I have been convicted of my sin, but not condemned. I have thought of the sin but never acted. I harbor sentiments of fear, hate and ridicule deep within my heart, laying unpolished, in disrepair, waiting as an open grate, enticement to wanton burglar. My money lay unspent, donated to no good cause as example of my piety. My relationships lay fallow, tarnished, either broken upon the shoals or forgotten, stealing my memory of effective peace making. I criticize the leaders whom God has lifted up, instead of offering intercessory prayer in honor of His Glorious capacity to change their hearts. I stand motionless, speechless, my arms pinned to my pants leg as my neighbor trips and falls to his ruin. I am silent of Good News as despair expands its empire.
What then makes me Godly? Have I truly repented of my sin if there is no evident change? How can one be cleansed by the redeeming power of the Blood of Christ without having been made clean? This is contradiction and infinite calamity, especially any alternate explanation. Do we believe that the Holy Spirit will lay powerless within us as we refuse to surrender to sanctification? Our God is not a pacifist. Do I truly believe that I may remain a slave to righteousness yet continue to express ultimate sovereignty by the power of my free will? Do you know of a circumstance where inaction, bad action or disobedience has ever produced lasting reward? What then is the definition of belief if not resultant behavior and witnessed or hidden action? Where will I be on that glorious day when the truth is revealed in all its surgical and sterilizing Glory?
Brutal and unforgiving spirits indwell those absent God’s saving Grace. Yet we pay them no heed, no passion, neither tear nor action taken to save their mortal souls from depravity. Just as the hungry child is the responsibility of someone else or the sick capable of resolving their own condition. What then is the power of my prayer, my relationship with God Almighty, the valuation of my access to the throne room of God? How may I be called priest, ambassador, intercessory warrior is my petitions lay unused, my heraldry silent, my knees unbent to humble and honest disquiet regarding the world’s plight? Which is truly more pitiful? How then may I rejoice at my release from the bonding power of sin and death and not show utter joy at freedom? Would not a freed man, by nature, wish to set other captives free? Wouldn’t a cleansed heart and soul speak softly, purely, honestly with gentility and kindness to a still wounded population? Don’t clean clothes require a greater diligence to avoid soil and dirtiness? Am I to think myself aloof or special when none of the work to set me free was my own? Isn’t my allegiance entirely due my savior?
I understand that the world hates me because I love Christ. I understand that the unrepentant would rather hit me with rocks then listen to the voice of the convicting fire of the Holy Spirit. I do not wish to harm, but if in speaking truth we are set aflame with grief for our predicament, if we are cast into misery powerful enough to force us to cry out to God for relief, then haven’t the words served greater purpose? People have fallen away from the church. Many of those reasons are personal, lack of conviction, backsliding, worldly pursuits, lack of fear or respect for God, but there are also those more effective at breaking our hearts to the dilemma of our own misunderstanding. Because someone is dysfunctional, yet the things they tell me are entirely true regarding my own illness, may I devalue the honesty they’ve offered? We have forgotten the indwelling POWER of the Holy Spirit. We are disobedient, unchanged, untouched by the abominable situation of our communities, unprovoked to take immediate, precise and targeted action in remedy. Is what this poisoned world says about the Body of Christ, true? If not then we are free to disregard it, painting it as wantonness, envy, its intention evil, to be disregarded. But we know the truth of our youth. They avoid us in our hypocrisy, just as our savior would have spoken against us in His preaching outside the temple.
Lord God give us the strength to accept the cleansing of Your Righteousness and Truth. Fill our lamps with Your baptizing Spirit, set us aflame with a heart for Your Will. Bare bountiful and plentiful fruit in the lives of each Christian, such that they may not be criticized, libeled or avoided. Make us a contagious antidote to a festering world. In Jesus’ name I pray.