cells and solar panels.

Let me repeat the explanation of how solar panels work:  A solar panel is made up of a bunch of solar cells.  Each one of the cells collects light.  When the sun shines on them, it generates DC electricity (that’s Direct Current).  The DC electricity is fed into a solar inverter that converts the DC power into AC electricity (that’s Alternating Current).  The AC electricity is used to power appliances in your home.

 

May I suggest that each believer is a solar cell who collects energy from the Son 

(S –O –N)—Jesus.  Put a bunch of us together, and we (the Universal Church) become a solar panel.  Jesus shines on those solar cells and that solar panel and generates DC (Divine Current).  The solar inverter is the Holy Spirit in us that converts the Divine Current into AC (Active Current).  The Active Current in each of us and in the church as a whole empowers us to love God and love each other as Jesus did.

Having trouble loving that neighbor whose dog barks all night, keeping you awake?  Turn your face to the SON.  Upset with that relative who mistreated you?  Turn your face to the SON.  Don’t have the time or the energy to take a meal to that person who just had surgery?  Turn your face to the SON.  However God is asking you to love a brother or sister, He is also providing the power you need—through the SON!

When Jesus was here, He said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  But in Matthew 5:14, He also said, “You are the light of the world.”  We can only be the light because He is the light.  We can only be the light when He is the One who empowers us!

The downfall to solar power is that it only exists when the sun is up and the solar cells are facing it.  To be God’s light, we must keep the SON lifted up and our faces turned toward Him.

“You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." --Matthew 5:16

Sandy

COMMENTS

This posting is actually a devotional that I gave a couple of months ago at Community Bible Study.  I hope you find it interesting and beneficial.  One of the illustrations was used in a previous blog so if it sounds familiar, it is!

NOTES

This past spring we kept our grandson’s dog for about 3 months while he was out of state.  One morning, I called Roscoe to put him outside to take care of his business.  Roscoe disapproved of this idea and promptly laid back down on his bed and went back to sleep.

As I looked at him, my memories took me back about 25 years to a dog we had when my kids were growing up.  Sandy was 16 when she died, which (as I understand it) is about 112 in people years.  She was a very unusual dog, not tiny but small.  She was gray with black spots and had one blue eye and one eye that was half brown and half blue.  And Sandy had quite a personality.  For a dog, she was a pretty good mouser.  Our other dog, Muffin, caught a mouse one day and, being the gentle creature she was, she was having a wonderful time playing with the terrified creature until Sandy happened upon the scene.  She ended that foolishness with a quick BITE, and I’m sure that Muffin got a lecture on the appropriate way to deal with any future mice found on our homestead!  One of our favorite things about Sandy, though, would occur when my husband would sit on the patio playing his harmonica.  Sandy would join his concert, and such howling you’ve never heard!  We recorded it with our VHS camera (remember those?!) and always threatened to send it to Funniest Home Videos but never quite got around to it.

One day, we were all outside; and Sandy started off down the driveway.  I called her:  “Sandy!  Come here, girl!”  Sandy stopped and looked back at me.  You could see the wheels turning---“Do I want to go back to her or not………NAH!”  And she trotted on down the driveway, determined to follow her plan and do what she wanted to do.

Thinking about that event of so long ago—which has always been so funny to me—suddenly became very serious.  How many times have I been trotting down God’s driveway, only to have Him call me:  “Brenda!  Come here!”?  How many times have I stopped and looked back at Him and thought, “Do I want to go to Him or not?”  How many times have I said, “NAH!” and trotted on down the driveway, determined to follow my plan and do what I wanted to do?

The thing is:  we have a choice.  In His mercy, God made the choice to give us a choice.  He calls us.  He commands us.  But He does not force us.  He wants us to obey because we choose to obey.  We may choose to obey out of love for Him.  Sometimes, we may choose to obey out of fear of what will happen if we don’t.  We may choose to obey because we trust that He loves us and that His plan is for our good—our best.  But it is a choice, and it is our choice.

As I was thinking about making choices, I wondered how many times a day I do that.  What frightened me was realizing how many “choices” I make by “default”.  What I mean is that I don’t really think about the fact that I’m actually choosing.  Instead of consciously deciding, I let my habits or my mood or my desires or my human tendencies decide without even giving it a thought.  But I still made the choice.   Let me give you an embarrassing example:

Quite some time ago, I got an email that was simply laugh-out-loud hilarious.  So, I laughed out loud and proceeded to forward it to a few close friends.  It was a little “off color”, so I included a comment that the recipient should let me know if it was offensive so that I wouldn’t send any future off-color missives their way.  The need to include such a comment should have been a wake-up call.

As I lay in bed that night, little pricks of conscience nagged me; but they were easy enough to ignore.  The Holy Spirit must have been working on me as I slept because by mid-morning the following day, my conscience was in full-blown revolt.  I couldn’t think about anything else.  So, I surrendered.  I asked God to forgive me and determined to send an apologetic email to my victims as soon as I got home.  At that moment, peace came. 

Sending that email was a “default” sin.  Without thinking, I yielded to my human tendency to share something funny.  Something that shouldn’t have been shared.  Then, God gave me another chance.  As I stood on God’s driveway for a second time, He called to me again, asking me to repent.  This time, I listened and made the choice to obey, which brought me peace and made Him smile ;-).

No matter who we are, no matter where we come from, no matter if we like the idea or not, each of us makes choices every day.  Choices that determine if we follow our Lord or ourselves.

All through the Bible, we see people facing that same choice.  Adam and Eve stood on the Father’s driveway when they were faced with the decision of whether or not to eat the fruit of the tree in the center of the garden.  They said, “NAH!”, ate the fruit, and trotted on down the driveway, following their own plan.  And we’ve paid for it ever since.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood on His driveway while they were in captivity.  When God called them, they came.  He was faithful, they were saved, and He was lifted high.

David knew he was loved by God; but when he stood on the driveway on the rooftop of his castle looking down at Bathsheba, he said, “NAH! I want to do what I want to do!”  And he started a chain of events that led to death and disaster.

And Jesus Himself, even though He WAS God, stood on the Father’s driveway when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Hallelujah, Jesus chose to obey God’s call, making a way of forgiveness and salvation for all who will respond to HIS call.

Each of us stands on that heavenly driveway, and God calls us to come to Him.  Sometimes we don’t even pause—we just go our own way.  But sometimes we pause and look back, wheels turning in our minds as we think:  “Do I want to go to Him or not?  Do I choose to follow my own plan and do what I want to do, or do I choose to obey?”

If Sandy had returned to us, she would have been patted and hugged and loved and given a treat.  But she missed that because she was determined to do things her way.  When we choose to obediently respond to our Father, our reward is MUCH greater than Sandy’s would have been!  The Father welcomes us with arms of love opened wide and says:

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!” (Matthew 25:23)

Whose Standard Is This Anyway?

COMMENTS

This posting will take you on a journey following my train of thought.  Prepare yourself—it may be a wild ride! 

NOTES

This year, we are studying Genesis in Community Bible Study.  A recent lesson was on Noah, the flood, and an incident that happened after the flood.  We find in Genesis 9:20-25 that Noah planted a vineyard but then drank a little too much of the “fruit of the vine”, got drunk, and fell asleep in his tent with no clothes on.  One of his sons, Ham, went into his dad’s tent and saw him in his altogether.  Instead of covering him and keeping his mouth shut, Ham left Noah as he found him and went blabbing to his brothers about it.  Now, I’m not saying that Noah was right; but he was still the father and the head of the family—the God-fearing but imperfect man God chose to carry the human race forward.  As such, he deserved to be treated with respect.  Shem and Japheth (Noah’s other sons) did that, but Ham seemed to go out of his way to disrespect his dad.  When Noah found out about it, he cursed Canaan (Ham’s son). 

As I thought about this story, I thought about someone I care about who, like many other people, would really question the fairness of this whole incident.  As I thought about how I could answer those questions when my loved one asked them, I realized that all of us were making a critical error in even asking the questions.  They were based on the wrong standard!  The questions assume that WE know what is right and what is fair.  We are judging God by our standards when we should be judging ourselves by God’s standards!

From there, my thoughts took another detour (I warned you!).  Last night, I was home by myself—a very unusual event—so I decided to watch a movie that I knew my husband wouldn’t be interested in seeing:  Les Miserables (Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway).  Unfortunately, I can’t really recommend this film because parts of it are downright indecent.  If you decide to watch it, please fast forward through a couple of the scenes (especially the “Master of the House” sequence).  It’s a shame they didn’t get the message of those scenes across with a more G-rated approach.  In case you’re not familiar with the film, let me give you an overview.  SPOILER ALERT:  I’ll be telling you some of the ending so don’t read this if you don’t want to know it!

Obviously, this will be oversimplified!  The story occurs during the time of the French Revolution and centers around a man who is a thief.  His life is dramatically changed through the kindness and forgiveness of a priest who leads him to God.  He, then, changes the lives of several others with whom he comes into contact.  This all happens over a period of almost 20 years.  At the beginning of that 20-year period, he had broken parole; and his former jailer had made it his life’s work to find the former thief and punish him.  This is a beautiful story of redemption and forgiveness and how God can change a life that is given totally to Him.  (Although, like most Hollywood films, they leave Jesus out of it—the critical element of forgiveness!)  The sad thing, though, is that the jailer is completely unable to respond to this kind of love.  When he is faced with the forgiveness of the former thief, who holds nothing against the jailer for chasing him for so many years, it throws him into a desperate dilemma.  He thinks that accepting such forgiveness invalidates his life and his entire being.  Unable to live with that, he kills himself.

What does that have to do with the earlier statement about standards?  The thief was able to judge himself by God’s standard—repenting of wrong, choosing to do right, and accepting the forgiveness God offered.  (The flaw in the movie is that they didn’t recognize the fact that someone had to pay the penalty for the crime in order for it to be forgiven.  We know that was Jesus, whom the filmmakers conveniently left out.)

The jailer, when faced with the same scenario, judged God by his standard.  He didn’t believe in forgiveness so he thought God’s forgiveness was unfair and unjust.  In his mind, the only option was that the thief must pay the penalty for the crime himself.  If the thief could be forgiven, the jailer had been wrong.  Since he couldn’t admit that he had been wrong, he couldn’t accept the forgiveness offered (through Jesus, who wasn’t in the movie).  Left in a no-win situation, he ended his life.

As humans, we don’t now and never will have all the answers.  There are things—in the Bible and in life—that we think are unfair or wrong because we think we know what’s right.  We must remember that HE is God, the Creator, the Ultimate Authority, the One who set the laws of the universe in place.  All that is required of us right now is to trust Him—we can ask Him those questions when we get to Heaven!