ROOTED RENEGADE

I was listening to a sermon this morning when it clicked. I had heard the teaching many times before but the distance part is what really hit home for me. With all the talk about social distancing going on across our globe…let us remember this very important fact in scripture. When Jesus was on the cross he had a convicted criminal on each side of him (on a cross)…each was 6 feet away from Him.

One mocked him and one begged for mercy.

Luke 23:40-43
V.40 But the other answered, and rebuking him.said, “Do you not even fear Hod, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
V.41 “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are recieving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
V.42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your Kingdom!”
V.43 And He said to Him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

What is it you are holding so tightly too?  Is it material things that won’t last?  A relationship that is damaging you?  What have you put before God that is distancing you?

6 feet both criminals were placed beside the Messiah because they both sinned.  The Messiah placed in the middle – HE WHO KNEW NO SIN. Neither sin was greater than the other.   Our sins only separate us, they don’t define us.  But we can wash our hands and be cleansed by a Holy God who loves us. 

Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord.  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

I feel like most of our world panicking because all we tend to see in the media is death and chaos. People rushing to the stores and stocking up on toilet paper, meats, hand sanitizer, and things that honestly won’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things. Yes, our lives have been turned upside down. Jobs have been lost, financial stability has been brought into question, those in positions of power have certainly shown us that they can force us to stay in our homes, shut our churches down, and well make decisions for our lives that we have no control over.

Or do we? WE ARE THE CHURCH. The Bible is very clear on what we are to do with our lives. It is time we stop ignoring our Father’s teaching. It is time we stop ignoring the message He gave us to live by. It’s not like we have not had the answers for the past 2,000 years. We have just chosen to live by our own wills and desires. To live as if we knew better. Clearly we don’t. God is the author. Not man. He beautifully made us in the womb when he fearfully and wonderfully made us (Psalm 139).

What will you do with your 6 feet of Social Distancing?