What Is the START of Wisdom?
To start this off with a bang, I am just going to get right to it. Whether you believe God exists, whether you hate or love God, whether you believe in Jesus as the only way or that you can find another, whether you trust Him or not, the Bible gives us one truth to rule them all: “The fear of the LORD is the BEGINNING of wisdom….” (Proverbs 9:10a) (emphasis mine)
Do you know what that means? It means understanding that God is GOD & you are NOT as the very START of wisdom.
So, in other words, whether you want to believe Him or not… the start of wisdom is knowing that you don’t have to believe the GOD Who made you in order for Him to be absolutely correct on all things. And that to just reach the outskirts of wisdom, you have to start there.
Today (& next week), I would like to take a deeper look at some topics where these lines of truth seem to blur quite often. The 4 things I will be looking into are, this week: forgiving yourself & forgiving others, & next week: sexual identity, & sexual vulnerability/intimacy.
Unforgiveable Sin… BUT
Do you feel you have sinned in a way so disgusting, so wicked, so twisted, so shameful… that you think no amount of grace could ever save you?
Now, God says that none of us are without sin. (1 John 1:8; Romans 3:23) We all fall short. None of us measure up or are good enough. Makes sense, seeing as how God made everything, holds absolute authority, & yet we still have the cockiness to EVER assert ourselves above Him in any capacity, even doubting Him. In fact, the word “sin” actually has more of the idea of “missing the mark” rather than “doing bad stuff.” And I think we could all agree that we don’t get it right every second of our lives, even if we try really hard.
But, Jesus, right? God doesn’t say, “look how badly you screwed this up… well, Hell for you!” No, He takes no pleasure in any of that. In fact, knowing we could never pay our limitless debts to Him for our falling short… He sent His OWN Son to die in our place, taking on our shame & punishment… so that we could find forgiveness before God. (1 John 2:2; Romans 5:8; 1 John 1:9) WOW. Grace. Mercy. LOVE.
So, when we avoid surrendering that sin to God, in exchange for the grace bought by Jesus, not only is it like calling God a liar, but it’s also saying Jesus wasn’t enough for you. Ouch. When we recoil because we think, “nah, He can’t forgive that… that’s on me…” you belittle what Jesus gave for you… You make His death for you in vain. His suffering for you in vain. Jesus doesn’t have to pay extra for you. You don’t have to supplement what Jesus gave for you. You just have to take God (as GOD) at His word.
What are you waiting for?
How Can I Be Expected to Forgive THAT?
Next is forgiving others. Wow that is a TOUGH pill to swallow for some, is it not? I mean, I have had people do hateful, spiteful, careless, wreckless things to me. I have even faced sexual assault by a friend of mine & faced years of verbal assault as well, but that is NOTHING compared to the evils some have faced on this earth. (I am not minimizing what I have faced, but only recognizing that the trauma I know is only a mere fraction of what some carry.)
How can God ask us to forgive those people? That wickedness? How are we possibly supposed to not walk around with bitterness as our constant companion? Despair? Disgust? Hatred?
How can we LOVE them? PRAY for them? Do GOOD for them? Forgive them?
Honestly, sometimes I struggle with it myself. But when I consider how God made me, the world, & everything in it… & is seated on His throne & could have just let me face my deserved consequences… but rather sent His own Son to suffer horribly & die in my place, taking on the full weight of all of my sin, when He could have stayed on His throne instead… all so I could go to heaven not even based on my own righteousness…. It makes it a little harder to question Him.
It’s something that takes a dying to self for sure, because it is not comfortable or easy… & it can feel like I’m letting them off too easy.
When You Have Trouble Believing God Knows What He’s Talking About-Forgiving Self & Forgiving Others
But consider this… if they don’t repent of what they did to you, accepting Jesus as LORD over their life in place of their sin, you can be SURE that God is not going to be letting them off easy one bit. They WILL pay for EVERY wrong they have ever done. And it will be severe. Eternal suffering, in fact.
And if they DO repent & ask God for forgiveness, turning from their practicing of sin to making Jesus Christ LORD over their life… you can be sure that Jesus cared enough about you to take on every bit of deserved vengence & suffering upon Himself. No bad deed goes unpunished.
AND, to carry through from forgiving yourself… if you are the abuser…. If you are the one who committed unspeakable wrongs against someone else, I want you to read all that again. IF you do NOT repent & turn to Christ as your LORD & redeemer, you WILL suffer the consequences. God will NOT let you avoid the punishment you deserve. BUT, IF you repent, truly remorseful & wanting forgiveness, surrendering your life & will to Jesus Christ, He has ALREADY paid your debt in full & you WILL be forgiven & given a chance at a new beginning, as a new creation in Christ. Debts paid in full to God, by Jesus.
When It’s Hard to Forgive… Pray & God WILL Help You
It is not always too easy for me to consider forgiveness. I am a lot like Jonah, when I witness unspeakable horrors, I am admittedly not the first one to desire their redemption. I want them to pay for it. I want them to suffer. I want them to get what is coming to them.
I don’t want them to get off easy.
It’s something I have to pray through. I have to deny myself as God instructs. (Galatians 2:20; Luke 9:23) I have to consider what JESUS, Lord of heaven & earth, gave up for ME. And I have to pray & ask for God to help me respond in a way that pleases Him over how I naturally WANT to respond.
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)
What Happens When We Forgive the Unforgiveable
But think of what can happen when we respond the way God asks us to in place of how we feel is best….
Not only are we set free from dragging the bitter chains of painful agony around with us, darkening & poisoning our lives forever, letting the trauma continue to destroy us within…. The abuser expects attempted retaliation… hatred even. Sometimes they even crave the power trip it gives them. And if not, they just don’t seem to care.
But, when we, like God instructs, do good, even to those who mistreat us… that isn’t weakness. (Matthew 5:44-47; 1 Peter 2:18-24) That is an inner strength that God can supply as we allow Him to that is able to rise above anything thrown at us. To respond in grace versus pain. That gets noticed.
And, it opens space for repentance. That when God gets a hold of them, they don’t stay locked in a prison of their own shame, shackled by their guilt. It gives them space to discover the transformative power of the grace of God. To make them a new person who, by God’s grace, would never do that to another person ever again.
Look How Mightily God Used Paul, a Forgiven Sinner Underserving of Forgiveness
I imagine many a person was hesitant to believe Paul (formerly known as Saul)… to forgive Paul… for facilitating so much death & suffering on Christians. (Acts 7:57-58; Acts 8:1-3; Acts 9:1-7; Acts 22:4-5; Acts 26:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:9) And yet, God flipped that man on his head, got his attention, & turned his life around for the glory of God. Don’t prevent someone from seeing God change the worst of hearts. God can do the impossible. So step aside, trust your suffering to Him, & learn to be a forgiver as Jesus Christ forgave you.
Shine HOPE by believing that God knows what He’s talking about, by accepting that when He says you are forgiven & that Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient for your sins… He MEANS it… & by forgiving others as Christ first forgave YOU.
***Come back next week as I cover the continuation of this topic: when you have trouble believing God knows what He’s talking about with sexual identity & sexual vulnerability/intimacy.***
Coming Next Week
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