This week has been one of horrific news everywhere I’ve turned: Mass shootings, car wrecks, indictments, attacks, a friend’s health news, loss and grief. It seems there is no good news to hear. And as if the news on social media is not bad enough the comments and attacks on each other is so much worse! What has happened to the world that I grew up in?
This week Tal’s Grandmother, our Big Mama would have celebrated her 96th birthday. She died two years ago and we often listened to the things that had happened in her lifetime. She witnessed many incredible things in her lifetime. She rode in horse and buggy as a child, washed cloths in wash tubs, picked cotton, lost two brothers, one as a child that was run over by a car & one to war. She witnessed many of America’s history. The shooting of a president, the Civil Rights movement, televisions in every home, man walking on the moon and so many other things. I cannot imagine what she would think of today’s world and how negative it has become.
The Bible tells us:
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV
I take that verse to heart. Sin is sin and I wallow in it everyday. Not intentionally mind you but I am human and a sinner. I saw a drawing one time that was a skyline with a row of buildings, some taller than others. It stated below that picture “how we see sin”. The next picture was a row of boxes, every one perfectly symmetrical; below that picture read “how God sees sin”. That really hit me hard, why should I think my sin is less than any other person’s sin? Do I have a better walk with God? I go to church every Sunday, shouldn’t that help? The answer kept pressing on my spirit that NOTHING anyone else does should matter to me and my walk with God. Yes I am a Christian, yes I read my Bible everyday and pray but when it all comes down to it I am a sinner. I daily have to ask for forgiveness from The Almighty God that I believe in. In the world’s standard sometimes my sin is small, my mouth says something rude that I shouldn’t have said but, in God’s eyes it’s the same as killing others. Oh how I wish people would think the same way! If an 18 year old committed murder or I snapped at my husband it is not for me to judge the 18 year old. God is the final judge not me. All of my judgement just breeds hate and this world has far too much of that lately.
So I am trying to pray for each person that I know is struggling especially since I struggle daily! Myasthenia Gravis is not a disease for the faint of heart! Some days I cannot do simple things I want to do but it does give me plenty of time to think and pray! If it’s taught me anything, MG has taught me to be still in the Lord and never give up hope!
My prayer is that people’s hearts change and turn back to God. He is the author and finisher of our lives. He is the beginning and the end. One day “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!” (Philippians 2:10-11).
I challenge you to stop and think before saying or typing anything judgmental to put yourself in their place. Use that rule we all learned in kindergarten and treat each other they way we would want to be treated, maybe it will make a difference.
Thanks for reading! ~Melynda