Evil and Yet Loved

Evil and Yet Loved

Dear Champions,
 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Luke 11:11-13 Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!  (Observation:  Jesus is calling his own disciples evil, yet He loved them).
 
Our understanding of sin is most likely breaking the rules.   If I keep the rules and do not cheat on my income taxes or kill people or steal, and if I obey the Ten Commandments, then I am not sinning.  But Jesus is showing us our need to go deeper.  Here is what sin really is.  It is self-salvation where you are trying to be your own Savior instead of letting Him be your Savior.  When you realize that, you suddenly begin to realize that everybody is sinning.  Religious and irreligious people have cornered the market on evil.  Jesus says, Until you realize that your heart is really no different than anybody else out there at all, you cannot be my disciple.  The first stage is that you have to destroy your whole old idea of sin and realize that you are a sinner and that you are evil.  Then you receive God s mercy, and that makes you evil and yet a beloved child. 
 
You are evil, and yet you are His beloved child.  Is there any other religion or any other philosophy or any other way of thinking that says, You are evil, and yet you are utterly loved?  No!  Common sense says that you are either evil; or you are His beloved child, but you cannot be both.  But Christianity says that you are both.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining