A world full of nothing but hot air...

"When you hate someone, everything they do is offensive."

I read this somewhere else and it really hit me very profoundly.  And honestly, this is so very true!  Despite our best intentions, all of this doesn't matter once the other person hates us. Haaay..  This is even more profound once you apply this in the context of us being Christians who have been taught by Jesus to forgive those who have wronged us. 

In the New Testament (Matthew 18:21-23), Jesus tells us to forgive "seventy times seven" - indirectly telling us to forgive for as many times as you should.  But we as a people who have promised to follow His word have yet to see this thru.  You hear of people fighting, of couples breaking up, and of people killing themselves because they cannot bring themselves to forgive.  And yet we go out into the world proclaiming that we are children of the Lord (Christians) and that we follow His commandments. 

What a bunch of hypocrites we are.  What a bunch of selfish hypocrites we are.  We only claim obedience to the word when it serves our selfish ends.  But when it all comes down to it, we really cannot bring ourselves to follow what Jesus has set upon us - because we only think of our own benefit.  And when things don't go our way, we look the other way and conveniently forget the teachings of our Lord.

I have been no different.  I have been a hypocrite for so long that I no longer remember when I had been truly obedient to the Lord and his bidding.  So why am I writing about all this? Because earlier today at church the pastor reminded me of this in his sermon.  That in the days of the Old Testament, the only way to be saved was to obey God and follow His will.  Jesus was not yet there to bring us close to God and the only way that we can go to Heaven was to obey God's will.

And one of our Lord's bidding was for us to forgive those who have sinned against us.  He had shown this to everyone.  That it can be done.  I just wish that we as His children can do our best to do as we have been told.  That we can get beyond our selfish desires, hangups, fears, and our anger towards those who have done us wrong - and really become truly selfless and obedient children of God.

I guess the world would truly be a better place if we all learned to become selfless and forgiving of others.  As a realist, I know that this is all easier said than done.  But with a lot of faith in the Lord and some faith in our fellow man, maybe this can move from beyond the realm of wishful thinking, to the realm of reality.

I have been blessed again today by the word of God.  I hope that you have been too. God bless you.