There are a lot of people in the world who think they are assured a place in heaven and are, well, pardon the expression, dead wrong. They sort of have the mentality that they have an easily acquired insurance policy. Seems pretty simple to categorize them into identifiable groups. So let me give it a whirl.
First, there are those who look at their baptism as the sole means of assurance for their salvation. It really doesn’t matters whether it was as an infant, youth, or adult. The act of baptism is not a stand alone means by which someone will get into heaven. Baptism is not a cheap insurance policy guaranteeing you’ll get into heaven. Guarantee ya that there are people that when you ask them how they are going to get into heaven they’ll reply, “My parents had me baptized when I was a baby.” Well that and $2.79 will get you a real nice cup of coffee at Panera’s.
The second group are those who when asked if they will get into heaven will say, “Well, I believe there is a God so I sure hope so.” Well even the devil believes that God exists! There are also many other world religions outside of Christianity that believe there is a God. Believing there is a God does not get you into heaven. It’s a nice starting place to believe there is a God but that can’t stand alone either. Simply believing there is a God and assuming this will get you into heaven is about the same as acknowledging that Donald Trump exists and therefore you ought to be rich.
The third group out there thinks their membership in a church body and/or attendance at worship will get them into heaven. I’m not the first one to think of these two analogies but that’s as silly as assuming you’ll be a car if you stay in the garage long enough or a football player if you attend the games. Doing things does not get you into heaven nor does it make you a Christian.
Those three groups aren’t too hard to identify but now we come to the next group, Category Four: those who went through the motions of confessing Christ as their Savior but never have a changed life thereafter. Now this group really thinks they came across some cheap fire insurance! They think because the words came across their lips they are saved for all Eternity. Saying the sinner’s prayer with no true inner conviction, no desire to make Jesus Lord of your life is making a mockery of God. Do not go there! God will not be mocked!
They are the ones who go right on doing the things they were doing before. They know they are doing things contrary to God’s will and His holiness and claim exclusion from judgment saying that they are “covered by grace.” There is no forensic evidence that could convict them of being a Christian yet they think they are saved because they “said the sinner’s prayer.” When you look at their life there is no evidence of a regenerated spirit. Confessing Jesus as your savior is not an excuse to go on sinning and it will not get you into heaven if that’s how you understand it!
What’s a regenerated spirit? A person with a changed life because they made a heartfelt profession of Christ as Lord and Savior. The regenerated spirit is changed in perspective, attitude and actions because they have given themselves over to Christ as their Lord after having understood and personally accepted how he could be their Savior. They are totally turned around or in the process of turning from who they were before. No one is perfect in their thoughts, words, and deeds immediately upon becoming a Christian but upon receiving the free gift of grace by faith alone in Christ alone there is transaction that has taken place. By accepting God’s grace, we recognize and acknowledge we were paid for at the highest price ever. In appreciation and gratitude for this free gift we voluntarily surrender our spirit, our will, our soul to Christ (the one who created it in the first place).
And that my friend is evidence of someone who will be in heaven. They believed enough in what a miserable sinner they were that they accepted Christ first as Savior, but also inseparably as Lord. It’s a person with an intimate personal relationship with Christ.
I’m thankful that we have a patient God because I know that I was a “Category 4” Christian for a long time before I “got it” and I’m still surrendering little pieces of “my ranch” that I’ve held onto that really need to be given over to the Lord.
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Romans 6:1-2
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Butterflies in the stomach
The message of the cross seems foolish to those who are lost and dying. But it is God's power to us who are being saved. It is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise.
I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart." (Isaiah 29:14)
1 Corinthians 1, verse 18 and 19.
I have to admit to some degree I live a sheltered life. I grew up in times when most of the country still was Christian and I was raised in a family with Christian values. My faith probably never got challenged to any degree until I reached college in the early 1970’s and by that time the tide in the mainstream thinking of the culture had already begun its recession away from Christianity. (As a sinner I know, at least for a season, I rode that wave that was headed away from God)
Today, nearly forty years later, the tide has receded so far that theologians refer to the culture as “post Christian.” The culture for the most part is oblivious to such terminology as “post Christian." I believe it'S because it is so caught up in the revolution against God having authority or influence over our government or moral standards of living thaT it's beginning to forget we ever were a Christian nation/culture.
Well back to my statement that I feel like I have been living in a sheltered life. Most often I run into people with no faith, a fractured faith, a wounded faith, or a dormant faith. Maybe it’s because I am so immersed in sharing my faith among those who need Christ that it’s a shocker when I run into a proactive anti-Christian. It’s so unsettling! On the one hand Scripture affirms that it’s going to be there, but it’s such a sobering reality of prophetic truth when you really encounter it. It’s not like I've never run into it but I have never gotten used to it!
Recently I had such an encounter by way of the TV. I don’t really think it will do any good to mention names, suffice it to say I saw a celebrated TV personality recently giving his take on a variety of topics; primarily religion and politics. During the interview he comes down on Rick Warren as a leader in the Christian community as well as taking Christianity over the coals as being fools for what they believe, manipulators of weak minded people, focused on passing the plate to stay in business, and actually believing that there is a heaven.
Here are a couple links to give you a flavor of the conversation
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/19/lkl.01.html
This is the entire interview in transcript form.
And here is the link for a segment of the interview on You Tube that will pretty much give you the essence of what I’m referring to as his anti-Christianity sentiment.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-CWiASiqDdU
I’m not out to attack the individual as a person; that’s one of the reason I’m not mentioning his name. Who he is, is irrelevant to me save only that he’s in a position to influence a lot of people and sadly because he’s popular for his opinions but not necessarily his knowledge (as he even admits in a way in his interview). No, rather than attack him, I’d rather pray that God would be patient with him long enough for him to come to understand salvation and grace and accept Jesus as his Lord. Let’s just say he’s a face: a personification of what we are told to expect as scripture teaches us.
My point is this: as a listen to a man like this I get the gutsy butterfly feeling of “wow this stuff is real and I’m not sure I want to “play this game anymore” in my stomach. The heart of Satan is within his words. Maybe you get that feeling too or maybe it makes you so angry you want to punch the guy. Either reaction is not what we are called to do.
The first thing I need to remember is that God is in charge of saving the world through his son Jesus Christ, not me.
Secondly, I am responsible for speaking the truth of scripture to the degree I know it whenever the occasion arises. So it’s best that I be an ongoing student of the scripture for the times when I might run into a sharp witted intelligent intellectual who thinks Christianity is for fools. What I should not do is shy away from the occasion. As a Christian I need to live by the verse from Romans 1:
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
Thirdly, rather than getting a militant attitude towards the individual, I should remember to pity the person who gets in my face to confront my faith. He may think I’m a fool for believing “the message of the cross” but he’s worse off; he’s “lost and dying.”
Finally I should welcome the occasions. I don’t have to be a five time gold medalist from the debate team to have a conversation with a radical anti Christian. I can even “loose” a conversation and be made a fool of. It’s okay. In the end God will still love me and even be proud of me for standing up for Him.
1 Peter 4:14 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
These occasions are actually to be looked forward to!
James 1: 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
This I know from experience: when I do know that I am headed spiritually into “enemy territory” I do ask for wisdom and I will come up with thoughts that I know were way to logical and intelligent for my feeble little brain to construct!
If we truly accept the message of the cross we have both a responsibility and a "response ability." The responsibility is the Great Commission. The “response ability” is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us!
Stay close to Jesus!
"I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise.
I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart." (Isaiah 29:14)
1 Corinthians 1, verse 18 and 19.
I have to admit to some degree I live a sheltered life. I grew up in times when most of the country still was Christian and I was raised in a family with Christian values. My faith probably never got challenged to any degree until I reached college in the early 1970’s and by that time the tide in the mainstream thinking of the culture had already begun its recession away from Christianity. (As a sinner I know, at least for a season, I rode that wave that was headed away from God)
Today, nearly forty years later, the tide has receded so far that theologians refer to the culture as “post Christian.” The culture for the most part is oblivious to such terminology as “post Christian." I believe it'S because it is so caught up in the revolution against God having authority or influence over our government or moral standards of living thaT it's beginning to forget we ever were a Christian nation/culture.
Well back to my statement that I feel like I have been living in a sheltered life. Most often I run into people with no faith, a fractured faith, a wounded faith, or a dormant faith. Maybe it’s because I am so immersed in sharing my faith among those who need Christ that it’s a shocker when I run into a proactive anti-Christian. It’s so unsettling! On the one hand Scripture affirms that it’s going to be there, but it’s such a sobering reality of prophetic truth when you really encounter it. It’s not like I've never run into it but I have never gotten used to it!
Recently I had such an encounter by way of the TV. I don’t really think it will do any good to mention names, suffice it to say I saw a celebrated TV personality recently giving his take on a variety of topics; primarily religion and politics. During the interview he comes down on Rick Warren as a leader in the Christian community as well as taking Christianity over the coals as being fools for what they believe, manipulators of weak minded people, focused on passing the plate to stay in business, and actually believing that there is a heaven.
Here are a couple links to give you a flavor of the conversation
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/19/lkl.01.html
This is the entire interview in transcript form.
And here is the link for a segment of the interview on You Tube that will pretty much give you the essence of what I’m referring to as his anti-Christianity sentiment.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-CWiASiqDdU
I’m not out to attack the individual as a person; that’s one of the reason I’m not mentioning his name. Who he is, is irrelevant to me save only that he’s in a position to influence a lot of people and sadly because he’s popular for his opinions but not necessarily his knowledge (as he even admits in a way in his interview). No, rather than attack him, I’d rather pray that God would be patient with him long enough for him to come to understand salvation and grace and accept Jesus as his Lord. Let’s just say he’s a face: a personification of what we are told to expect as scripture teaches us.
My point is this: as a listen to a man like this I get the gutsy butterfly feeling of “wow this stuff is real and I’m not sure I want to “play this game anymore” in my stomach. The heart of Satan is within his words. Maybe you get that feeling too or maybe it makes you so angry you want to punch the guy. Either reaction is not what we are called to do.
The first thing I need to remember is that God is in charge of saving the world through his son Jesus Christ, not me.
Secondly, I am responsible for speaking the truth of scripture to the degree I know it whenever the occasion arises. So it’s best that I be an ongoing student of the scripture for the times when I might run into a sharp witted intelligent intellectual who thinks Christianity is for fools. What I should not do is shy away from the occasion. As a Christian I need to live by the verse from Romans 1:
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
Thirdly, rather than getting a militant attitude towards the individual, I should remember to pity the person who gets in my face to confront my faith. He may think I’m a fool for believing “the message of the cross” but he’s worse off; he’s “lost and dying.”
Finally I should welcome the occasions. I don’t have to be a five time gold medalist from the debate team to have a conversation with a radical anti Christian. I can even “loose” a conversation and be made a fool of. It’s okay. In the end God will still love me and even be proud of me for standing up for Him.
1 Peter 4:14 14If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
These occasions are actually to be looked forward to!
James 1: 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
This I know from experience: when I do know that I am headed spiritually into “enemy territory” I do ask for wisdom and I will come up with thoughts that I know were way to logical and intelligent for my feeble little brain to construct!
If we truly accept the message of the cross we have both a responsibility and a "response ability." The responsibility is the Great Commission. The “response ability” is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us!
Stay close to Jesus!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
knited scarves and old friends
I read in the paper today that one of my senior friends passed away. She was 92. She was more than a friend; she had the gift of encouragement. Her name was Helen Steiner and she was a saint. I probably knew her for over 30 years. We were members of the same church at one time. She was one of the people who gave me a lot of encouragement to live a life for Christ. She was a prayer warrior, had a wonderful heart for serving people, and even in her 90’s found ways to volunteer.
Shortly after Christmas 07 she gave me a call and invited me over to visit her. I had not run into her probably for about 3 or 4 years. She said she had some things she’d like to give me. It certainly sounded intriguing and so within a few days I found myself sitting in her living room. I spent probably 2 1/2 hours that day visiting with her and hearing a lot of things I had never known before about her travels and adventures in her younger years.
Also that afternoon, Helen gave me three big huge study Bibles and a black scarf she had knitted. “Had to be black,” she said, “because a preacher needs one that color for when he has to do a funeral on a cold winter day.” She also knew I was admiring the huge framed print of a blacksmith shoeing a horse hanging on her wall. She said, “I’ll see that you get that some day.” It will be nice if I do get the print but, ya know, I already feel like I've been blessed just having her think of me that way. Whether I get that picture now is somewhat immaterial because knowing that she thought that much of me as a friend is priceless.
I wept on the way home as I am now writing this because I was fully aware that this grand lady knew her days were numbered and she had chosen me as someone to remember and honor while she was still living. People like her are rare but I hope you all have people like that in your lives and I also hope we all can become like them somehow. She has become part of the “great cloud.”
For some of you who might not be students of scripture, I need to explain that to you. In the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 11 talks about people who had lived before that time who had lived with great faith in God
The author of Hebrews says this in the beginning of Chapter 12
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
My friend Helen has joined the cloud of witnesses who have inspired me to follow Jesus. she lived a life of faith serving and loving her Savior Jesus Christ. Her race is done but ours continues. In honor of those like her who have been found faithful and gone on ahead of us into a life eternal, we press on toward the goal living a life for Jesus!
Are we there yet?
REG
Shortly after Christmas 07 she gave me a call and invited me over to visit her. I had not run into her probably for about 3 or 4 years. She said she had some things she’d like to give me. It certainly sounded intriguing and so within a few days I found myself sitting in her living room. I spent probably 2 1/2 hours that day visiting with her and hearing a lot of things I had never known before about her travels and adventures in her younger years.
Also that afternoon, Helen gave me three big huge study Bibles and a black scarf she had knitted. “Had to be black,” she said, “because a preacher needs one that color for when he has to do a funeral on a cold winter day.” She also knew I was admiring the huge framed print of a blacksmith shoeing a horse hanging on her wall. She said, “I’ll see that you get that some day.” It will be nice if I do get the print but, ya know, I already feel like I've been blessed just having her think of me that way. Whether I get that picture now is somewhat immaterial because knowing that she thought that much of me as a friend is priceless.
I wept on the way home as I am now writing this because I was fully aware that this grand lady knew her days were numbered and she had chosen me as someone to remember and honor while she was still living. People like her are rare but I hope you all have people like that in your lives and I also hope we all can become like them somehow. She has become part of the “great cloud.”
For some of you who might not be students of scripture, I need to explain that to you. In the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 11 talks about people who had lived before that time who had lived with great faith in God
The author of Hebrews says this in the beginning of Chapter 12
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
My friend Helen has joined the cloud of witnesses who have inspired me to follow Jesus. she lived a life of faith serving and loving her Savior Jesus Christ. Her race is done but ours continues. In honor of those like her who have been found faithful and gone on ahead of us into a life eternal, we press on toward the goal living a life for Jesus!
Are we there yet?
REG
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tough Love; real tough Love
Last night a group of us were taking a close look at 1 Corinthians. In chapter 5, Paul recommends taking a person with a hard heart and turn him over to the devil so he can get beat up and worked over. All this so he might be saved! Specifically Paul was talking about a man who continued to commit sexual sin and would not give it up.
1 Corinthians 5: 4When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature[a] may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
Now at first this seems contradictory to anything that has to do with God. The very idea: that you would turn someone over to Satan for their own good so that the end result is that the person would be saved!
So we were thinking how does this look in the real world of faith? Well, it came to mind that this is in actuality much like what Jesus describes in the parable of the lost son. The Father let the son go to “do his thing.” For the son’s own good, the father turned him loose on the world so that the evil in the world would beat him up and make him appreciate what he left behind. He let him hit rock bottom.
Often it’s only when we get to the end of ourselves, that we realize where God is supposed to be in our lives and what He can do for us. Again as in the previous post, there is purpose in the suffering if it glorifies God and brings us closer to Christ. We should not avoid it but instead work through it
The challenge for all of us is to be able to let go of the hard hearted believer. We have to remember, even if they are friend or family, that what they are doing will damage and destroy the bride of Christ, the church. It’s hard to just stand back and let them go into a season of deeper sin without rescuing them. But like the father with the prodigal son, we don’t take our eye off this individual we have cast out. Rather we wait for them to sink deep enough and become desperate enough that they hunger for the Lord more than the sinful nature. WE wait and watch expectantly and when they turn for home, then is when we “come a runnin”.”
I had a pastor once use the illustration of a life guard for another ministry situation, but it might work well here too: if you are trying to rescue someone and they continue to climb all over you dragging you down with them, you have dive deep, swim out and away, resurface, and wait for the drowning victim to become more cooperative.
So sometimes there may be an occasion when we have to put some distance between ourselves and another individual so that a change of heart can take place. It will be for the health of the church and the eventual salvation of the individual.
Tough love, real tough love.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
1 Corinthians 5: 4When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature[a] may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
Now at first this seems contradictory to anything that has to do with God. The very idea: that you would turn someone over to Satan for their own good so that the end result is that the person would be saved!
So we were thinking how does this look in the real world of faith? Well, it came to mind that this is in actuality much like what Jesus describes in the parable of the lost son. The Father let the son go to “do his thing.” For the son’s own good, the father turned him loose on the world so that the evil in the world would beat him up and make him appreciate what he left behind. He let him hit rock bottom.
Often it’s only when we get to the end of ourselves, that we realize where God is supposed to be in our lives and what He can do for us. Again as in the previous post, there is purpose in the suffering if it glorifies God and brings us closer to Christ. We should not avoid it but instead work through it
The challenge for all of us is to be able to let go of the hard hearted believer. We have to remember, even if they are friend or family, that what they are doing will damage and destroy the bride of Christ, the church. It’s hard to just stand back and let them go into a season of deeper sin without rescuing them. But like the father with the prodigal son, we don’t take our eye off this individual we have cast out. Rather we wait for them to sink deep enough and become desperate enough that they hunger for the Lord more than the sinful nature. WE wait and watch expectantly and when they turn for home, then is when we “come a runnin”.”
I had a pastor once use the illustration of a life guard for another ministry situation, but it might work well here too: if you are trying to rescue someone and they continue to climb all over you dragging you down with them, you have dive deep, swim out and away, resurface, and wait for the drowning victim to become more cooperative.
So sometimes there may be an occasion when we have to put some distance between ourselves and another individual so that a change of heart can take place. It will be for the health of the church and the eventual salvation of the individual.
Tough love, real tough love.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
Codependency in the Bible? You bet cha’
Reference: Matthew 16: 21 -28
When Jesus told the disciples that he was going to have to suffer at the hands of the Sadducees and Pharisees, 22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
Jesus turned right around and jump on his case and said , "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Jesus was telling Peter that He needed to look at things from a spiritual, kingdom of God, perspective rather than the predictable worldly perspective.
There is often meaning and purpose in struggles and suffering that are best seen from a spiritual prespective. It would have been far greater undesirable consequences if Peter’s wishes had been followed rather than staying on course with the destiny that Jesus had waiting for Him. If Peter’s wishes were carried out it would interfere with the development of the great plan of salvation that God was revealing for all those who trust in Jesus.
Peter’s intentions were honorable out of a deep love and respect for the one who he had just recently acknowledged correctly as the Messiah: meaning the one who came to save all of Israel. He did not want to see harm come to his leader and he was willing to go to any length to see to it that none would. But, to do this would interfere with what had to happen, what needed to happen so that Jesus’ mission and purpose would be fulfilled.
As I look at Peter’s well intentioned love for the master, I am reminded that that there are things in life that we do not want to see our loved ones go through. But, for the sake of enlightenment to better understand God’s ways or, for the sake of learning life’s valuable lasting lessons, we must get out of the way and let the process happen so that the greater cause can take it’s course.
The mark of a codependent is the addictive desire to want to be someone else’s savior / rescuer because we think it’s for their good if we come to their rescue and a lot of times it is. But sometimes this is not the case. When we interfere to save someone from ”the battle,” and we think we might be saving them from something evil, in reality we may actually be enabling evil to continue its course because we did not let our loved one work through the struggle.
A butterfly prepares and strengthens itself for flight by struggling through the escape from the cocoon. We can cripple it for life if we “help” it out of its cocoon. Likewise, we must evaluate our decisions to “step in and help out.” We must ask,
Why is this happening in the first place?
Are we helping for the right reason? What are my motives?
What will be the long range result of my interference?
Is there actually a benefit to this person if I don’t interfere?
Might something good result if for the individual or for many if I let the
person struggle?
You think Peter “got it” that day when Jesus rebuked him? Do you think he understood his codependent nature as a result of that conversation? Do you think he never gave it another thought after that day? Eh, I’m not so sure. Look at John 18:10-11. What do you think? I’m thinking even when we are standing right next to Jesus, our own human will can get in way the of recovery.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
When Jesus told the disciples that he was going to have to suffer at the hands of the Sadducees and Pharisees, 22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
Jesus turned right around and jump on his case and said , "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Jesus was telling Peter that He needed to look at things from a spiritual, kingdom of God, perspective rather than the predictable worldly perspective.
There is often meaning and purpose in struggles and suffering that are best seen from a spiritual prespective. It would have been far greater undesirable consequences if Peter’s wishes had been followed rather than staying on course with the destiny that Jesus had waiting for Him. If Peter’s wishes were carried out it would interfere with the development of the great plan of salvation that God was revealing for all those who trust in Jesus.
Peter’s intentions were honorable out of a deep love and respect for the one who he had just recently acknowledged correctly as the Messiah: meaning the one who came to save all of Israel. He did not want to see harm come to his leader and he was willing to go to any length to see to it that none would. But, to do this would interfere with what had to happen, what needed to happen so that Jesus’ mission and purpose would be fulfilled.
As I look at Peter’s well intentioned love for the master, I am reminded that that there are things in life that we do not want to see our loved ones go through. But, for the sake of enlightenment to better understand God’s ways or, for the sake of learning life’s valuable lasting lessons, we must get out of the way and let the process happen so that the greater cause can take it’s course.
The mark of a codependent is the addictive desire to want to be someone else’s savior / rescuer because we think it’s for their good if we come to their rescue and a lot of times it is. But sometimes this is not the case. When we interfere to save someone from ”the battle,” and we think we might be saving them from something evil, in reality we may actually be enabling evil to continue its course because we did not let our loved one work through the struggle.
A butterfly prepares and strengthens itself for flight by struggling through the escape from the cocoon. We can cripple it for life if we “help” it out of its cocoon. Likewise, we must evaluate our decisions to “step in and help out.” We must ask,
Why is this happening in the first place?
Are we helping for the right reason? What are my motives?
What will be the long range result of my interference?
Is there actually a benefit to this person if I don’t interfere?
Might something good result if for the individual or for many if I let the
person struggle?
You think Peter “got it” that day when Jesus rebuked him? Do you think he understood his codependent nature as a result of that conversation? Do you think he never gave it another thought after that day? Eh, I’m not so sure. Look at John 18:10-11. What do you think? I’m thinking even when we are standing right next to Jesus, our own human will can get in way the of recovery.
Stay close to Jesus!
REG
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