"Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than it is courageously and actively doing God's will." -Deitrich Bonhoeffer
What a great quote. Avoiding sin is so unproductive. The phrase alone makes us believe that sin is doing things we shouldn't and makes us forget that sin is also in not doing what we should. If we focus all our energy on not doing sinful things, we then end up sinning by not doing the wonderful things God has planned for us to do.
So lets quit worrying about sin so much... our own, and our neighbors'. I think that's what has many of today's churches stuck... worrying about the sin of others. Do we really think that minimizes the look of our own sin in God's eyes? We may fool ourselves, but not our God. Do we really think the whole "hate the sin, love the sinner" thing makes us superior to the sinner we supposedly love? Let's just love the sinner and don't worry about the sin. Love will eventually take care of that for us.
Every godly person that I've ever held high regard for has been about love, not about avoiding sin. It is through the actions of people like these that I have seen God at work. There are a lot of people who who criticize "feel good Christianity" because it "doesn't tell the truth about sin." But the truth is that we who are sinners know sin. We need to know more about real love. God's kind of love, because few of us really know about that. And yes, it makes us feel good. So good in fact, it makes us want to make other people feel good. So we find ways to do that, by seeking God's will. And then there you go, without even thinking about it, we manage to avoid a lot more sin!
Father,
It doesn't take much courage to point fingers at others. It takes much more courage to love. It means giving more of ourselves. Give us courage, Lord, and direct us in using it. Help us to win hearts for you through love. Amen.
Joys: Fun weekend with Richard and friends; Wedding countdown... 5 more days!; quiet mornings.
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