The Compassionate One and Only

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I don’t know if you have noticed but life is not always a bowl of fresh sweet Okanagan cherry’s. Some parts of life are difficult – very difficult – challenging – contentious – painful - full of tears and sorrow. We endure failure – loss – heartache – fear – anxiety – depression – anger and hate and so much more.

How do we manage to get through these unpleasant times in our life?

It is interesting – and sad at the same time to see how people find different ways to cope with difficult circumstances in their lives.

For example; lot’s of people turn to alcohol/or drugs like marijuana – cocaine or heroin. Or some other addictive drug.

Some bury themselves in work or some other physically or emotionally demanding activity. Like thrill seekers who participate in extreme and dangerous sports

Some “Bug Out” We call these people “Preppers”. Preppers because they are preparing themselves to survive through some cataclysmic or apocalyptic world event. They usually move into remote areas and live of the grid – that is the electrical grid. They have stockpiles of supplies to last for years and they are armed to the teeth. When society collapses - they expect to survive - until life returns to normal – whatever that might mean or whenever that might happen.

Some just “give up.” Like some Street People. They just don’t care anymore. Life is to difficult or painful or hopeless – they feel like a failure. And some easily turn alcohol and/or drugs to forget their problems – for a while.

Others ‘give up’ by closing themselves off from community and social events. A sort of urban hermit.

All of these life avoidance choices are detrimental – not only to their physical and emotional well being but they can adversely effect family and friends and communities as well. God created us to be social creatures not hermits.

Life is not easy! Bad things happen! Why is that?

Well - Sometime we make poor choices and sometime others make poor choices that affect us.

Let’s imagine that you have your dream job – with benefits. In the past 10 – 15 years you have been promoted through the business. Then one day the boss calls you into his office and you are let go.

You have a family – a mortgage on the perfect home – a new truck loan – and this was going to be the year of the big family vacation. In an instance your world collapses. You feel anger – you are sad and depressed. Sone one else made a choice that has negatively affected your life and that of your family.

So as I thought about how difficult life can be - I thought about that fateful day when Adam and Eve failed to believe God and instead, believed Satan’s lie.

Sin was already in the world and now that sin was in us. First, I thought about the eternal consequences of Satan’s choice to oppose God and God’s creation. Then I thought about the eternal consequences of the choice Adam and Eve made to disobey God’s command. We were created to live eternally like the angels but sin has cut life very short.

Theologians and Christians have come up with a list of seven sins that are called the “Seven Deadly Sins”. We’ve heard them before. They are not specifically listed in the Scriptures but there are numerous Scripture verses that refer to them. They apply describe sinful habits or characteristics in a a great many people. So here they are:

Lust – An Excessive desire for sexual gratification. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says at 5:28; “But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” And Paul in Galatians 5: 19 lists “…sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures...” as some of the consequences of our sinful nature.

Gluttony – An over indulgence or overconsumption of food or drink. The author of Proverbs 23: 20-21 says;

“Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons, for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags.”

And Paul says in Philippians 3: 18-19; “…there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.” If your life is to focus only on the desire to maximize worldly pleasure and enjoyment that is called – hedonism. It’s root is in a Greek word meaning pleasure.

Greed – An excessive desire for worldly wealth and possessions. In the parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12: 15 Jesus says; “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

And Paul in 1 Timothy 6:10 says; “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”

Sloth – Laziness and the avoidance of work or duty. The author of Proverbs 13: 4 says; “Lazy people want much but get little,”

Wrath – An intense – excessive and uncontrolled anger or hatred. David in the Psalms says at 37:8; “Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm.” And Paul’s advice in Ephesians 4:26 is more to the point as to how wrath will let Satan into our heart; “And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”

Envy – An excessive and unhealthy jealousy or resentment towards others for their possessions or success. The Tenth Commandment; “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

Pride – Excessive belief in one’s abilities and qualities as a person. To be arrogant and conceited. When we really think about it – pride is the worst of all the deadly sins. It’s not about us – it’s all about Jesus. The author of Proverbs 16: 18-19 has this to say about pride; “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.19 Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.” I’ve heard people say that pride is the root of all sin. And then I wondered how pride is reflected in certain prideful social organizations.

What I like about Paul is that he had the wisdom to perceive the evil and wickedness in the world. In his letter to the Romans he is very clear about the state of humanity in – in the Roman Empire of the first century. Listen to what he says;

Romans 1; 19-23“: They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 

"Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”……..

“Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behaviour, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.”

A pretty clear picture of the result of sin in peoples lives.

So life is difficult – and sometime very dangerous. In a way we are our own worst enemies. Many of life’s difficult times and situations come from humanities sinful nature. As those sinful desires Paul lists in Galatians 5: 19- 21: “…sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.” And it’s pretty easy to see the results of those desires through out human history.

Back to my earlier question of - How do we manage to get through these unpleasant times in our life?

As Christians we have the obvious answer - Jesus. His love and compassion for us is continually on display in the gospels. In these mornings reading Matthew says; “ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Now I don’t think we are always confused and helpless but Jesus knew us and like sheep we sometime wander through life confused – helpless and lost.

These verses in Matthew show us the three ways Jesus ministered to us to heal mind – body and soul. Matthew says; “Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.” Teaching – preaching the Good News of the Kingdom to come and healing all those ailments that cut a sinful life short. Teacher – preacher – healer.

Jesus is our source of life. He is the living bread that came down from heaven . He says to us in John 6: 32-33; “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” …. “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.”

And Jesus is the source of living water. In John 7: 37-38 Jesus says; “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

So when difficult times come – and they will – let us take our worries to Jesus in prayer. 

Earnest heart felt prayer.

Sometime when I feel sad or lonely or just unhappy – I like to read through the Psalms. They are full of references to Jesus as our comforter and counsellor.

The Footprints in The Sand poem capture how sometime - we feel confused - helpless – depressed – in pain and lost. Jesus is strong enough to carry us in our times of difficulty.

Jesus gives us rest – this he says in Matthew 11:28-30;

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Amen

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