This one will be quick. I know that most of you are in the throws of Thanksgiving Celebrations. It's the one weekend all year that I ALWAYS have my kids at home. All four. I insist on pictures; I'll post mine soon.
I'm stuck blogging in Romans 5, where I find two completely disarming statements.
"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time." (verse 6)
and
"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (verse 8)
I love that idea. What could be better than "utterly helpless," or "while we were still sinners?"
You see, we STILL ARE! We are utterly helpless. Dependant on every breath. Dependant on the fact that our immune systems work. That our body makes energy from food. That our brains function enough to make a Christmas list, or start the car, or put one foot in front of the other. WE ARE HELPLESS. We can be rich, accomplished, wise, smart, motivated, talented, and we are STILL UTTERLY HELPLESS. Dependant!
God loves helpless people.
Pretty cool, eh?
And, if you are reading this blog today, remember that Christ died BEFORE you were born. ALL your sins were -- at the time of his death -- future tense sins. They had not yet been committed.
He died for the sin you had yet to sin.
So, if he died THEN for you, for sins you had yet to commit. What can you expect from him now? That his love has changed? That he NOW expects you to be perfect?
No way. When you were utterly helpless, and completely sinful, he chose to die for you!
You don't have to perform, to win, to dazzle God. He's completely smitten with you. He was smitten even when you were ugly, selfish, and evil.
Why not sit back and thank him for THAT!
That's worth a turkey dinner, if nothing else is!
Bette
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1 comment:
Utter helplessness is taking on a new meaning to me as I battle cancer...
Where once I was filled with pride because I could "do it myself", now I'm forced to rely on others much more than I'm comfortable with.
I also prided myself in being the helper, the giver. Now the tables have turned on me. Sometimes a simple outing to the post office requires outside players to help me get it done.
On the days following the last chemo treatment, I was so utterly helpless that my brain was a void space. I've never realized how much I even rely on my ability to THINK, plan, organize, etc. How distressful that I couldn't even string two words together, let alone a whole thought. My reasoning, decision making ability, short term memory--all of it taken away instantly!
My days are unpredictable. I can't plan life very well as I don't know what's coming. I don't have insurance and the cost of having cancer is astronomical. I don't know if today will be a good day or a bad day--if I'll have energy to do some small thing, or sleep the entire day away...I don't know much of anything at all. But I do recognize my utter helplessness.
I don't like coming to grips with the fact that I am so helpless, that I can't do it myself, that I'm completely dependant on God for each new day, each breath, each memory, each moment when I can get up and do something...
Utterly helpless--we all are. It might take cancer to have me SEE how helpless I am, how uncertain life is, but it's always been there. I think we humans love to live in a protected shell of ILLUSION--if I have health insurance, I'll be fine. If I save up for disaster, I'll be fine. If I eat right and exercise, I'll stay healthy. I will live a long and prosperous life...and yet, we really AREN'T in control, are we? It's hard to admit, but true.
How wonderful, then, that "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time."
We don't even KNOW how helpless we are, yet Christ has already made the provision. We don't even know how much we depend on him, yet he shows up at just the right time.
One thing cancer is helping me to do is change my perspective about life. I've been looking at most things all wrong...hopefully for you, it won't take something so dramatic to give you a new view of the world around you.
Kerrie
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