Day 24 "Human Beings are like Tea Bags"

I once read that human beings are like tea bags-never know what they're really like until you place them in hot water! (Food for thought)

I grew up having a pretty critical and judgmental attitude towards others, especially as a young child. I didn't realize, until many years later, how such judgement and criticism of others was more or less an extension of the self-inflicted criticism I was administering to myself. When I came to a place in my life where I began to be less critical of myself, I found my criticism and judgement of others beginning to fall away, too. A paradigm shift occurred for me when I read the eighteenth chapter 18 of Matthew in the New Testament,

One of Jesus' disciples, Peter, had just asked Jesus the question, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" I imagine Peter thought somewhat highly of himself when he broached the topic of forgiveness with Jesus and offered a number of times forgiving someone that others would have deemed as being very generous and benevolent. But Jesus quickly put Peter back in his place, "Not seven time, but seventy-seven times!" ( a little humble pie for Peter to swallow) The implication here is that there is really not a particular, finite number. Forgive as many times as you are asked. How is that humanly possible? It is possible when we, ourselves, realize how much we have been forgiven.

So Jesus goes on to share with his disciples a story of a servant who was in great debt to a king. It came time for the debt to be settled, and the servant was called to come before the king. It is important to understand here that the amount of debt that this servant owed the king was huge! Most likely, the debt was insurmountable under even good times. But here, the servant found himself in a hopeless situation and knew that the king had the authority to throw him, along with his family members, into prison to work off his debt. Besieged with such a plight before him, the servant fell to his knees and begged for mercy and patience ( mostly likely wailed before the king). The king was so moved, that he took pity upon the servant and forgave the servant's entire debt and let him go. Wow! The king had not just delayed the payment of the debt, he totally forgave it all! A debt that the servant probably would have spent the rest of his life trying to pay off. The entire burden of the debt was lifted and the servant was released to live life unshackled and free. Now, you would think that the servant would have been extremely grateful. Unfortunately, no. He finds another servant who owes him a meager amount in comparison to the debt that he had just been forgiven and demands payment from him of what is owed him. This second servant finds himself in the same predicament as the first servant and also pleads for mercy. But the first servant is unwilling to extend any mercy and has the second servant thrown into prison. All of this was observed by others who had witnessed the forgiveness extended to the first servant. You can imagine the anger that the king had when news got back to him that the first servant, the one had just been forgiven his entire debt, was unwilling to extend mercy to someone else. "You wicked servant!"declared the king, "you should have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you!" Not only was the first servant turned over to the jailer to pay off his debt, but tortured as well!

I found myself relating to the first servant. But my debt wasn't money. My debt was being separated from a loving and just God due to my sins with no way to make it right.

"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23

But Jesus took and paid my entire penalty for my sins. Not only that, it gets even better! Through Christ, I was made a new creature spiritually and my past, present, and future was all forgiven and I was made a child of God, co-heir with Christ.

"and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came in Christ

Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood."

Romans 3:24

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if

indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has

come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us

the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

Whenever my old critical and judgmental attitude begins to raise its old ugly head, I find myself being asked the question by the Holy Spirit within me, "Mark, do you want the justice that you deserved or do you wish to continue your life in my grace and mercy?" Without a moment's hesitation I respond, "Your mercy and grace, Lord." "Then love and forgive as I have loved and forgiven you, " I hear my Heavenly Father gently prodding .

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one

than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I

command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his

master's business. Instead I have called you friends." John 15:13-15

*********************************************************

Yes, we humans are like tea bags. But with Jesus, our lives can be transformed from the inside out.

Hope you have a great day. See you tomorrow....