tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112872706536660084.post952696369205332100..comments2024-02-26T03:48:05.589-08:00Comments on Bible Treasures and Pearls: Perfection Part 3Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498627087140234765noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112872706536660084.post-77295757674903100292012-05-15T10:26:27.489-07:002012-05-15T10:26:27.489-07:00I will pray that the situation improves. Ugh. Rela...I will pray that the situation improves. Ugh. Relationships can be so difficult.L https://www.blogger.com/profile/04903967140464360127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112872706536660084.post-69360926874617321952012-05-14T18:39:32.949-07:002012-05-14T18:39:32.949-07:00In a few days I'm going to put the subheading ...In a few days I'm going to put the subheading of "complicated relationships" into the post labels section so that it will line up all the posts which touch on the problems I've been trying to sort out...which will also help me to go back to them as I need to continue to pray about this, and later revisit these things with a new perspective....Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00498627087140234765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112872706536660084.post-426548090743836862012-05-13T18:42:38.320-07:002012-05-13T18:42:38.320-07:00Thanks Leslie,
That is the part that I'm havi...Thanks Leslie,<br /><br />That is the part that I'm having trouble getting a handle on, you hit the nail on the head :)Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00498627087140234765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112872706536660084.post-32742662067837385472012-05-11T13:14:03.845-07:002012-05-11T13:14:03.845-07:00Susan, there is something else that I would like t...Susan, there is something else that I would like to add to the discussion. You have mentioned a few complicated relationships with friends/co-workers. I don't know whether this will be helpful, but I think that you might want to draw a distinction between (a) forgiving someone for a wrong they have committed against you and (b) resuming normal relations with that person. In my experience, relationships are often damaged when one person in the relationship wrongs the other, and while the wronged person can forgive the person who committed the wrong, the person who committed the wrong may need to take some steps to help repair the relationship. In other words, you may be willing to forgive in the sense of relinquishing anger; but, if the other person betrayed your trust etc., then he or she may have some obligation to do something to restore that trust, something that you cannot do for that person. Thus, I don't think that you should necessarily feel that you have done anything blameworthy if the relationship is still damaged - forgiveness is sometimes a two-way street. I don't know if that helps at all, but I thought that I'd throw it out there anyway.L https://www.blogger.com/profile/04903967140464360127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112872706536660084.post-74316786937502599912012-05-11T13:08:12.028-07:002012-05-11T13:08:12.028-07:00I think that the questions that you have been aski...I think that the questions that you have been asking lately about forgiveness, love, and confronting sin are difficult but important, and I have learned a lot from your posts on these questions. I want to reiterate a suggestion that I made earlier - I think that Jesus commands us to confront sin, but that we are to do this in a loving way. What this means is incredibly complicated, and I doubt that there is one way of going about all this that would work in all circumstances. That being said, I think that it might be helpful to think about parental discipline. Parents need to learn how to criticize the bad behavior of their children and even punish them while communicating that they love their children despite their bead behavior. Christ does this toward us, parents do this toward children, and Christians can do it toward others. We can confront someone for sinning while letting them know that we still love and care for them, and that our love for them is not dependent on their being sinless, which is impossible for any of us. We can also acknowledge that we too are sinners, and that we are confronting the sin in question not to assert our own righteousness, of which we have none apart from Christ, but rather because it its right to do so. Of course, how this plays out in practice will depend a lot on the circumstances. Sometimes, we may not be called to openly criticize the sin. Suppose you have a grown child who comes to you and confesses that he has a drug problem which he caused some damage to his life. Your child probably already knows your position on drug use. What the child needs is love. There may be some occasion or need to speak openly about the evils of drugs, but that might need to wait. The important point is this - by not openly denouncing drug use when your child comes to you, you are not supporting drug use in any way. Why? Because you will have already communicated your position on drug use to your child. This is all hypothetical of course, and different situations call for different responses. The point I am trying to make is that while we may often be called to openly criticize/denounce a particular sin, we may not always be called to do so, but that doesn't mean that we are approving of sin when we don't vocalize our opposition to it in an open and direct way. Phew! How complicated this all is! I hope that I have said something useful here. I'm just brainstorming - I'm certainly no expert on any of these things. Anyway, thanks for the post.L https://www.blogger.com/profile/04903967140464360127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112872706536660084.post-6541753344432309582012-05-05T14:58:35.885-07:002012-05-05T14:58:35.885-07:00I had heard that his parents are Christians, what ...I had heard that his parents are Christians, what a terrible thing to endure, for all of them. I wonder if he was a "weaker brethren" that succumbed to sin out of weakness having it continue to spiral downward? This is so sad.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00498627087140234765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112872706536660084.post-19363761737839039482012-05-05T14:00:54.214-07:002012-05-05T14:00:54.214-07:00While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Ev...While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.<br /><br />Even before we were sorry, or asked forgiveness. <br /><br />This takes TREMENDOUS grace from God, I agree.<br /><br />I was reading some info on Jeffrey Dahmer the other day, and I read this quote he gave at his trail:<br /><br /><i>'It is now over. This has never been a case of trying to get free. I didn't ever want freedom. Frankly, I wanted death for myself. This was a case to tell the world that I did what I did, but not for reasons of hate. I hated no one. I knew I was sick or evil or both. Now I believe I was sick. The doctors have told me about my sickness, and now I have some peace. I know how much harm I have caused... Thank God there will be no more harm that I can do. I believe that only the Lord Jesus Christ can save me from my sins... I ask for no consideration."</i><br />http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/dahmer/21.html<br /><br />For all the heinous things he did, he calls upon the name of the Lord.Alicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00380432930727921469noreply@blogger.com