Whether you wish to admit it or not, we have become a society looking for someone to blame. That is everyone, or anyone, except ourselves. The kicker misses a short field goal, to win a game that is 45-43. And they blame the kicker for the loss. What about the 45 points the defense let the other team score? Yet, his muffed field goal is all that makes the news. Same in baseball. One pitch changes the game, and they will show it from every angle. What about the other six runs they let score against them? If they hadn't let them score, they wouldn't be in the situation they were when one run counted. Truth is they all counted-the same. Just some are remembered for the moment.
And some actions may be punitive and vindictive rather than motivating. I had a teacher in sixth grade, Miss Bevelheimer. With a name like that, she just didn't give the same impression as Molly Pitcher, which she wasn't. She gave me a C once, because I did B work, but could have done A. And the lesson I learned was contempt. And that a B doesn't always equal a B. Which may explain why she was a Miss-" Marriage? I like you very much, but I don't love you, so let's just be friends. Meet me at my parents for dinner? CLICK! "Hello. Hello." And all isn't fair in love and sixth grade.
Or life for that matter. While the winning team is celebrating their win, there has to be a loser. The guys who scored all the points in victory are winners. Using words such as perseverance, endurance, and how winners never quit. Some may even admit they just got lucky. As if there was such a thing. How they hung tough. All based on one failure by the other team. One pitch, one kick. But what about the rest of the story? How important is timing? What made them an A when they really did C work?
God holds us accountable for all our actions. When caught in sin, all the good things we did don't matter. "But God, I got all A's in life. So what if I blew the entrance exam-to heaven?" Like the rich man when asked what it takes to get to heaven, we let things get between us and God. The rich man's problem was money-it meant more than God. To athletes, victory can be the only thing, and at a price. With us it can be simple disobedience to what God says-it is called sin. And it is our fault. Not God's! But He has given us a way out of it. Jesus. Be forgiven and go on. don't go back and pick up where you left off-keep going. They don't have do over's in the pros, and you don't in life either. It is not a second chance God provides, but a new life. And once you cast all your sins on Jesus, you are forgiven-now, and in the future. They don't exist. No replays of missed opportunities, or of sin. God's scrapbook of you is full of blessings, which He keeps as a book of remembrance. Scrapbooking is not a new concept in heaven. And He is a pass/fail God. Ask forgiveness, and you get it. You can't earn it, and it isn't people specific. He sees all sin as sin, do you? The law may demand you do time, God forgives. Any questions?
He also sees all forgiveness as forgiveness. Do you? How you do will influence your view of victory, or failure. I can promise you we all will screw up today, how we handle it tells us a lot about who Jesus is in our life. Don't expect an A, or an F. Expect love and forgiveness, and pass it along. There will be plenty of chances for both again tomorrow. You don't make heaven based on your career statistics, only by being forgiven. Will you forgive someone today and show them the way? For while we were yet sinners, God forgave us. Now if I can forgive a foolish sixth grade teacher, the rest should be easy.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogpsot.com
Lesson learned from the Bible Zone.