Nougat 2

Ever been caught in the ‘holiness wars’? You know, those moments when we begin comparing ourselves subtly and decide who’s holy enough to be saved. Sad to say, I have. And I still struggle with it. But today’s Holy Nougat offers a truism that may challenge our conviction about who’s suited for salvation.

“Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is applicable to all; it’s not only a Jew-Gentile issue. Sin is sin and we all are prone to sin. In fact, the NLT takes us back to power over – where sin is the influencer, and every one is under its control. Of course, we met the antidote – Jesus Christ, God’s grace.

This is more about recognizing our human proclivity to sin: sexual, material, little, big, addictive, or occasional; and not compounding the sin issue with our ‘expert’ judgmental nature. I don’t know whether you are guilty of that, but at times it’s as though I am guaranteeing my salvation by comparing worthiness in God’s sight.

But if none is righteous then none is worthy. Not me, not you, not the most respected pastor or priest, or even the most dear, kind soul we met. For our righteousness, our worthiness is not about our own merit (gracias a Dios!) – for some of the sins we commit in our minds might land us in uncomfortable situations – it’s on Christ. And those words on the Calvary Cross – Father Forgive Them – applied to all humanity. We are still clueless about the extent/gravity of our sins.

Now if ‘judge not lest you are also judged’ (Matthew 7:1-3) and ‘Forgive us as we Forgive Others’ (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) have any merit, then we should embrace the Love that covers the sins of the multitude (Luke 23:34) and the multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). For sure, the Love of God reaches to those hidden depths of my soul, exposes it to the Son light and declares ‘Forgiven.’ There’s more where that came from for All. And all means ALL, including the ones who hurt us or are hurting.

So where does that leave us? Probably in a position to pray for those who we know (believe) are beyond God’s redemption. And while we are at it, we seek God’s forgiveness for our own attitudes? May God have mercy on us all.

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May all we seek be found in Christ