twisted.

I'm coming to strong terms with the fact that the Bible is way too stinkin' twisted. By us. humans.

God's Word is straight up. It's truth. It's legitimate. It's accurate.

Why do we magnify certain passages and blur others? We find a passage that isn't convicting, makes us feel comfortable because we might just be abiding by it, and to us, it shines, while at the same time, we shove those passages that stir up some dissonance to the side. Are we so insecure that what Jesus really has to say to us makes us put our own spin on it, our own 'interpretation' so we can justify our sins? I think so.

A few examples...

Jesus straight up tells us:
"If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."(Matthew 6:15)

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33)

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37)

(In the same regard, I'm not saying to take everything literal such as Mark 9:45 when Jesus says, "If your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell." Jesus himself used figures of speech to make intriguing points. However, if it were to come down to it, I would rather be footless than hellful.)

There is obviously no doubt about it....that we have a gracious (giving us something we don't deserve), merciful (withholding something we do deserve) God. He is powerful enough to cover all of our sins. And he does. He did. So, for our human selves, it makes sense when such passages make us feel uncomfortable.

I do not bring to light these commands in order to make you feel convicted. I've simply learned that seeing and hearing such truths make us ACT. It makes us see our sin, seek repentance, and go runnin' back to our God of this universe. He's simply using his Word to show us just how legit he is. He's simply  trying to save us some heartache because he knows that when we put people, things, objects, ideas before him, it's just eventually going to screw us up even more than our current state. He's being a Father, a father who disciplines, a father who shows, who is, love.

....for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:17).