Life Blood

Recently I was donating blood at a church, when I realized that just above where I was laying was a large cross.  How fitting it was that as I waited for the required amount of my blood to flow out, I could look upon the cross where my Savior shed His blood for me.

 

 “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

1 John 1:7 (NKJV)

 

My blood type (A+) is one of the most common. But even if you have the rarest type (AB-), it has no supernatural power, it cannot cleanse anyone from sin. Only the precious blood of the Lord Jesus is perfect, pure and powerful.

 

Know "that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold,

from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,

but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

1 Peter 1:18-19 (NKJV)

 

Some think it’s morbid to put so much emphasis on the blood. But the shed blood of Christ is all important because without it there is no remission of sin. (Hebrews 9:22)  This was true even in the Old Testament, with its system of regular, repeated animal sacrifices that pointed to the once-for-all atoning death of Christ.

 

Some think it’s crude to talk of the blood. And unfortunately, some pastors no longer preach the blood of Christ because it may offend people. But to those who know Jesus as their personal Savior, His blood poured out was a demonstration of His great love. We give thanks that our sins washed clean by His perfect sacrifice.

 

We can’t make too much of the precious blood of Christ, for it has given us new life.

Toxic Relationships

 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.  The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!  I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”  Luke 15:15-19

 

I’m in a toxic relationship with my credit union.  It took me a while to come to that conclusion because I’m loyal to a fault toward people and things.  I joined this credit union before I was even married, which means I’ve been with them for nearly 30 years.  I loved that about the relationship.  But then, I realized a few things.  First, other places wanted to give me more benefits for less hassle.  As a Christian, I’m fully aware of the grass always being greener on the other side.  Thus, giving me more did not impress me.  Then, their offers for basic services were better, and their bankers actually talked with me.  They wanted to know me.  Not just who they did business with.  It was not just any customer service person on an 800-toll free line.  Then my credit union gave me the ultimate insult.  They denied me a special perk because they needed to see ‘more recent history.’  I thought to myself, “You mean near 30 years is not enough ‘history?’”  So, I found myself asking what do I do?  In my marriage, we fought through the first eight to ten years before hitting our stride, and to be clear, it is until death do we part.  But I married Loretta.  Not a credit union.  So, I realize this is a toxic relationship that I must get out from under, and yes, I asked myself if this is somehow my fault.  It is not.

 

Now I know this sounds silly because it is a banking institution and not a best friend or work relationship.  But I’m sure some of you are dealing with a ‘toxic’ relationship or maybe there is one that you are just not sure if it is.  How do you know when the relationship is no good for you?  Could it be someone who just needs help and you’re not seeing it?

 

A healthy relationship with God is a good way to know what is healthy versus what is bad for you.  Today’s verses focus on the story of the Prodigal Son.  We all tend to know who the Prodigal Son represents in the story, but the aspect I want to focus on is the moment he recognizes where he does not belong where he is.  Note the treatment of him.  He was so hungry, the food he fed the pigs ‘looked good to him.’  Imagine the desperation and needs he must have had, yet, the farmer, any passer byers, friends, or anyone else offered him nothing.  But, “[H]e finally came to his senses,” and realized this was not where he belonged.  The relationship with those around him forced a change not just because he could not live under those circumstances.  He realized there was something far better for him.  Of course, this is only a parable told by Jesus, but there is much to learn from this segment of the story.  First, there is the need and desperation of the son.  Second, the disregard of others that chose not to help him.  Finally, the understanding where one truly belongs and the need to walk away from the situation.  Put another way, we can always seek something in a toxic relationship only for it to never be given to us.  When comparing it to what God offers, we understand where our true loyalty should be.

 

We are so fortunate to have a God who has taught us how to love and be loved.  We all have relationships that require work and time.  Yet, there are some of these relationships that are just not worthy of our time.  While I am not one to say anyone should give up on their relationship, it is important that we reflect on how God would view it.  Ideally, their treatment of you equates to what you would expect from someone who both loves and respects as God would.  There is a reason Jesus says:

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.  (Matthew 22:37b-40)

Loving the Lord, your neighbor, and yourself are required elements in all relationships.  When any of those are missing, it is easy to see why a relationship may fail.  Let us strive to ensure all elements are intact for healthy God driven relationships with others.  What relationships in your life need closer examination under a Godly lens?  Are there levels of toxicity in your relationship that needs addressing?  My prayer is that we see God as a way to sift through our toxic relationships.  Amen.

The Measure of a Person

 What is important to you? By what standard do you evaluate others? On what do you base your choices?

There are a couple of places in Scripture where it seems that our Savior uses a measure with us that we choose to use with others. So, what we do to, or with, others, He does to, or with, us. Does that sound weird? Okay, here's one:

“For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins."

Matthew 6:14-15 NET

This statement is so important, Matthew quotes Jesus saying something like it again in Matthew 18:35. It should be a very sobering thought. Like the second greatest commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself", there's a balance between ourselves and others in the eyes of our Savior.

Here's another of those "tit-for-tat" sort of comments by Jesus:

And he said to them, “Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive, and more will be added to you. For whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

Mark 4:24-25 NET

Only this one has another strange element to it, "whoever has more will receive more, and whoever has little will lose what they have." That's just weird. If you have never thought so, have you really thought about it? It is antithetical to the popular approach to society. That's the opposite direction of redistributed wealth preached by our society.

Of course, this "measure used on others will be used on you" concept has a tag of "and more will be added" feature. That's not exactly balanced. And, if you are particularly mean, should be even more sobering.

The context of the passage in Matthew 6 is prayer, specifically seeking forgiveness. The context in Matthew 18 is seeking forgiveness also. The context in Mark, though, is hearing and understanding parables. That seems different, yet, this concept of using our measure with us is used in both places.

We have an old cliche which says, "You've made your bed, now lie in it." The idea being that consequences follow our actions. Proverbs is full of this concept. Which, in a sense, is really all that God is saying to us (although read the accompanying parable in Matthew 18:21-35).

Here's the thing: God, our Loving Savior, instigates the consequences. He is the One "punishing" with the standard we use with others. With the standard we judge, we will be judged (Matthew 7:1-2). The balance, or consequence, is thematic with Jesus, as it is in Proverbs. Which tells me my Creator thinks it is important.

We focus so much on the grace of our Savior, which saves us from our sins when we were incapable of saving ourselves. And we should. The grace of our Creator is truly Amazing as few things are. Along side that, let's consider the "balance" used by our Savior.

So, when we are angry with another person, family, friend, or co-worker, let's remember this balance. When we drive from point A to point B, let's remember the balance with those on the road with us. When we deal with our kids, our siblings, our parents, let's remember the balance.

I think the recent trend has been to teach "reaping and sowing" to get this idea across. It's a good topic. It's a vital life lesson. Keeping this in mind helps us grapple with the right deity, the One describing Himself in Scripture rather than one of our own imagination. And grapple we should. Let's wrestle with God by the Jordan (Genesis 32:24-28)! We may walk away with a limp, but we will have a new name, and a blessing to go with it.

Balance. The center of our walk with our Creator and with our walk with others comes together on us. Like Jesus, let's grow in favor with God and man.