Good afternoon folks. I want to thank
you. I want to thank you each for the times you have chosen to
overlook offenses throughout the past year, it has been to
your honor and I am proud of you. Thank you the times you've
avoided arguments over disputable matters (Rom
14:1), and have chosen not to judge your neighbor for his or her
misdeeds, foul words, and misplaced votes. You have let your light
shine (Matt 5:14).
You have also failed. You've been
self-congratulatory (Rom
12:3). You've lost your temper (Eph
4:26). You've complained (Phil
2:14), served yourselves (Phil
2:3) and spoken thoughtlessly. You have judged your neighbors
(Luke 6:37) and hated
your enemies (Matt 5:44).
Your limited goodness does not negate your misdeeds.
I'm right there with ya. We're sinners living in a fallen world. We mess up a lot, and our God is not amazed or surprised to that we fail and his love is so much greater than our failings. Throughout our proud and pathetic
moments God has remained and will remain good; his never fails
(Ex 15:13). God goes
to bat for us (1 John 2:1)
and continues to guide our steps (Pro
16:9), answer our prayers (Jer
33:3) and cover over our sins. We've been busy for the past
while, and life is about to get busy again. Take
this comparatively calm moment to think clearly about how you've
acted in the days leading up to yesterday's vote, and to understand
beyond any shadow of doubt that in spite of anything you've said or
done that here is a trustworthy saying that
deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners--of whom I am the worst (1
Tim 1:15). Etch that saying in your heart and I'm confident you'll have a better chance of not being a jerk in 2016.
