Jesus, then, answers and said to them, "Verily, verily, I am saying to you, The Son can not be doing anything of Himself if it is not what He should be observing the Father doing, for whatever He may be doing, this the Son also is doing likewise
Johns Account 5: 19, Concordant New Testament
I have been in a struggle recently with a friend who seems to be behaving badly. Now, my first reaction to this situation was just what I had been taught all those years ago in my days in the church. I was to confront my sinning brother in my attempt to correct him and to draw him back into the Christian fold. Well, many of those situations did not turn out to well in the past, so I don't know what made me think that this time would be any different. Still, I tried. What resulted was a tense situation where we both were left with hurt feelings and nothing accomplished. Did I fail him? No, I failed myself. For in my desire to bring correction unto my brother, I had forgotten that I was not the one who ultimately would reveal Himself unto my friend. That would be the Father. I admit that in my heart I am aware of my own relationship with God. That it is my life that is lived within Him {Johns Account 14:20}. So, why would this be any different for my friend? Is his life not lived within the Father as well? Now, those stuck within the mainstream church theology might claim that one struggling in sin has somehow "Fallen away" from God. This simply is not true. It is the Father Himself Who has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us {To the Hebrews 13:5}. We also know that it is God who has created us in His own likeness {Genesis 1:27}. The very idea that we who have been created in the Father could somehow be separated from Him is nothing but false theology. Yet this is exactly what those within the church speak today. As I contemplated confronting my brother in his bad behavior, I separated myself from him. I became the one who was right and he was wrong. I had placed the judgement of the Lord upon him. It was my job to reign him in, or so I thought. I admit that I was wrong in that decision. Not that my intentions weren't good, but I had forgotten who I was.
The apostle Paul has spoken that it is no longer he who lives, but that Christ lives in him {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}. This passage is key to understanding our interactions with those around us. We never interact with people as one separated from God, but it is He who works through us. It is God Who speaks through us. We live our life through Him. My mistake was remembering this truth in my own life. To realize that I do what I see the Father doing in me. Jesus reminds us that He never does anything of His own volition, but that He does only what He sees the Father doing {Johns Account 5:19}. Why would this be any different for we who live our lives in Him? Should we do, as Jesus has, what we see the Father doing? I think so. So, how is it that the Father would have dealt with my friends wrong behavior? We need only look to the passage where we find Jesus confronting the woman found in adultery. The Pharisees of His day sought to confront this woman in the same way the church has taught us to deal with those who sin for ages, to condemn them. But Jesus didn't play their game. For Jesus has not come into this world to condemn, but to save {Johns Account 3:16-17}. So it is that, when confronted with this woman caught is sin, He did what He saw the Father doing, He forgave her. He send her away in grace, not condemnation {Johns Account 8:11}. Can you see the difference in the way I handled my situation and the way I have seen the Father handle these situations? I'm not ashamed to say that I was blinded by that which I was once taught. That we're to shame and condemn those caught in bad behavior. How is it that God has dealt with our own bad behaviors? Did He condemn us? No, for out of His love for us, He dispatched His Son Who through His own sacrifice has provided for our reconciliation. This is what He has seen the Father doing.
Now, unbending, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" Now she said, "No one Lord!" Now Jesus said, "Neither am I condemning you. Go! From now on by no means any longer be sinning"
Johns Account 8: 10-11, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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