Greetings beloved family of Common Ground,
Lord God you know the condition of a person’s heart. You see us and know us exactly as we are, as we are all laid bare before your precise and righteous judgment. You know the evil that lurks within the hearts of all people, for there is no one righteous, no not one, no one understands, no one seeks for God, all have turned aside, together they have become worthless, no one does good, not even one . . . There is no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:10-18).
This section in Romans is exactly where our country is at this day as stealing and burning and destruction of personal property has swept across our nation, ignited by an incident of the murder of a human being made in the image of God by another human being made in the image of God. People are murdered every day in the U.S.A. why is this murder so different? Why is this murder victim being posted on every newscast for the last several days, where other murder victims are not? Why all the hate, bigotry, and prejudice? Why all the blame game and finger pointing? Why the great political divide across our country?
But the above narrative changes when you discover that it was a WHITE police officer who brutally murdered a BLACK handcuffed man. Thus, people see it now as an act of hateful racism, which in God’s eyes is most definitely an ugly sin. And of course, being the sinners we all are, there will be those who take advantage of this situation by rioting and looting of private personal property, which in God’s eyes is also an ugly sin. All of the above comes down to an issue of one’s worldview, a biblical worldview, or a secular worldview.
We as true followers of Jesus Christ know and believe that all people are image bearers of the One True God and therefore all people, all colors, all ethnicity, all ages, all sexes regardless intrinsically have dignity, worth and value, which means we should treat all peoples with God-given value and dignity. May we all examine our own hearts in the way we perceive and treat our fellow image bearers of our Creator God.
Let me ask you this question: Who determines right and wrong? Who determines ultimate worth and value? Whose law do we ultimately live and abide by? If the answer to the above questions isn’t the One True God of the galaxies, then Romans 3 applies to all of us. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!
Beloved church family, last Sunday was a marvelous reunion of real people gathering together in sweet worship of our real, personal, and glorious God! We are once again planning to gather in person this Sunday at 10:00 AM outside in our parking lot, weather permitting. Same routine as last week.
Stay Safe! Stay Connected! Stay the Course in Christ! SEE YOU SUNDAY!
Making Much of Jesus!!! Pastor Gary