I’m not perfect, not even close...

I am a Christian but I am not perfect not even close. I’ll give you an example. I have my family living with me. I’m European and some of my family are Māori. Now I am not racist in spirit but I am racist in the flesh. So as a Christian I am not racist but as a man I am. I was brought up to believe ideals that would have been considered moderate at the time but would be seen as racism today.

 

Now I have managed to keep the lid on that fleshly attitude most of the time. However, you only have to slip up once and you are remembered for that worst time no matter how rare or brief. It does incalculable damage to the hearts of loved ones and destroys relationships. 

 

Another example is that recently a member of the extended family has come back into the fold. The immediate whanau are concerned for this young person and want to bring him to live in our home. This situation has provided a real challenge to my spiritual walk. This youngster has a number of behaviors that bring the old racism to the surface.

 

In addition to this situation I have begun to get my Christian walk back on track so the evil one is using this event to tear down my witness. I have also begun to see that our family has drifted in a certain direction for a long time. I have put up with this state of affairs thinking that people who aren’t saved in our family will eventually see our goodness and accept the gospel. Just wishful thinking. 

 

So I’ve moved to the ideal that people need to accept the gospel. This is because a divided house will never prosper. We need to have a bottom line and there needs to be certain outcomes to indicate we are in the right place and moving in the right direction. Namely unsaved people coming to faith. Otherwise there is nothing more we can do for them. This thinking although it is accurate has led to confrontation.

 

Now, I realise that God has a plan and that much of what I have said above is because I’m not waiting on God. Impatience breeds frustration and frustration leads to rash actions which are usually based in the flesh. So the solution to this problem is found in prayer, tolerance and love. It is important to wait on God.

 

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future....” NIV