Sunday, August 16, 2009

Its my fault - Sanctification and Edification~Building Up Not Tearing Down

Ephesians 4:11-13 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

1 Corinthians 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

Ummm...terrible word to use to start a post I suppose, but these verses are...well...humbling and convicting...its my fault.
I have spent a lot of time doing everything except edifying. Everything except setting the Body of Christ apart as Holy. Shame on me. It's my fault.
It is my fault...those four words are probably I think the most important words anyone can ever learn to speak.
If I plant a garden and don't prepare the soil and make sure I've got good seed, I'm not likely to get much of a harvest...and it would be my fault.
I've planted a lot of "seed" over the years, but I fear that most of it was bad seed. It's my fault.

Now this post is about coming to terms with my mistakes. I could turn it around to discuss these same mistakes in others, but I will try not to do so.
I guess it started awhile back with Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

But it went beyond my children. It went to my family and my friends and all the people whom I have spoken with in my life.
Mark 7:20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.

I had a realization that it was the height of arrogance to think it was possible for a parent to think that they had done everything right in the raising of their child. No one can do everything right. To me it seemed even stranger to claim to believe the bible and then say you did everything right and still end up with a child that goes their own way, that rebels and chooses to follow a path away from God and the bible.

I needed to realize that if one of my children went wrong, it was my fault, that somewhere along the line I'd blown it. I had to accept that truth, even though the Curse is broken, the scriptures are still true and they say...Exodus 20:5-6 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
This is a curse, but it is also a promise. Mercy to those who keep His commandments.

With these verse came freedom. The freedom to know that I cant do everything right and really shouldnt expect that I could. That all children will follow whatever god is placed before them. I place the gods before them. They get to choose. When they do I can accept my role in that however it works out.
The fault is mine...and I am forgiven. But the lessons to learn are just now beginning to come to light.

How many times have I had ill words for God's church, the Body of Christ? Not edifying words and so because the words which came out of me did not edify, then the church was not sanctified in the eyes of those to whom I was speaking...Is it any wonder that those outside of Christianity, those lost, would name christians to be hypocrites when we spend our time doing the same thing? It's my fault.
The Bible says that the husband sanctifies the wife and vice/versa. I have taken that a little farther and made it apply to even more aspects of life.
My mother, Lord rest her soul...spent a lot of time talking about the things my Dad couldn't do...and he didn't because of it. My wife has spent a lot of time telling me that I can do all the things that I think I can't...which wife sanctified and edified her husband?

Over the years I've spent a lot of time saying bad things about people and about the church. Is it any wonder that my family has the same issues? No...ITS MY FAULT. I could have and should have done differently.

To my good brother Wayne Anthony, should he ever read this post...Thank you. Why? "It's just how you look at it." A few words spoken...but another brick in the pathway on the way Home.

There is so much freedom in knowing and accepting that...its my fault.

I suppose that hopefully one day I will realize just how much harm I have done to myself because of my own foolishness. How foolish and stupid it is to blacken the name of the Bride of Christ in my own eyes and the eyes of others...but what have I done to myself? What darkness am I in because of it? My foolish words....its my fault.

2 comments:

  1. Just don't beat yourself up over it to much. It's good to realize things. Just so long as you don't go meditating on all the thins you did wrong all the time. Then people get depressed and then angry and no good comes of it. Live and learn. :)

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  2. That's the wonderful thing about accepting it...its freedom. I dont have to think about it. Just accept it. Just knowing that makes the difference.

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