Matthew 12:31-32,
Jesus says to the Pharisees:
"Therefore
I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy
against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against
the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy
Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to
come"
It is unmistakeably clear that in understanding
this scripture, the only unforgivable sin is permanently rebuffing and talking
against the Holy Spirit; which is equivalent to simply rejecting Christ with no
possibility of repentance.
Before reading more, please watch the video on the bottom of the post...
And then I listened to what Jefferson Bethke
said about most of us Christians. We think that we are within the grace of God
no matter what negative things we do. We allow ourselves to commit inhumane and
uncaring acts, with no significant worry of repercussion; simply because we
know that we are not doing the unforgivable. We are not committing the ultimate
sin, yet along with that, we’re doing nothing at all to help our neighbour…Christianity has become, for most, a game of pick and choose of what we personally feel is behaving within and toward the grace of God.
We easily lose sight of what’s outside our
four walls and the life we were all meant to have. We concern ourselves with the
irrelevant, inconsequential; we focus on the petty and futile. It’s sometime
hard for me to remember that I’m not only liable for doing right by my family,
friends and those I’m in immediate contact with, but also to those I don’t know
but who are in need (with either emotional or tangible needs). So when I
watched this video, Link to video "unforgivable sin", it hit me hard because although I know I’m a good person, I
realize I’m not the Christian I need to be. I use repentance every time I see fit to guarantee my salvation but how about being humble and of servitude?
While empathy is intuitive, and generosity
is instinctive (or innate), altruism is learned. The space between the three is
wide as the world we live in. While not many of us will master and embody
altruism (i.e., Mother Theresa), most of us will feel empathy and perform acts
of generosity daily; the path “towards” altruism is learning to extend those
same 2 qualities towards those we don’t know… meaning, being charitable.
So while I’m writing this post, I’m
counselling myself concerning the changes (there you go…1 more thing I have to
work on J) I need to make.
Charitable behaviour needs to not only be towards
my circle and immediate surroundings, but I also need to give freely to others.
I need to have it available by seeking out the ones I don’t know, not in direct
connection or contact to me.
Charity is opening your heart to anyone in
need… While most of the time we think that satisfying someone’s need is giving
material goods, we need to realize that it is not necessarily so. At times,
your presence, your shoulder, and your listening ears carry more weight than
money. It doesn't necessarily have to be something material. Sometimes just
being there can have much greater value than money or actual possessions.
Genuine charity with no expectation of return shows compassion for the people around you. We spend so much of our time, criticizing and judging others’ behaviour, actions and lives without looking into the why. If given the choice and the ability, I doubt that “poverty”, “pariah” and “ dependent on society’s welfare” would be popular career paths chosen by individuals. I think that we need to think twice about our views on what some consider the “global community”. When we spend time caring for people who may not be as fortunate as us, act like us or even speak the same language we do, we will truly be making a difference; and isn’t that what the world need now?
Genuine charity with no expectation of return shows compassion for the people around you. We spend so much of our time, criticizing and judging others’ behaviour, actions and lives without looking into the why. If given the choice and the ability, I doubt that “poverty”, “pariah” and “ dependent on society’s welfare” would be popular career paths chosen by individuals. I think that we need to think twice about our views on what some consider the “global community”. When we spend time caring for people who may not be as fortunate as us, act like us or even speak the same language we do, we will truly be making a difference; and isn’t that what the world need now?
“Give
and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and
running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you
give, it will be measured back to you.”
----Luke
6:38
RosieSandz
