Does it ever seem to you that Christians often choose
between holding to what are perceived as the biblical principles of the
righteous ideals God desires or holding to the virtues of compassion and
mercy. You may recall the Gospel accounts
of Jesus reproving some of the Jewish leaders for being more concerned about
their rules of righteousness than they were about being concerned for the
struggling people around them. It would
seem that the balance between standing for righteous principles and being a
person of mercy has been a difficult one for sincere religious individuals to
manage for many years.
Divorce is an area in which this dichotomy manifests
itself quite frequently. How does a God
fearing Christian stand up for the sanctity of marriage, and yet deal with the
reality that many individuals within the church as well as outside it have
foundered in the breakwaters of divorce? I received a note from a friend the other day that included another
article in which the writer came down hard on the high ideal of marriage and
the unacceptability of divorce in the church.
And let me quickly add, I agree, that divorce should not exist among
Christians, and if every individual who claims the name of Christ were always
totally obedient to everything God desires of us, we would see divorce
disappear from among us. And, of course,
we would also see church splits come to an end, gossip would find no place in
our ranks and we would be so caring for one another that no individual would feel
pushed aside or unwelcome in the body of Christ. It is a good thing to stand up for the
highest ideals, to believe in the perfection of God’s design.
But as long as we live in this world, it is a
necessary thing to stand for those ideals with a recognition of the fact that
the sin and brokenness in this world has left us all scarred and far short of
God’s perfection, apart from the mercy of God and the justification purchased
on the cross.
So while holding firm to
the sanctity of marriage, we acknowledge with sorrow those many times those
vows have been discarded, ignored and shattered by behaviors and attitudes that
end in divorce. But, as Jesus pointed
out in the passage above, our sin broken world must be met with mercy and
compassion for those whose lives have been devastated by the ravages of fallen
creation.
I guess the point is, I appreciate that there is a
need to stand strong for biblical teachings, yet with recognition that biblical
teaching includes not merely a list of high standards and lofty ideals, but
also the example of compassion and mercy toward individuals whose lives have
been shattered, scarred, even misguided as they navigate their way in this
fallen world. Jesus demonstrated it
toward prostitutes, tax collectors, outcasts, those declared unclean…countless
individuals who longed for a kind word of hope and promise that could lift them
out of the mire and give them the second chance they needed. Jesus offered it not only to those who had yet
to follow him, but also to individuals like Peter himself, who time and again
needed to learn, grow and be given one more chance.
If you have been bound up in despair, feeling cast
away from God and unworthy of God’s love because of the shortcomings, sins and
mistakes of your life, then know that you are exactly the kind of person to
whom Jesus himself offered mercy while walking the earth. Do your best, by the power of God, to pursue
the high ideals God establishes for his people, falling upon his mercy and
grace when you have fallen short.
If you are a person who has lost
your balance, and have either compromised away the ideals God would call us to
follow, or have kept the ideals but run roughshod over people God loves as you
held to them, then perhaps today would be a good day to learn the lesson Jesus
tried to teach, that God desires mercy, not sacrifice, and thus become a person
of mercy as part of your noble ideals.
Because Jesus demonstrated to those of us who would follow, that the
world is filled with people desperate to know that the mercy of God extends
even to them in their brokenness and despair.
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