20 May 2016 - using no limitation as limitation

[ Today's Readings ]

But Jesus told them,
“Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.

One of the great and terrible things about Jesus is that he doesn't base his expectations on what normal is for us. He doesn't say to himself that because our hearts are so hard he will only expect so much from us. Instead, he offers new hearts entirely.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (see Ezekiel 36:25-26).

Things we think of as impossible become the new normal in the economy of grace. We think we are too broken to walk in the love in which Jesus wants us to walk. But he himself provides the power.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (see Galatians 5:6).

This is good because the commandments which sound the most simple...

Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.

...are often the most challenging.

In fact, it often seems like the better we do in other areas the more challenging it is not to judge others! We might even think it is impossible. But that is the attitude of an old heart. We need to stop living as our old selves and start living as new people in Christ.

put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24).

After all, we are a new creation! (see Second Corinthians 5:17)

Now when we're told that marriage can only be to one person for the entire life of the spouses we can accept this and live it. Our society clearly thinks that this is impossible. They certainly act like it is impossible. This is a great witness we can give to the world. The limits of the flesh are not the limits of Christians who walk in the power of the Spirit! We all start off with the same brokenness. But the LORD can heal us!

He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.