When I look at the world today, I ask myself, "What happened?" I've never heard so many stories about chaos, heartache, and tragedy. We are falling apart. We're a nation that is losing our vision.
We've lost our eyes that only sought out God.
"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." - Luke 23:34
When Jesus walked the earth, he faced an incredible amount of persecution. Individuals openly denied Him to His face. People whom He created, loved, and came to save were calling Him a liar and trying to find wrong in Him. They compromised the Word of God and His house. They quit following His law. They were submerged so far in sin that they couldn't even see what they were doing was wrong.
Is this sounding familiar?
We are living in a world of Luke 23:34. "...they know not what they do..." These words are the essence of our current existence.
Jesus is a man of patience. I want to take a moment to admire His plea to The Father. When Jesus spoke these words, He was hanging on a cross before people who despised Him and hurt Him deeply - physically and emotionally. It would have been so easy to lash out at the people who surrounded Him. Jesus didn't start a riot, cuss everybody out, or hide in fear. He talked to His Father.
As a Christian, we are supposed to be as much like Christ as possible. Obviously, as humans, we can't be perfect, but we are supposed to strive for perfection. I believe a good place to start is crying out to The Father. We see the chaos and corruption everywhere. We should be praying without ceasing. We should be begging God to open the eyes of our nation. Do as Jesus did.... Let our first thought be of The Father.
Jesus is a man full of mercy. Not only did Jesus go straight to The Father, He asked forgiveness on our behalf. I can't even comprehend that level of selfless love. To have compassion on a people who were so eager to turn their backs on Him...... It's beyond me. Jesus has the most beautiful form of compassion - not only while He was on the cross, but even to this day.
Only The Lord can ask forgiveness on another person's behalf. Because this is the case, Christian's can't ask forgiveness for anybody, but themselves. We were not the ones to die for all humanity. Also, as humans, we can't express that kind of compassion for EVERYBODY. Thank God that this duty is left to Him. What Christians can do is pray for those who need forgiveness. We can also analyze our own lives and ask God to mold us into the Christian people He wants us to be. We need to be asking God to use us as a light in our world of darkness.
Jesus is a man who understands. While Jesus was on earth, he was 100% man and a 100% God at the same time. He knew the heart of every person He ever encountered. He understood that the people killing Him were fulfilling His purpose. He came to die for our sins and He did exactly what He set out to do. This is why He said, "They know not what they do." These people were so blind to the truth. In fact, they resented the truth, which is very similar to the people we encounter today.
We weren't meant to understand everything in life. If we did, we wouldn't need God. This is why I can't stress prayer enough. We don't know everything so we need to talk to the One who does. We aren't meant to be alone. If we were, Jesus wouldn't have died. We have a friend in Jesus so we need to talk to Him.
Finally, Jesus is a man who gives. The ending of Luke 23:34 is the saddest of all. These people completely ignore Jesus's mercy, forgiveness, and understanding. They took what they thought were Jesus's last earthly possessions and divided them among themselves. While they were taking from Jesus, Jesus was giving to them. Because Jesus died, everybody could be washed clean in His blood.
As Christians, we can give people the Word of God. We can spread His name. This is our job. We are meant to be His messengers - happy and unashamed. Let the way we conduct ourselves differ from that of the world. Let our Christian countenance speak volumes that words can't say. The power of corruption is strong, but the faith of a Christian is stronger.
We have a God who is patient, merciful, compassionate, giving, and understanding. We have no reason to be afraid. This is our time to stand for Him. Let's be a nation on our knees.
"The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" - Psalms 118:6
Let's not live in a Luke 23:34 world. We have God on our side.
