REMEDY FOR A WOUNDED SPIRIT:

***Caution… you are entering a spiritual zone and therefore may be affected… positively affected; however… only if you read it with an open mind.

The older i get, the more i can appreciate the famous serenity prayer. I now ask God for serenity to accept the things that i cannot change, courage to change the things that i can, and wisdom to know the difference.  However; i’ve since added to that prayer; help me to access your divine grace to forgive all of those who willfully deceived, oppressed and/or abused me… or others.

There seems to be no shortage of those people, right?  However; what many of us fail to realize that each and every one of us are candidates for that club.  Oh, we may not go have gone as far as that of an axe murderer, perhaps; but ‘what measuring stick are we using… and who’s holding that stick?’  This is what should be scrutinized.

If… or… when… you come to the realization that the enemy is really… you… as in; yourself, then… and only then, will you have the key to open your prison door to true freedom and be rid of self righteousness… a disease that we can get when we see somebody not getting what we think they deserve… or getting what we think they… don’t deserve.  At that point in time, you’ll be challenged with one very simple, and yet most difficult decision; to forgive yourself.    Once you get over that hurdle, you should have… no… or… little problem, forgiving others, as God chose to do.

Bear in mind; forgiveness is a choice; not a feeling/emotion.  In other words; you might not feel like forgiving another; however your choice to do so will set your Maker’s laws into motion, whereby all of the parties involved… including you… will be liberated from the disease and its symptoms; anger, guilt, resentment and regret, all of which is collateral damage of bad choices…. welcome to humanity.

I’m aware that not everybody shares the same faith in Jesus Christ… or even in a higher power, for that matter… and that’s ok; i suspect that you will still find the following read different, if nothing else.  You’ll never know, perhaps it might finally make some sense out of Christianity.  For those who are familiar with the bible, you may have to give your head a shake to make room for something new.  You’ll probably find this read radical and somewhat controversial… perhaps even blasphemous; however; i encourage you to push on thru it; hey… you have nothing to lose… everything to gain.  Bear this in mind; my purpose for sharing it is not to create strife… or to start a different/better church; God knows we have enough of them already; but rather simply to magnify what Jesus actually did for us at the cross.

‘FORGIVEN AND FOREVER FREE,’ is the result of a divine revelation i received while at my dying Dad’s bedside for 3 lonnng months.  It’s a must read for those who feel confused/uncertain about where they stand before God, especially regarding their eternal destiny… or for those who feel perpetually guilty before a judgmental God.

I’ve seriously researched the bible for over 45 years and found there to be plenty enough evidence to substantiate the following revelation.  I sincerely perceive it to be the authentic Gospel… the good news; that which was intended to set a man free… and not entangle him in a web of impossible prerequisites and imaginary conditions to fulfill in order to; ‘get the goods.’  Read on… if you care/dare.

BOOK 1

FORGIVEN AND FOREVER FREE:

My revelation/epiphany was birthed when the word was out that Dad had terminal cancer and was informed that his days were numbered.  I dropped everything and returned home to assist him.  However, i wasn’t able to assist him in the manner/capacity of which i expected.  The irony of it all is that; i am a dedicated natural health advocate and have had countless seriously health challenged people solicit my assistance, and yet my Dad… well… he wasn’t receptive to my advice.  It wasn’t so much that he lacked confidence in my ability to help but more so the fact that he just didn’t care to fight… to live anymore in what he deemed to be a cruel and selfish world.  Consequently; i could only respectfully and patiently hang by his bed side for several agonizing months, watching death steal his body… ugh!

Day after day, i’d enter Dad’s hospital room; the atmosphere was toxic; thick with fearful apprehension, pain and confusion.  He wasn’t alone; there were several other poor, tormented souls, each facing a similar demise of certain death in the not too distant future.  And although each one of them embraced different beliefs, they all expressed one common emotion… fear and uncertainty.

Many of us, especially religious seekers/followers, will spend our entire lives seeking intimacy with our Creator and yet we’ll do everything in our power to avert meeting that same power… hmm… a rather ironic psychological phenomena indeed.

Nonetheless; Dad was a religious man, and prior to his cancer verdict he appeared to be fearless.  I’d often hear him flippantly toss around statements to the tune of; “When your number is up… then it’s up.”  However; it all seemed to change when his number was actually up; when he realized that his physical existence on earth was about to end.  Respectfully speaking; he was everything but courageous at that point in time; his fear of the unknown surrounding his end was now obvious.

Meanwhile, a conversation with my Mom opened up a Pandora’s box of yet more… fear and confusion.  She commented that she didn’t feel good enough to go to heaven when she died.  When i asked her what she was going to do about it, she replied; “I’ll have to start being a better person… I guess.”

Overall; the entire experience prodded me to root through my religious closets and humbly inquire some answers from God.  Come along and i’ll share my revelation with you.

First of all, let’s take a close look at Mom’s statement; “I’ll have to start being a better person.”  Hmm… the problem is; how and/or when would one ever know when that happened… when you became that better person?  Perhaps i should ask this; where exactly is the line that separates a good person from a bad one… unacceptable from acceptable… in the eyes of God?  According to Jesus, if one ever did arrive at such a mindset… reckoning to be standing on the right side of such a line… as in doing everything right in the sight of God… not like their irritable, next door neighbor, then they would be guilty of pride/self righteousness, which of course… is also a sin; and therefore would place you back on the wrong side of the good/bad line again… ugh!  I bring your attention to Jesus’s parable of the publican and the sinner, where the publican was relishing in the fact that he wasn’t a sinner like the guy seated next to him. Luke 18:9-14.

You may picture a scale of good and bad to be someone like Judas Iscariot sporting devil’s horns, at the bottom end of the good/evil scale, and perhaps, someone like Mother Mary, sporting a halo at the top end of that scale.   But… hey; go ahead and pick your own hero and villain if you like; regardless of who you choose, the question is; where do you perceive yourself to stand in that scale of good and bad?  I know what your answer will probably be because i’ve thought it often enough myself.  You may think along these lines; “Well… ya know… I’m no angel… but at least I’ve never killed anybody… nor have I robbed a bank… I try to treat people with respect, I attend church every week… and of course, I tithe 10% of my income… my gross income, at that… besides, I believe in Jesus; therefore, God’s gotta be okay with me, right… I think… well… I certainly hope so, anyway.”

And that’s where the serpent hides in the gospel; we think or hope that God is okay with us simply because we conduct our lives according to what we perceive to be reasonably respectable… reasonably.  Consequently, we live each day with this nagging suspicion that we may have missed something… that we could very well have fallen short of God’s expectation of us.  It’s similar to a traveler preparing for a long journey and continuously checking their baggage for fear that something vital for the journey may have been left out… or left in… especially when reaching that customs counter… perhaps, the palliative care ward in some hospital… ultimately… at the ‘Pearly Gates’… ugh!

Albeit, back to the question; what plumb line are you using to discern that you are indeed standing on the right side of that proverbial; ‘good/bad line?’  More specifically; how did you know that you did something wrong (sinned)?   In other words; Who told you that you were naked as Father God asked Adam and Eve in the garden?   Are you using the Ten Commandments as your guideline… the bible, the laws of the country of which you reside, your church, your peers… or perhaps, your conscience… for reference?

I’m guessing that you’d be choosing a little of all of the aforementioned to determine such… more on that later; meanwhile, i have a few questions for those of you who believe in Jesus Christ and the cross; the rest of you can fast forward to something of more interest to you if you like.  I’d hate to bore you like i was when forced to attend church as a kid.   I tried so hard to be an alter boy like many of my friends, but it just never happened.  Hmm… perhaps i  would have become a priest; i suppose my kids can be glad that i didn’t do that, if nothing else.

How boring was church?  Well; come on in and sit a spell; you’ll see.  i preferred the balcony; it was a much better view and less starchy and boring up there for sure.   Howbeit; those dang hard wooden bench seats were far from comfortable, so sleeping was certainly not on the menu; therefore, i was forced to appeal to my over active imagination for entertainment… and that i certainly did have.  I’d begin by tallying up all of the bald heads seated below.  I never could figure out why some men were bald and others were not.  Squinting real hard at the ornate stained glass windows, filtering in the morning sunlight created a kaleidoscope of colours… and when i’d blink to the rhythm of the choir i was instantly beamed up into my very own rock concert… with a little imagination of course.  However; my imagination was not enough to make that annoying, over sized church organ disappear.  Still; i suppose it was tad entertaining to watch Gertie navigate the complicated array of the keys and pedals.  She was all of about five foot tall and thin as the wind; still she sprawled all over that contraption like an octopus attempting to hoard a sunken sailboat.  Nevertheless; i would have much rather been outside catching frogs like little boys were meant to be doing on sunny Sunday mornings… hence why i suggested those who weren’t familiar with church to… stay home.

Ok; so enough boring church already… let’s get back to the questions; for those of you who do believe in the bible and Christ then… i challenge you to answer the following;

‘why do you suppose Jesus came here… what was His mission?’

Was it to; reinforce the 10 commandments… to reprimand us for falling short… encourage us try harder?    Was it to; divinely subsidize our shortfalls/inabilities to follow those commandments… or do you think it was to perhaps create a new religion; Christianity… or was it to… change programs; to establish/finalize a new covenant with mankind?

I know; that was a loaded question; many would want to check off a bit of each of those possibilities and i can understand why; there is evidence in the Bible to support each one of those suggestions and then some; however, we really should settle it for ourselves if we’re ever going to find/make peace with God.

Ok… enough church stuff; non bible believers can come back into the conversation now if you should choose… let’s investigate.

In essence, somebody died and left you something… whether you are a believer or not, hopefully you’re curious to know about that; what that something might be… i mean… just in case it’s true, of course.

The Christian Bible is essentially a Will… the word ‘testament’ (both; old and new) alludes to that.  And as it is with all wills, it involves; the death of a testator, an heir… and of course an inheritance.  In this case, Jesus was/is the testator and He died over two thousand years ago, rendering the will in effect.  I’m guessing that most all Christians are in agreement with that so far.  As for non believers… well… you might still be scratching your heads, although hopefully… you’re a tad curious… again… just in case it’s true.  I mean; you wouldn’t wanna miss out on a potentially valuable inheritance and all, right?   Let’s continue!

Now, the problem is; that this particular will isn’t real clear and simple.  Judging by the mega churches/interpretations of the will/bible i’d say we need a real good preacher… er… i mean… lawyer, to sort it all out.  The confusion lies more so in; who the legitimate heir is… and… the inheritance… what exactly it included.

Depending on how one interprets the will; the heir boils down to one of two entities; ‘somebody‘ or ‘everybody.’

Somebody would suggest specific/selected personnel.  It could be you, it could be me… and/or… it could be Sam McGhee.

Sam McGhee was a fictitious character conjured up by the famous writer; Robert W Service, incidentally; ‘The cremation of Sam McGhee.’  Hmm… perhaps there’s a relevance to his inclusion as an heir in this particular will afterall… more on Sam later.  Conversely; everybody would suggest the heir to include the entire world… which would include Uncle Sam, of course

Wrangling over who is the legitimate heir is not the lone issue of contention, mega controversy revolves around the actual inheritance as well… what exactly the package contains… let’s investigate!

I liken the inheritance to one of those super dooper sale offers advertised at a local box store.  It’s an awesome deal… until… you arrive at the checkout counter; then it all changes.  You’re directed to read the fine print to the realization that you didn’t meet all of the requirements, afterall… ugh… i soooo hate that!

And so it seems to be with our divine inheritance… it begins with this wonderful, generous; almost, ‘too good to be true,’ offer… a free gift of eternal salvation and all and before you know it… poof… it’s gone… no longer available… or… the free part of it disappears, anyway.  The fine print appears to read; certain conditions apply.

I mean we’ve all been there; a church alter call… the organ is quietly playing in the background.. ugh… yuppers, that same ol contraption i tried so hard to make disappear in boring ol church as a kid; nonetheless; the invitation goes something like this; we’re all sinners; Jesus loves you… come… just as you are.  You take the bait, make a decision, feel all clean and fluffy inside… and then a few days, weeks and/or months down the road, somebody challenges you to… clean up your act… to shape up… or ship out.  “Read the fine print” they’ll preach.  Nonetheless; conditions seem to apply.  Bear in mind; this is not God’s doing; it’s allll ours.

The conditions/requirements will vary depending on what church/doctrine one embraces… your  interpretation of the bible.  I reckon i’ve heard them all.  Some of the; ‘to-do list‘ requirements you might amen while others you might pa-foo and consider to be downright ridiculous; nonetheless, they are essential to some.

I’ll mention just a few of the more popular prerequisites.  The most prominent are; you must believe in order to receive; believe that Jesus is the ‘only begotten Son of God… and then you must accept the gift… hmm… the free gift, i might add.  Then comes a schwack of fine print; you must live a reasonably holy life; ‘walk the talk;‘ after all; faith without works is dead, right?  Some denominations will add to that; ‘to-do‘ list; ya not only; hafta be good… ya also hafta confess alllll of your sins… on a regular basis… and you must be sincerely repentant when you do sin… sincerely… or else the deal will be off the table… ugh!  Some denominations go even deeper down that rabbit hole, demanding that you must be baptized in water, as well; and then there are rabbit trails emanating from that requirement/ritual as well.  Some demand total immersion while others will be ok with just a sprinkle of water… and even the type of water might matter to some.  More radical church clubs will demand that you be baptized in the Holy Spirit as well; you can be sure, there are mega rabbit trails running wild on that prerequisite; gotta have evidence ya know.

And lastly; one of my pet peeves; many churches advocate that those of supposed; Jewish background are exempt from any of the aforementioned, prerequisites altogether.   They were apparently; pre-Chosen and therefore; qualify as an heir, regardless of how they conduct their affairs.  It’s a sort of ‘Grandfather clause’ in the will i’m guessing.  Nonetheless; the list goes on.. but i think you get my point.

Albeit; enough rabbit chasing; the point is this; God’s supposedly, free gift of salvation… the inheritance… has been rendered down to requirements, many of which are so dang strict… and some so ridiculous… that… well… who can possibly qualify?

We need to come to terms with the fact that; not one of us qualify for the deal… on our own merits, that is; we cannot meet any of those supposed requirements… nor will we ever be able to do so… none of them!  There’s a reason why Jesus said; “With man this is impossible” and that; “all things are possible… with God.”

LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE:

Good; so now that those wild cats are outa the bag; dare to go deeper… deeper into the fine print… the control room of… right and wrong, guilt and appeasement?  Allow me to introduce you to your conscience, for that’s where the lights seem to go on in this; right/wrong circus.

However; in order to tackle conscience, we first need to cross examine its kissin cousin; accountability.  I’m sure that most all Christians are familiar with accountability; it’s that elephant in the room that is seldom mentioned but that we keep tripping over in our day to day simulated holy lives.  I’m sure you will have engaged in… or witnessed one of those hypothetical bible conversations revolving around the eternal status of one’s soul… you know… one who may not have ever heard the gospel… hmm… like… maybe… Sam McGhee, perhaps?  I’m rootin for ya Sam; gotta get you to heaven, somehow.  Nonetheless; the eternal question stands; would such a person (Sam) go to heaven or hell when they died?  The answer is always the same; “Well now… God is all merciful and therefore; He would not hold one accountable for what they did not know.

Hmm… well… it does state in the bible that we’re only responsible… held accountable for what we know to be the truth… and so… don’t be kicking the elephant, right?  Rom 4:12, 2Cor 5:21.

I’ll call it; ‘the Accountability Status Exemption ‘… ‘ASE’ for short.  Don’t go reading too deep into those initials, you might get lost in there.  Nonetheless; i’ll come right out and say this; where do i sign up for that club. I mean; what’s the better deal here; guaranteed sanctuary, a free pass into heaven, regardless of how you act all your life, simply because you didn’t hear the Jesus story… or living out a life lonnnng sentence of performance; expected to execute an endless list of impossible feats in order to remain a heavenly candidate when you do finally die… just because you happened to be in ear shot of the Gospel?

If that be the case then like… plug your ears and cover your eyes, lest you see or hear the gooood news; then… when you expire, you’re guaranteed a freee train ticket to heaven… no fine print to deal with, either… yeah!

Ah, but stoke the fire Uncle Sam, there’s some realll good news for all of us in this will… or so i can only hope to reveal.  Let’s peel back the curtains on the; ASE factor, shall we?  Exemption from judgment for not having heard the gospel is one thing; what about exemption from judgment for; ‘not knowing what one is doing?’  I mean; surely, you can’t hold a child, a mentally handy-capped or a brain injured person accountable for their wrongs, now can you… well… can you?   And what about teen-agers?  According to Mom and Dad, i left my brains back in the toy box as a teen-ager and then returned to pick them up like… 15-ish years later.  Perhaps i could have qualified for some sort of divine ASE subsidy if i had of instantly departed from my physical body at that point of time in my life… ah but…i’d be scared to take that chance… if i believed the same gospel that so many promote today, that is.

Well, i’m long past the ASE age limit of a child, and i can no longer claim crazy teen-ager status exemption; however, i certainly banged my head enough times throughout my life… and so, what-do-ya-think; could i perhaps, qualify for ASE on the grounds of… brain injury?  Hmm… why am i asking you that question, i should be asking God… and that i did.

BRAIN INJURED:

I became involved with the Brain Injured Society many years back; that was when my eyes were opened to an entirely new and different dimension regarding; right, wrong, accountability etc.  My job was that of a chaperone for several mentally dysfunctional people.  I was an external cop of sorts cause their internal cop was… well… out for coffee, so to speak.

Each one of my clients had a significant brain injury; they were each different, depending on which specific function of their brain was out of commission.  Allow me to explain.  Our brain is designed with mega filters.  These filters are there as a governor of sorts; to protect us from bad decisions.  Lemme clarify that; a brain without a filter renders a person vulnerable to making poor judgment calls, not only practically, but morally as well.  Filters are essentially built-in fire walls of sorts, designed to block out and/or discern thoughts and actions that would compromise our behaviour.  A common denominator of most brain injured people is… lack of… or… no ‘self-discipline;’ or so it was with my clients anyway, hence why they required assistance.

Allow me to introduce you to one of my clients; i’ll call him Fred for confidentiality purposes.  Fred was brain injured as a result of a car accident.  He was 15 years old at the time of his accident.  Prior to his accident, Fred was this strong, handsome, intelligent and popular high school teen.  It’s been a while for many of us to recall those days, but suffice it to say that it was a passionate time in life, a time when hormones/emotions were in the driver’s seat and common sense rode in the trunk of the car.

Now… fast forward like… 20 years later… after Fred’s accident; he was now an overweight, 6’2, far from handsome guy… he constantly drooled and no longer had any control over his bladder, nerves… or temper, as i was about to find out.  Furthermore; he was seriously handicapped by the horrendous side effects of a schwack of Pharmaceutical medications that he had to take daily.  He trembled so much that he required assistance to eat, shave and to brush his teeth etc.  A big part of my job was to assist him with those activities.  I was operating out of my comfort zone at the time, for sure; however, in retrospect, the experience turned out to be a gold mine of personal and spiritual enlightenment for me.

Howbeit; the entire time that i spent with Fred, i would be dodging derogatory remarks and allegations.  He kept insisting that i was stealing from him etc.  Hmm… i forgot to mention that; another common manifestation of brain injury is; ‘paranoia.’  Poor Freddy just couldn’t help himself… he was brain injured; in other words; he knew not what he was doing.  Keep this in mind; it’ll make some sense later.

Now, aside from the fact that Fred experienced episodes of anger and paranoia was the fact that he had also perceived himself to still be that handsome 15 year old, ‘hunk of a guy,’ that he was as a teenager before his accident.  According to his last evaluation… self-examination; every gal in town sooo wanted to be wrapped tightly in his arms.  Regardless of what Fred perceived, he was wrong… very wrong.  The sad, but true reality was that Fred was the kind of guy that most people… other than his family, would rather not have been around him at all… ugh!  Welcome to the real… and cruel world of; ‘the brain injured.’

Join me and Fred on a little walk about town.  We were just about to enter a restaurant when along came Sue, a friend of mine.  Now, Sue was a rather attractive gal… and of course that meant that Fred was attracted to her… ugh… that spelt trouble.  Nonetheless; i remained calm and politely initiated a formal introduction; “Hi Sue, i’d like you to meet a friend of mine; Fred.”  Oops… too late… without warning, Fred walked right on up to Sue and lunged for her breast.  I couldn’t let that happen and so the cop in me jumped into action, attempting to block Fred’s invasive move.  Of course, Fred didn’t appreciate my interference… and… well… i’ll spare you the details of the rest of that scenario.

My point  is this; Fred impulsively acted where most would have only… thought/desired to act; this is what’s on trial here.  However; toss in a few beer and it all changes… it happens in bars all the time; so called; normal… self controlled guys will suddenly act out much like brain-injured Fred.  The relevant point in all of this is the fact that we really have no way of knowing what one another is thinking; there are no thought bubbles wafting above each of our heads like the comic books portrayed?  Subsequently; our thought department seldom gets busted; well… other than various displays of body language, i suppose; however; other than that, we can get away with murder.

That my dear reader is the grey area of our Christianity… and when i personally woke up to the truth about it all, something was off… and i asked God for some answers.  I came to understand that; thoughts pass through each and every one of our brains/minds like… 24/7.  Some thoughts are good, some bad… and others, are downright ugly, regardless of who we think we are… or  better said; who we think others think we are.  According to our internal cop… our conscience; it’s our outward actions/reactions to those thoughts that matter; however, according to God; our inward thoughts are equally as convicting.  I repeat what Jesus said; “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matt 27:28.

And so in light of what you’ve just read; where would unsteady Freddy, the impulsive fondler stand in the sight of Almighty God?   I suspect your answer to be somewhat along the same lines as that lucky fella out of ear shot of the gospel all of his wretched life; that God would probably excuse him.  After all; he should not be held accountable cause he was brain injured, not in his right mind… unaware of what he was doing, right?   Do keep those words; ‘unaware of what he was doing’ in mind, we’ll be getting to that in just a bit.

***Caution, buckle up; you are about to enter an even more challenging zone.

Let’s leave the brain injured alone for a spell and snoop out another candidate for ‘ASE‘; Accountability Status Exemption.’  A classic example to illustrate this phenomena would be the scenario of a mother willfully choosing to sacrifice her own child to the gruesome death of a suicide bombing… killing him, along with mega innocent people.  Who would do such a thing?  I’m sure you’re familiar with that radical Islamic tactic that use to frequent the mainline news media years back.  Hmm… we don’t seem to be hearing any of that happening anymore for some unknown reason.  Anyway; that’s a different story; the question is; how could a mother do such a thing?  You probably won’t like the answer; however, faith was her motivator… that’s right; faith… the same attribute that ushered Abraham into the ‘Christian Hall of Fame.’  In both her and Abraham’s case, faith was so active and convicting that it stole the wheel right out of their hands, over writing the God-designed instinct for a mother/father to love and protect their child.

Now, i can hear your protest that her faith doesn’t count because; unlike Abraham, she was listening to… and obeying the wrong voice… not that of God… the God you serve, anyway.  Regardless of the source of the inspiration, we’re talking about an attribute that is highly esteemed in the eyes of God, namely; faith.  Hmm… i’d best let that rabbit get away and chase another one that’s easier to catch.

Nevertheless; i was raised in a religious environment, although much less radical than that of our outa-control-Islamic, Mom; however; the fact of the matter remains; i was inadvertently affected/infected by my parents and peers.  You might rate the following to be a lame excuse for ‘bad-acting;’ however, it’s a legitimate excuse.  Face the facts; each and every last one of us began life the same way… with an empty brain.  And without going into the autonomy of brain function; an empty brain is really much like a patch of fertile soil, able to grow whatever seed is planted.    Subsequently; each one of us was arbitrarily exposed to a mixed bag of seeds; some good, some bad… and again… some downright; ugly.  Our differences lie in what seeds might have been planted and in what we eventually do with what springs up in our… once empty brain.

According to my observation/experience, some of us ended up with more bad and ugly seeds than good; i wish i had an answer for why that is, but i don’t; it remains a mystery.  However; my point is this; we were all helpless and vulnerable when the seeds were sewn.  I mean; we were just babies at the time; helpless and innocent as… hmm… as a baby, right?  Regardless; we inadvertently became subjects… or  better said; objects… and oftentimes… victims… of our guardian’s planting.  The harsh reality of it all is that our guardians too fell prey to the very same process… as would have their guardians.

My point is this; we didn’t get to choose what was downloaded into our once empty brain by our guardians; we got what we got and were stuck with it.  In other words; it wasn’t our fault; however… it became our problem.  Some of us manage to reasonably sort out the problem; sort out the good from the bad fruit and get on with life in a wholesome, productive way; however, there are others who never manage to do that.  I’m sure we’ve all met them… and although we might have our own opinion as to why that is, how God sees it all is what really matters in the end.

FACTS, MYTHS AND FAIRY TALES:

Hmm… just how does God see it?  Well… let’s find that out; i invite you to the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified.  Jesus made a profound statement on the day that He hung there…  a statement that i sincerely hope never gets misinterpreted so as to say something other than what it does.  I strongly suggest that you interpret it in context of what the prophets’ saw and recorded, for that’s where its true meaning is ascertained.  Hopefully you’ll see the blinding light as did Paul when his horse threw him to the cold hard ground… hmm… and hopefully you won’t end up brain injured from the fall in due process.

Jesus said; “Forgive them Father… for they know not what they do.”

Let’s look at the implications of His statement.  First of all; who was Jesus referring to when he said that?

Well, there was a diverse crowd present at the foot of the cross; there were Roman soldiers, public and religious officials, curious bystanders, and of course, Jesus’s family, friends and followers.  Hmm… lemme see… did i miss anybody?  O yeah… you and i would have been there as well… in spirit, of course.

Secondly, did they (we) sin… do something wrong?  Most all of us would readily admit to having done something wrong at one time or another, i’d suspect.  We will… or at least should… readily admit that… we had sinned… and that we will continue to sin; however, we do each have our own measuring stick to evaluate the degree of that wrong/sin.  I mean, there’s a biggg difference between stealing an apple and killing somebody, right… er… well according to us, anyway.

Take those Roman soldiers and religious leaders for example; now, those guys were downright mean and nasty… baaaddd to the bone, right?  Hmm… we may as well include Judas; regardless of his model demonstration of sincere confession/repentance for his sin, i might add; however, he tripped and fell so far awaywayyyy from the proverbial, good/bad line that his next stop just must have been; hell, right?   The same goes for the one thief that was crucified beside Jesus; he too must have earned a free pass into hell for rudely challenging Jesus, saying; “come down from the cross and save yourself.”  I mean; how disrespectful, right?  However; what we might be missing here is that; regardless of the degree of their deeds (sins), Jesus asked the Father to forgive them.

Now; here’s where you’re going to be religiously challenged; you really should be asking yourself this question; were the aforementioned, bad actors indeed forgiven… or not?  Bear in mind; Jesus didn’t mince words; He always meant what He said… always… and so would it be safe to assume that when He asked the Father to forgive them/us that His Father would have honoured His request; subsequently forgiving them/us… all right then and there on the spot?  If you managed to swallow that without choking; proceed to the next hurdle.  If you’re still tripping over that issue then you’ll have to settle it on your own and then catch up to the rest of the story.  However, don’t wait too long; you might be missing out on a wonderful inheritance.

For those in agreement with the fact that they/we were all indeed forgiven, then brace yourself for the next question.  The next question is.. for how long?  Now, that might sound like a ridiculous question… but really… it’s actually an extremely important one; it’ll reveal the foundation that your spiritual house is built on.

How long was the offer of absolution on the table for?  More specifically; was Jesus’s proclamation of forgiveness, valid for all of their/our past sins up until the very moment that He spoke those words… only?  What about the sins that they/we will have inevitably committed afterwards.  I mean; if you were to be honest with yourself, and hopefully you are; otherwise, you’d be lying… gasp… and that would be a sin… you’d readily recognize and readily admit that sin is like lint… and we are like velcro… it’s just a matter of time before a sin or two will stick to our perceived clean and pure state of being… emphasis on… perceived.

Excuse me for forcing you up against the ropes on this issue; however, sometimes it’s necessary to see the truth.  More specifically; how many seconds, minutes, hours, days… months and/or years… after Jesus spoke those words of absolution would they/we be declared sin free and therefore; considered holy?  Allow me to paint a hypothetical scenario.  What if one of those mean ol Roman soldiers had of dropped dead… like had of died instantly of say… heart failure within a split second after Jesus asked the Father to forgive him… what would have been the eternal destiny of his soul?  Would he have been eligible for the free gift of eternal salvation?  Well, according to my calculations, he would have been absolved clean and free from all sin for there’d have been no time to do another wrong even for the worst… er… for the best… of sinners.

Ok… so maybe that guy managed to squeak through the Pearly Gates; how about we move the clock ahead… just a tad… a few hours after the deal was made between… God and man.  Another soldier, one with a stronger heart than the other bad guy, perhaps… who managed to leave the horrific scene, rambled on home and had supper with his family.  After din dins, he may have cussed a few times, argued with his wife… and then… ugh… kicked the dog… just before retiring for bed.  C’mon now… swearing and arguing is one thing, but kicking a dog… hey… that’s gotta be a baddy… even in heaven… as it is on earth.  Nonetheless, he doesn’t wake up in the morning… he dies in his sleep; i dunno, maybe he choked on his pillow or something.  The question is; what would be the status of his soul at that point in time?  We could move that clock further ahead to… days, weeks, months and even… years; howbeit, it doesn’t change the question; how long were they/we absolved for?

For those who are biblically in tune; if you recall; it used to be a Hebrew custom to confess all of the sins of Israel onto a goat and then send the off into the desert… to die, of course.  I know… poor goat, right; however, there are a few relevant points to get from this.  First of all the ritual was not exclusive in that it covered only some of the sins or for some of the people; it covered from A-Z for the entire bunch.  Hmm… we’re talking about one reallll fat goat here.  Ugh… i pity a predator that indulged in taking it out; majorrr indigestion, i’d say.  Nonetheless it was an ongoing ritual.  Secondly; this was an obvious foreshadow of the coming of Christ as the proverbial; scapegoat who would remove the sins of the world; however, His sacrifice would be finalllll; once for all.  Heb 10; 1-18.  Hopefully, you can grasp the relevance of that analogy… and soak lonnng in it; it’s healing to the mind, body and Spirit.

FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO:

Let’s leave that thought on the alter for a spell and give it some time to soak in; meanwhile, how about the second part of Jesus’s statement at the cross; “for they know not what they do?”  This is the part of the statement that relates to our; ASE (accountability status exemption).  What are the implications of Jesus saying this?  Let’s start with those mean-n-nasty soldiers and religious leaders; do you perceive that those guys were consciously aware of what they were doing?  In lieu of our previous chat about ‘brain washed,’ in particular, is it possible that much like Freddy-the-impetuous-fondler and the radical Islamic Mom, they might not have been aware of their heinous crime?

Regarding the soldiers; perhaps their Daddy was a Roman Centurion as was his Daddy before him; subsequently, being a good and loyal soldier was a thing of family pride and therefore a matter of honour and respect… admirable qualities, even in today’s standards.  Suffice it to say that; if those soldiers were anything like today’s military; then they were brainwashed to simply follow orders.

Oh… there may have been some who felt uncomfortable doing that, but to reveal such a contrary mindset would have ushered in an entire host of ramifications; ostracism… or worst… fear is a powerful motivator.  And as for those Pharisees; there was a mixed bag of motivations with that bunch;  some, i suspect were intentionally acting out an evil while others were self righteously reacting, to the point of believing that they were actually doing God a favour by protecting the Jewish nation from a ravenous wolf such as they deemed Jesus to have been at the time.  It all boils down to this; they/we knew not what they/we were doing… in all cases.

Nonetheless; let’s get down to business on a personal level; what about us… you and me; were we forgiven at the foot of the cross too… and if so… for how long?  More specifically, is God’s gift… His free gift still valid for us today… like… 2000 plus years after Jesus spoke those words?  I’m sure there are still some who would agree with all of the aforementioned, however; would inject a fine print of the contract and say; “Ya-but… you still have to do this and/or that to qualify for the goods… gasp… i call that the; ‘ya-but gospel.’

Ugh… still stuck on that, huh?  Sincere confession/repentance, accountability; you’re probably getting pretty worn out and frustrated, scrutinizing all of that complicated, fine-print criteria… prerequisites/qualifications for the inheritance… the free gift of salvation.  Right about now; you’ll be reaching deep into your back pocket for that one last, reliable lucky charm… namely; faith.  “Amen… I’m saved by faith,” i hear you say.  I mean… there’s certainly enough mention of that in the bible; surely one can trust that to get you thru the Pearly Gates and into heaven.

Hmm… i wouldn’t be too quick to jump on that band wagon; each one of Jesus’s disciples fell off at one time or other… and they hung out with Him and witnessed His many miracles like… 24/7… even after the Holy Spirit arrived to write the truth in their hearts.  Besides, if you truly perceived faith to be that foolproof and impressive then the trophy should really go to our radical Islamic mom; after all, she like Abraham took faith to another level, willing to sacrifice her beloved son to please/appease God.  Ugh… i can hear you say; “ugh… why does this guy keep bringing that up?”

Nonetheless, the relevance of faith to our query is this; well… in my opinion, anyway… the line of faith is much like the line of sin, repentance and accountability; it’s not a black and white, discernible line at all.  We’ll have days when we’re full of it… faith, that is… and other days when we may be wondering where God went… why He forsook us, especially when we’re up against the ropes in the ring of life and death.  I know because i’ve been there… many times.  Furthermore; what if you happened to drop dead on one of your… ‘unfaithful’ days… then what?  You’d be hooped… booted off the salvation train… according to what many perceive to be the gospel, that is.

VERDICT:

It’s time to bring out the jury on this case and settle it, ‘once for all.’  Hmm… where have i read that before?  Oh yeah; Paul said it; Heb; 10; 1-18. In retrospect; i asked you what you believed the reason was for Jesus coming to our cruel world; ‘to remind/reprimand us regarding the commandments… to subsidize our inability to follow them… or… to change programs… establish a new covenant.  This is what’s on trial here.

To recap then; i mentioned Mom’s comment that she’d have to be a better person if she was ever going to see heaven.  We then thoroughly discussed the psychology revolving around those invisible lines determining right from wrong… and faith.  We’ve discussed ASE (accountability status exemption) for those who never heard the gospel, for young children, brain injured and brain washed; how they are potentially exempt from judgement, not held accountable for their actions because they knew not what they were doing… and so are we any closer to seeing God’s perspective on all of this?

The Ten Commandments are called the golden rules of life… and for a good reason; they are… and always will be a superb guideline to a respectable and healthy life.  However, we cannot possibly obey them like… 24/7; i’m sure you would agree.  But here is where it all goes sideways; Paul’s rhetorical take on the issue according to his letter to Rome reads; “For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” Rom 5:13. 

There is a smorgasbord of opinions/interpretation revolving around that allusion.  However; rather than chase rabbits in that quarry, suffice it to say this; when interpreted in context of the promises/prophecies it is quite simple; it points to a regime change, from that of mandated, outward, written rules to follow… to a built-in guide/teacher.

Hmm… i can see hands raised up in protest all over the courtroom… and i’m not surprised; it caused quite a ruckus back when the first generation of believers first heard it as well.  Howbeit; do read on; we’ll be looking at a caveat regarding the removal of the law… that defines sin.

The way i read the new covenant is that our heavenly Father is now dealing with our wrongs… according to… His righteousness.  You might wanna meditate on that for a spell; it’s truly a liberating revelation.  Psalm 42:1, Psalm 103:10, Rom 4:8, Rom 5:13-15, Cor 5:19.

Nevertheless; it confounds me as to why so many are reluctant to embrace this big and beautiful part of our inheritance, rather than contesting it.  In essence, the law in its entirety, requirements including all of the rituals, holy days and ordinances… ‘touch nots; taste nots,’ was indeed done away with… removed… nailed  to the cross, died and was buried there with Jesus.  What rose from the grave was something much better; much simpler; a built-in guide, revolving around love/appreciation for God, for ourselves and for our neighbour.’ Eph 2:14, Mark 12:30.

The problem is that some people are just not okay with that; they’ve become too comfortable packing the cumbersome baggage that they have been dragging along their life’s journey and feel safer with the written, stop-n-go signs and regulations; better known as religion.  Consequently; they’ll perpetually church hop in search of a comfortable menu that makes them feel safe/comfortable… on the right side of the good/bad line that the law prescribed.  And then there are those who will contest the liberty/inheritance with something to the tune of; “Are you suggesting that God would be okay with me… even if I went and did… bla bla bla?”  That is when they’d conjure up a schwack of evil deeds that would have been lurking deep down and dormant within the labyrinths of your perpetually corrupt mind; things that you managed to suppress and refrain from acting out… like a gooood and disciplined… non-brain injured, Christian soldier and all.

The question you really should be asking yourself at this fork/cross in the road is; what was restraining you from doing such stupid things before you heard the truth; the true-blue, good news gospel, the one that proclaimed you to be free from sin and God’s judgment?  Be honest now; your answer to that will reveal the foundation upon what your spiritual house is built on.

Is your reason for refraining from being a bad boy/girl because you were afraid of losing your ticket to heaven… afraid of God’s judgment of hellfire and eternal damnation?  “Of course not!” i’m sure you’d reply.  After all, nobody in their right mind would ever admit to that as being their lone motive… well… not publicly anyway.  How about we keep this private, between you and God; the ten million dollar question then is; what would you do if you found out that God had indeed erased the line that defined sin… that He was no longer keeping score; no longer charging your wrongs against you; how would you conduct your affairs, thereafter? Psalm 103.

However; regardless of how you should choose to conduct your affairs thereafter, know this;  our God has made an irrevocable covenant with us…. not a contract; there is a difference.  A contract is a bilateral agreement dependent on actions and circumstances of the parties involved; an agreement that can be terminated if breached.  A covenant, on the other hand is a unilateral agreement, a commitment not dependent on the actions of the other; in other words; it is an unconditional deal that cannot be terminated.  Oh it too can be breached alright; however, it will not dissolve the covenant; that’ll always remain in place; choosing to not be involved and/or stepping out from under its provisions will simply render its provisions inaccessible to you.  It’d be like having a stacked bank account but choosing to live in poverty.

Ugh… i know… that a was deep subject; speaking of deep; you might be wondering where the hell… hell is in all of this.  I mean; isn’t that where sinners go; where Judas and the other mouthy thief on the cross who was crucified beside Jesus went?  Interestingly; there’s nowhere in my bible that even alludes to such a demise; however, many managed to buy the puzzle piece regardless.  It’s a classic example of assumption; or perhaps; coercion from one’s favorite so called; prophet/teacher, hence why i advise; interpret any and all biblical references in light of Christ and the finished works of the cross; a solid; a tried and true cornerstone; you’ll be sure to not get lost down one of many rabbit holes then.  Nonetheless; regarding hell; according to Christ and the finished works of the cross plumbline; hell was closed for business when Jesus rose from the dead.  Prior to the resurrection hell might very well have been a holding tank to incarcerate sinners, which would have been every living soul, prior to the cross, incidentally; “There is none righteous; all have sinned.”  Rom 3:10.  Howbeit; ‘when the fullness of time had come,’ Jesus changed that program; it now reads; ‘No Vacancy.’  Hell couldn’t hold His pure, sin free body… nor can it now hold ours… only… because we are in covenant with Him; covered with His robe of righteousness.

Have you ever wondered who those souls were; the spirits of all those wandering the streets of Jerusalem on the day that Jesus died?  Well; it wasn’t Halloween; rather, i suspect it was the prisoners of the old covenant of sin/penalty; all now redeemed, set free under the new covenant, signed by the blood of Jesus.  Matt 27; 52-53, Luke 4:18.  Why would i doubt Him; why would i contest such a precious inheritance?

REVELATION/REVOLUTION:

You may disagree with my viewpoint; however, i sincerely believe it to be the authentic gospel, the good news that was intended to set mankind free and not the pathetic gospel that tangles mankind up in a complicated maze of; ‘ya-buts, do’s and don’t do’s’.  The roots of that response go deeeep… way back to the Garden of Eden.  It was a psychological mindset/trap, designed to generate unquenchable shame and guilt… to prod Adam/Eve to run and hide from Father God in fear of punishment when they blew it instead of seeking refuge in Father God’s mercy.  Hmm… a spell that seems to still be holding strong today, i’m sad to admit.

Nonetheless; contrary to what you might assume, my newfound revelation of unconditional salvation did not inspire a rampage of sinful activity; rather, it inspired the opposite; i confidently took responsibility for, both; my thoughts and deeds, without the fear of divine reprisal.  What changed was the drivetrain; more specifically, the motor; my newfound motivation for making positive changes is no longer an external driven policy to please and/or appease God or others… nor is it for fear of God’s reprisal; but rather… it’s an internal one, written in my heart… designed for a better quality of life for myself and for that of others.  Furthermore; i became transparent; my phony self righteousness and hypocrisy became visible/obvious; and i wanted no more part of any of it.  I no longer felt a need to fabricate alibis and excuses for the sad state of my humanity… we all tend to do that.  I call it the; ‘fig leaf syndrome,’ named after Adam/Eve, when they attempted to hide their nakedness from God to avert guilt/shame.

Lastly; i was able to authentically associate with others from all walks of life without inadvertently judging them; scrutinizing how they might be conducting their affairs.  This is not to be confused with tolerance; tolerance doesn’t make people free; it merely enables/encourages disrespectful behaviour… be it for that of self or for that of others.  Rather; i’m referring to self and mutual respect/acceptance, regardless of life choices.  There is a difference… or so i learned.

Segregation is an inevitable byproduct of the; BBB religious program/contract… to believe, behave, belong.  As long as we perceive there to be requirements/qualifications to be met, then judgment will surely be lurking in the shadows… and where there’s judgment, there’s going to be discrimination and ultimately; segregation… the opposite of unity.  “Judge not lest you be judged, for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged, and with what judgment you mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Matt; 7-1-3.

To sum it all up; the true-blue, ‘horse-before- the- cart‘ gospel is; to simply; ‘love God… and love your neighbour… as yourself.’  When… and only when… you can personally accept/experience the liberating washing of God’s free and never changing mercy and grace for yourself, then… and only then… will you be able to reflect that same love, mercy and forgiveness to all of those who may have offended you; there is no shortage of them, right?

I challenge you to read the fine print on your eternal ticket; what does it state; this ticket is valid… only… if you believe and behave?  Mine reads; ‘unconditional, free pass to heaven, bought and paid for… in full by the blood of Jesus Christ.’  My relationship with God now is so much clearer/simpler, rendered down to that of a grateful and humble mirror, wanting nothing more than to simply reflect God’s unconditional love and mercy for others to see and experience, in hopes that they too will be drawn closer to Him.

I wasn’t going to include the following but i feel it is a valid testimony for the jury to review.  For years, i shared my new found love and life for God on the city streets of my city.  During such time, i interacted with many seriously, emotionally wounded people; most of them… living on the streets.   I’d strum away on my guitar and passionately sing praises to God as His presence filled the meeting room.  People would fall down to their knees in sincere repentance; their consciences contrite for their derogatory life style… or so i surmised at the time.  However; i now can see it for what it was; guilt/condemnation… there is a difference.  Regardless; their tears were short lived; within just a few hours, they were back out on the street, carrying on as if none of it had ever happened.

It’s not that they weren’t sincere; their tears were genuine, for sure; it’s just that they had been there before… and not just once… and the ending was always the same.  It was just another perk… another program… another tweak in their heart that only served to remind them of their failures/inabilities.  Some would go further than others; they’d try harder; manage to walk the straight and narrow for days, weeks… or sometimes, even, months, but then they’d eventually crash, only to find themselves sucked back into the deep hole of their addictions and degradation all over again.  That’s where hell is now… it’s here… on earth.

I’m sad to admit that we’re doing no different than the Pharisees of Jesus’s day; we’re inadvertently manufacturing and marketing facades of what we perceive God to be all about.  We attempt to connect people with His holiness rather than with His love and endless mercy… His unconditional acceptance of us… just as we are.  We don’t do this on purpose; the protocol to ‘believe/behave in order to belong’ is written all throughout our Christian DNA, so to speak.  We hear it preached right from our bibles; therefore, it must be true, right?  That’s a loaded subject all of its own; suffice it to say this; the words in the bible are Spirit; read it with that… in mind.

Nonetheless; when Mom commented that she didn’t feel worthy… good enough to go to heaven when she died, she was admitting her inability to measure up to God’s standards.  Hey… what more could you expect from someone who was brought up in a strong religious environment of nuns; they apparently labeled her; the ‘black one.’  Hmm… a rather ironic name coming from a superior clad in black and white, i’d say.  Nonetheless; what Mom failed to recognize/realize was the fact that Jesus measured up… for her.  And that my dear readers is the truth… the authentic gospel… the one that we are hopefully experiencing… and ultimately sharing with Uncle Sam McGhee and others.

The bottom line is; as long as we continue perceiving there to be a line of right/wrong… and yes… even the other line of faith/unbelief, our attention will be focused on where we stand in regards to that line; rather than on where we stand in the eyes of our Maker.  Consequently; we’d be stuck in Adam/Eve’s ruts of; perpetual, doubt, guilt… and fear; running and hiding from God, rather than running to Him… all over again.

It’s the difference between faith and fear; fear produces a mindset of unacceptability before God, the fruit of which will incite us to run and hide from our Maker and/or to try to please/appease Him… a disease better known as; religion.  Faith, on the other hand encourages us to run to our Maker, trusting in His never ending love and mercy.  As written; “We shall be known by our fruit.”  Bear in mind that it’s the root that produces/nourishes the fruit… not the other way around as religion would have it.

And so it is, that we inherited many gifts from God as a result of the finished works of the cross, the greatest of them being ‘God’s signature of approval.’  A robe of righteousness was placed on each of our backs, whether we are aware of the fact or not.  We might not feel righteous and holy on any other day… but Sunday; howbeit, the ‘powers that be’ in the spiritual realm recognize its power/significance 24/7.  The truth is that; we are God’s signature, written with His blood… and it carries immense power…. enough to erase all sin and proclaim us to be… eternally free.

SUMMARY:

I’m curious as to your thoughts after reading all of this; however, i do believe it to be the authentic version of the gospel; so much so that i shared it with my Dad at his dying bedside.  We were alone, just Dad and i… and Dad was now in a coma, his breathing became very shallow and sporadic.  He was obviously nearing the end of his physical life on earth.  In preparing him for eternity i didn’t pressure him to confess his sins… as if he’d even been able to do such a thing… to acknowledge Jesus as the only begotten Son of God etc… or to be repentant of all of his shortfalls as a human being; rather, i simply did as Jesus did; proclaimed him to… be free.  I simply reminded him of what Jesus did it all for him; that He had prepared for him a mansion; an eternal home.  I then encouraged him to let go; to abandon his cumbersome, sick body… and challenged him to step into heaven’s realm… overwhelmingly beautiful, in all respects.

I gently placed my hand on his forehead and said; “Dad, you need to let go now, Jesus is waiting for you; He did it all for you… and there is nothing you can do to change that.”  At that, Dad took in one last breath of earthy air and then stopped breathing altogether; his hand then became cold to the touch.  At that point in time i perceived him to be looking down at the very last scene of his physical life while reaching out to grasp the nail scarred hands of his real hero… not Clint Eastwood but… Jesus Christ; his true Saviour.  I smiled, wiped tears from my eyes and then gestured with a; ‘thumbs up;’ you got it!

And so it is that; somebody died and left us something.  We can know all about that something and enjoy the benefits of it while we’re physically alive… or we can ignore and/or contest the will till death do we part.  Either way, it remains available as; a free gift… with no complicated fine print of rules and/or feats to execute for eligibility.  Thanks be to Christ; it was indeed; ‘finished,’ just as Jesus declared over 2000 years ago.

BOOK 2

THE GREAT EXCHANGE:

Believing/behaving is not easy; it’s impossible.   When Jesus’s disciples asked; “Who then can be saved?” His answer was; “With man this is impossible, with God all things are possible.” Matt 19:25.

I invite you to lift up your shirt and glance down at your mid belly.  I’d suggest you do this alone; i don’t want to create a kinky bible study.  You’ll notice an indenture… or perhaps, it’s a protrusion.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re an ‘outie’ or in ‘innie;’ as long as you have one; it’s called a belly button.  If you don’t have one, then you’re probably an alien of sorts, or perhaps the result of some Frankenstein laboratory experiment.  Howbeit, your belly button is in essence, a scar; significant of the fact that you are a human being, born of a woman; of the lineage of Adam, to be specific.  Now, as it is with any family structure, the kids inherit the genetic baggage of their parents.  And so it was that we; as in; you and i,’ arbitrarily inherited our great, Great Gramps Adam’s baggage; all of it; the good, the bad and the ugly.  It wasn’t our fault; however; it became our problem.  The good news is that it became God’s problem as well and He provided a way out for the lot us.

The following may upset you; however, it’ll be well worth it; we need to be shaken… shaken free… from some of our perceptions about God if we’re ever going to be free in this crazy world.  We need to first of all come to terms with the fact that sin is not something we do… as in; right or wrong… rather; sin is something that we are.  As mentioned; we were born into it; inherited it genetically from our great, great grand parents; Adam and Eve.  This is not to suggest that we don’t do wrong; we all know that that is just isn’t true; however, it will hopefully shift your attention to what we became when Jesus died on the cross… hence the title of this story; ‘The Great Exchange.’

Most of us were taught to be good… that God, like Santa Clause was keeping track and all.  And really… that’s not such a bad thing… well… being a good person part of it, anyway; nonetheless, it’s hard to shake ourselves free from the concept of reward from God for being good and punishment by God for being bad.  However; that is where the serpent lies/hides in the Gospel, in my opinion.  Bear in mind; it’s not like we escape the demise of wrong doing; the spiritual principals governing good and evil remain.  Some call it Karma; however, i perceive it to simply be a; ‘cause and effect’ syndrome.  If you should choose to act disrespectful/irresponsible then you’ll reap the repercussions of such.  In layman’s terminology; you’ll get your butt kicked.  Conversely, if you choose to act respectfully/responsibly, then blessings will be sure to find you.

Ok; you can pull your shirt back down, hide your weird belly button, suck in your belly and tighten up your belt cause we’re about to go deeper.  And so it is that the genetic stain of sin and the sting/penalty of such were etched onto our souls, attached to our DNA, so to speak.  As the biblical parable goes; a demonic entity planted tares in the heart of mankind way back in the garden; specifically into the womb of Eve.  The symptoms of these tares being sewn manifested as generation after generation of physically sick and emotionally wounded people; but by far its worst ramification was the fact that it destined all of humanity to a demise of eternal death… separation from our Maker when we died.  There was no physical way to escape the sentence… no physical way; however there was a spiritual way, and that was what Jesus and His appointment with the cross was/is all about.

***The following is restricted from those who still believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause and/or the Tooth Fairy.  As mentioned; tares (sin) were literally planted in the womb of humanity; the question is; how did that happen?  I hate to burst your Sunday-School bubble, but it wasn’t an apple that ushered this conundrum into existence; it was the result of sexual misconduct.  I’m not going to post a shwack of biblical references to support this… you can research it on your own; however, if you read between the lines, you’d see it.  The most obvious common sensible clue was the fact that Adam and Eve didn’t cover their mouths; when they got found out, they covered their genitals.  What would you think if you barged in and surprised a naked couple in a closet at one of your dinner parties… and they immediately covered their genitals?  Hopefully you wouldn’t turn the closet upside down in search of apple cores.  Nonetheless; God asked Adam; “Who told you that you were naked?”  Apparently, God made the connection.  Secondly; the consequence for their crime was pretty specific; it wasn’t perpetual tummy aches thereafter but rather that the woman would thereafter experience pain in childbirth.

But, hey… if you wanna continue believing the forbidden apple story fly-at-er; it’s not going to change what God did for you.  And don’t worry; i’ll refrain from sharing any of this with your children in a Sunday school lesson, for obvious reasons.  I could only wish that our public education system shared the same sentiment; conversely they continue to expose and coerce our innocent little ones to perverse sexuality… ugh!  Anyway, we’d best move on; i don’t want to overwhelm you; i recall how upset i was to discover that Santa Clause was actually Mrs. McPhee, my next door neighbour.  That was the day that Santa was busted and Christmas died for me… ugh!

Nonetheless, hints of God’s future intervention on behalf of Adam’s plight was evident all throughout the Old Testament Books of the bible and then reaffirmed in the New Testament records on mega occasions.  If you recall, Father God informed the kids back in the garden that there was going to be a battle (enmity) between Adam’s seed and the serpent’s seed… well… again, he wasn’t talking about apple seeds; rather, He was referring to Adam and Eve’s offspring; one seed in particular; Jesus Christ.  “He will crush your head; you shall strike His heel.” Gen 3:15; more on that later.

THE CURSE WAS BROKEN:

We’ll now have to investigate the blood if we’re ever going to wrap our heads around this amazing event.  If you recall; at the Last Supper, just before Jesus succumbed to the bloody death of the cross, He informed His disciples that He was going to shed His blood for the remission of the sins of the world.  Now, i don’t know about you, but i always drew a blank when trying to understand what blood had to do with anything; specifically, why blood had to be shed.  I mean; the Old Testament is littered with sacrificial ceremonies of animals; and so why?  There had to be a connection to the garden party, wouldn’t you think; you’re allowed to do that you know.  While i dare not write it into the Bible i do have a few legitimate suspicions, shall i call it.

The first display of blood may have had something to with Eve’s sexual activity; the evidence of blood when a virgin loses her virginity.  I perceive that Eve was initially sexually violated by none other than the shifty salesman in the garden; Lucifer.  Secondly; a woman has been committed to an uncomfortable monthly, menstruation cycle; hmm… all of which is associated with reproduction activity.  Again; the penalty befits the crime, right?  However; i’m not going to get sidetracked chasing rabbits around that issue; suffice it to say that damn sin entered Eve’s womb with a bloody show of evidence… and eternal righteousness exited Mary’s womb with the same; Jesus suffered and died a bloody, gruesome death.

I’ll first expose the plot and then examine the evidence.  The curse of sin entered our world via the womb of a woman (Eve) and the redemption from the curse entered the same way, via the womb of the virgin (Mary)… get with it….get over it or… get counseling.  Now, let’s look at the dynamics of this unique event.  Here are some pertinent facts to consider in this bloody affair.  Fact #1; the identity of a baby is not determined by the mother, but by the father.  Fact #2; the mother’s blood never mixes with that of the fetus in her womb.  And so the Father of this Christ child is a significant game changer.  Who then was the father?  Well; Mary was apparently a virgin and so no human being could claim that status.  Artificial insemination wasn’t yet invented; however, spiritual insemination was, rendering the Father of the babe God; Mary was merely renting out her womb, so to speak.

On a serious note; it had to be so; the aforementioned blood sacrifice required a unique… divine bloodline.  Entities such as; Buddha, Mohammad and Krishna etc; as good of behavior as they were perceived to be, didn’t qualify; they lacked the key to open the lock of man’s redemption.  That is because each and every one of them carried the same sin stained blood as their forefather; Adam.  Jesus, on the other hand was unique, He qualified because He carried both signatures; born of humanity and yet carried a divine sin free signature.

And so it was that His divine, sin free blood was eventually shed for the sins of the world when He died on the cross just as promised.  To wrap it all up into a neat little re-birthday present; the cross was… when/where Jesus shed His blood for the remission of sin… past, present… and… future; when/where He became sin for us and when/where we were judged for our works… all of us.  It was when/where He was wounded for our transgressions, when/where He was bruised for our iniquities, when/where the chastisement of our peace was upon Him…and when/where we were healed by His stripes.  That’s the authentic gospel folks; the gooood news that we should be embracing and so wanting to share with a suffering/dying world.

Bear in mind that we didn’t get to choose being born into slavery; born of the bloodline of Adam; conversely; we didn’t get to choose our rebirth into liberty; reborn of the pure and sin free bloodline of Christ.  He loved us that much!  Feel free to argue that point until Jesus comes again; i’m sure there are plenty enough biblical references to support your case; meanwhile, i’m going to continue bathing in His eternal free gifts of grace; there are plenty enough biblical references to support that as well; nonetheless; regardless, we’ll all be with Him in the end.

CONCLUSION:

What we should all know for sure is that the curse was indeed broken; God established a  new covenant with humanity, making peace with us.  Bear in mind that he made a covenant with us… not a contract; there is a difference.  A contract is a bilateral agreement in effect only as long as both parties adhere to the deal.  A covenant, on the other hand is a unilateral agreement; it remains in effect regardless of the actions/circumstances involved.  The breach of such will not/cannot  disqualify the deal.

I’m aware of the mega rabbit trails running off from that thought; however, suffice it to say this; God made peace with us; we can reciprocate the covenant and remain blessed or we can breach it and live out the consequences of our choice.  Either way; it will not/cannot change the deal; He signed it with His blood; He loves us that much.

I reiterate; it is impossible to please God by performance.  Adam and Eve covered their genitals with fig leaves and ran and hid from the One Who loved and cared for them when they blew it.  I call it the ‘fig leaf syndrome.’  It appears as if the proverbial apple really didn’t fall too far from the tree for today we hide behind a variety of coping strategies… excuses and alibis that we conveniently rehearse in an attempt to hide our pathetic humanity from ourselves, from one another… and worst; from our all seeing/knowing God.

We’ve inherited many gifts from God as a result of the finished works of the cross, the greatest of them being; ‘God’s signature of approval.’  A robe of righteousness has been placed on each of our backs, regardless of whether we are aware of the fact.  We might not feel righteous on any other day but Sunday; howbeit, the ‘powers that be’ in the spiritual realm are very aware of its significance.  It’s authentic; powerful enough to save the good, the bad… and the ugly… all of those that stood at the foot of the cross, including you and i, in spirit.  Welcome to your new family; that of the second Adam; Jesus Christ… you’ve been ‘born again.’