Today’s Scripture Reading (June 4,
2016): Psalm 71
I am
currently in the middle of a conversation with a few people who have been hurt
by the Christian Church. In their minds, the hurt that they have experienced
justifies their act of discarding the church. But I am afraid that they are “throwing
the baby out with the bathwater.” I have no doubt that they have been hurt by
the church. What amazes me is that, in every instance, they cannot imagine the
hurt the rest of us have felt as well. They know what people have done to them
and can give you a blow by blow description of their sin, but they are totally
unable to imagine the ways that these people have been hurt in order to make
them act the way that they do.
These are
not just the wounds of the church. They are the wounds of the human race,
things that we carry around with us because of the way that we have been hurt.
It is the garbage that clings to us and the stink that we carry with us. None
of us are immune to the hurt that we have received, or to the hurt that we have
caused. That is the other similarity between my friends hurt by the church,
every single one of them seems oblivious to the hurt they are creating in the
lives of others. And even if they do see the hurt that they are leaving in
their wake, their response is apt to be along the lines of the people deserving
it because of all of the hurt that they have felt.
It doesn’t
matter who you are, or what faith or lack of faith that you proclaim, this is
the reality of our lives. We are the wounded warriors, struggling with each
day, trying to just get through to the end and trying to forget about all of
the hurt that we have experienced. Admittedly, some of us are better at getting
past the hurt than others – but we all hurt.
Maybe that
is why I love this line of the Psalmist. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me … Not because I am
a great guy and deserve your help. I have been hopelessly wounded on the field
of battle. And that pain means that I have caused others pain. I have no
righteousness. Say that again with me – I
have no righteousness. At least, I have no righteousness past the
righteousness that God has given to me. And even that righteousness really
belongs to him and not me. But I am still in need of saving, even though I don’t
deserve it.
This is my cry - In your
righteousness, rescue me and deliver me. And I think it is the cry of every
other Christian who is on this journey with me or has walked on ahead. In your righteousness, rescue me and
deliver me, because God, we have no righteousness of our own – but we still
need to be rescued.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm
92 & 93
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