I titled this Forum "In this together" because life is like a puzzle and we all have missing pieces that need help being put back together.
None of us will go unscathed in this life.
Everyone will face some level of pain and suffering, addiction or unhealthy habit.
So - we are all in this together - and Jesus joined us on earth by leaving heaven, to walk in our shoes, to face painful trials, to feel and experience our pain, so He can relate with us in our times of suffering and pain, and to teach and show us how to love and care for others in and through their pain. And - ultimately to point us to the missing puzzle piece in our lives that can and will put all our puzzle pieces back together and truly complete us - His Father - Abba God.
Jesus tells us in His word, "Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Mark 2:17
Jesus was and is the model we are to look to for every area of our lives. He was and is the perfect Son of God who loved and obeyed His Father all the way to the cross for our benefit. He paved and paid the way for us to find hope and freedom, healing and joy in His Father. Yes- we all have unhealthy ways of dealing and coping with life - but you might be surprised how Jesus may help you in your journey to healing and freedom.
Let's start at the core of our suffering, pain and addictions. At the core of all of our suffering is sin.
What is sin?
1. Sin is defined in the Bible as an act that goes against the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18).
2. Sin began with Lucifer, who was the most beautiful and powerful of all the angels. He was very discontent with his position and desired to be higher than God - thus the beginning of sin (Isaiah 14:12-15). Lucifer - later renamed Satan, brought sin to the human race in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Adam and Eve with the same enticement, “you shall be like God.” Genesis 3 And in Genesis we read of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God.
3. All humans have inherited sin from Adam and Eve since they were the first humans to exist and rebelled, God. In Romans 5:12 we are told that through Adam sin entered the world, and so death was passed on to us all and the punishment for sin is “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
4. Through Adam, we are all inclined to sin and our inner nature was transformed. So, we are sinners not because we sin; rather, we sin because we are sinners. In a way you can look at it like this:
We inherit physical characteristics from our parents, just as we have inherited our sinful natures from Adam.
Psalm 51:5: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
5. Sin is "any thought, action, or attitude that falls short of God’s holiness" (Romans 3:23). Here are some examples of sin:
Murder, adultery, and theft (Exodus 20:1–17). Even the desire to commit these are sins (Matthew 5:21, 28).
Yet you may say - I have never done any if these - yet Romans 3 tells us we have all fallen short of God- that means jealousy, lying, hateful thoughts and feelings are just as sinful.
If we can begin to accept that sin exists and is at the root of our pain - whether by our own sinful choices or by another's sinful behavior and treatment to us - that is a healthy first step.
Dear one, we were not created to be sinful.
We were designed by God in His own image (Genesis 1:27).
We are His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 8:4–6).
We were designed to have a loving, safe, fulfilling relationship with our Abba Father, Creator God.
Let's begin this journey towards walking in freedom and healing by being open to the Lord to move in our hearts, guide our thoughts, and allowing Him to help us move towards trusting Him and His perfect will for our lives.