Monday, April 8, 2013 -- What's Wrong (1)

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  (Romans 3:23 NLT)

All of us struggle with our conscience, trying to make peace within our own heart. We may deny what we have done, find excuses or try to squirm out from beneath the full weight of our conduct. We may work hard to be “good,” trying to counteract our wrongs. In order to truly put the past to rest, we must simply stop rationalizing past behaviours, admit the error of our ways, acknowledge the hurt we’ve caused, and turn away from this way of life.  God has created us for a life in loving relationship with Him. All destructive and addictive behaviours are rooted in the breakdown of that relationship. That’s the exact nature of all our wrongs.

We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.  We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him.  (Isaiah 53:6 MSG)

From the time Adam and Eve first chose to live on their own, shape the world on their own, and sort their problems on their own, humans have stumbled and struggled.  The foundation of our wrong doing today is our unwillingness to live in trust and surrender to the only true God who is kinder and wiser than we could ever be.  Only God knows what is good for us and the right behaviours that reflect His plan for our lives today.  In whatever circumstances we find ourselves, whether good or full of troubles and injustice, God knows what is best for us. 

The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human.  I get to the root of things.  I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.  (Jeremiah 17:9-10 MSG)