2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
Michael continues: The spiritually blind of this world (the devil) focuses on self-sufficiency, self-reliance, self-aggrandizement and selfish self-love. To counter the god of self, love God above all. This is the first and great commandment ... To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength. The first of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shalt have no other gods between your face and my face.” Then when we have our vertical relationship in alignment with our Heavenly Father, we can love others. Jesus Christ is the one who reconciles … who connects our heart with God’s heart. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
In Christ there is God’s justice balanced by mercy and grace. The wrath of God is redirected by Jesus Christ’s atoning payment for sin on our behalf on the Cross. The grace of God is the result of the love and mercy of God. Without God’s grace every earthly relationship is laden with “irreconcilable differences.” No Jesus, no peace. Only Jesus Christ is the One who can reconcile. Only He can bring back together that which has been separated ... for He who was without sin became the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. To reconcile with others, we must first be reconciled with God through the Prince of Peace. Ephesians 2 says, Jesus Christ has broken down the middle wall that separates us from God, and makes of twain, one new man.
When we realize what God has done in our salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, then we have no problem forgiving others and loving them with God’s unconditional love. For in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly. By grace we are thankful for what God did through His Son’s sacrifice on our behalf. Thankfulness and grace are the same Greek root word. Both are the result of the gift of God ... His Holy Spirit. When two people realize that they cannot fix each other and come to the end of their ropes, then their last alternative is to give the other party to God. Only then can God can reconcile their hearts together in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
After the Apostle Peter had betrayed Jesus the third time, the cock crowed and Jesus and Peter locked eyes. Peter, in guilt and shame, ran off and wept bitterly. A broken and a contrite heart God will not forsake. To come to the Lord with meekness and humility, our prideful heart must be broken. Then God can, by His mercy and grace, pick up the threads of our broken hearts and weave them together again. God will cleanse our hearts and our lives by the precious innocent blood of the lamb of God.
The golden rule starts in the home. A wise man once said, the best way to love your children is to love your wife. Children need a solid and balanced nuclear home environment of mother and father. Our first mission field is in our own minds and then in our own homes. In loving God, love your spouse and children. The love of God is unconditional … it is not dependent on the response of the other party. Therefore, above all things, put on charity … the love of God which is the bond of perfectness, that we may live in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ, Michael
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