Feeling the weight of...something

There are certain things God is not going to reveal. And that is good news. Who wants to believe in a God that they can put in a box and completely understand? Not me.

You can take a bucket down to the ocean and dip out a bucket full of water. Everything in that bucket is ocean, but not all the ocean is in the bucket. Amen? And with our bucket-size minds, we are never going to know all there is about God. I’m not. You’re not. Nobody is.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

So I got to thinking...individuals feel the weight of guilt, and nations feel the weight of guilt, the world feels the weight of guilt....and the world will stagger under the weight of the guilt at the end of the last days... is THAT the feeling I've been feeling lately?

                                           

I am serious. Recently I've been feeling the weight of...something. I always feel the weight of my own guilt, and that weight gets heavier the more I am grown by the Spirit in Christ-likeness. As my sanctification increases, so does a super-sensitivity to my own sin.

But it's more than that. It feels lately as if the very air has grown thicker. As if the very world has grown heavier. It feels like I'm in an antique diving suit, trying to walk through mud and molasses.

I got to thinking about the weight of sin, and David's anguish over his guilt. None of us are immune from making poor choices in our lives. David made a number of seemingly minor choices that snowballed into an avalanche of suffering, shame and tragedy. It started when he chose to stay at home in Jerusalem instead of going out to lead his troops into battle, as was his duty. David had too much time on his hands, which ultimately led to him committing adultery with Bathsheba and trying to cover up that sin with murder . I also thought about the women loaded down with sins...and Ezra's burden of the nation's sin... and Isaiah's expression of the world tottering under the transgressions that have piled up. Some days it seems like a lead blanket has been shaken out and is settling slowly on the world, weighing down all peoples. Like Ezra, who understood that the sins of the few contaminate the many, we also feel the weight of the world's guilt and are contaminated by it. God's forgiveness restores the broken relationship between Himself and sinner, but forgiveness can't make everything exactly as it was. Sin has consequences that forgiveness cannot change. David had consequences he had to live with for the rest of his life.

As Christians seeking to share our faith in Jesus, it often feels fruitless. Sometimes we may have the joy of seeing someone respond warmly and positively. We might even be the person that God uses to bring them to faith. But when that happens, you’re probably standing on the shoulders of the Johns of the world. You’re probably the final link in the chain of people that God has used.

                                             

When evangelism seems pointless, when it seems like you’ve failed and been rejected—don’t give up!

Remember the big picture. Remember that God is sovereign, and you’re not the only Christian out there. If you’ve faithfully shared the gospel, and shown a genuine care for the person you’re evangelizing, you’ve succeeded. And who knows—maybe you’ll be that person’s John.

This side of eternity, we might never know the ultimate outcome of our simple, faithful evangelistic endeavours. But God might just use you to awaken someone’s conscience, to plant a splinter in their mind, to lay the foundation for a future response to the gospel. Do your part; entrust the rest to God.

Let me ask you this: How valuable is salt?

40 million tons are required each year to fill our needs. Homer called it divine. Plato called it a "substance dear to the gods."

Shakespeare mentioned salt 17 times in his plays.

Perhaps Leonard da Vinci wanted to send a subtle message about purity lost when he painted "The Last Supper."

In that painting an overturned salt cellar is conspicuously placed before Judas.

In ancient Greece a far-flung trade involving the exchange of salt for slaves gave rise to the expression, "...not worth his salt."

Special salt rations were given to Roman soldiers and known as "Solarium Argentums" the forerunner of the English word "salary."

Thousands of Napoleon's troops died during his retreat from Moscow because their wounds would not heal--their bodies lacked salt.

The human body contains about 4oz. of salt. Without enough of it, muscles won't contract, blood won't circulate, food won't digest and the heart won't beat a beat.

Without a doubt, salt is the essence of life. And Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth."

Simply stated, you are here on earth for a reason. And one of your missions is to share Christ to people.

Blessings,

Raj Kosaraju