The events of
the past week or so have been heavy on my heart lately.
Kermit Gosnell.
West, Texas. Boston Marathon.
Events, places,
and people that we may never have given a second thought but yet are now etched
into our minds. We feel hurt and pain for those involved, wishing them speedy
recoveries. We begin to label the perpetrators as “loser,” “killer,” “bomber,”
or “evil.” Perhaps we even speak hateful things about them.
Yet, in spite of
all this, a phrase continues to plague my mind.
“Such were some
of you.”
Paul wrote to
the Corinthians in his first letter because of some awful things that were
going on in the church. Sexual immorality, fighting with one another, suing
members of the church. One guy was even sleeping with his father’s wife. It’s bad.
In the midst of this, Paul speaks to the issue of suing one another, and he
specifically points out that no one is righteous. No one will inherit the
kingdom of God because of their own good works. Asking a series of questions,
Paul rather pointedly makes his case: everyone
in the church is guilty. Everyone deserves death.
Yet he continues
with some of the most incredible words:
“Such were some
of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians
6:11
Maybe there was
an act of negligence that led to the explosion and resulting deaths in that
Texas fertilizer factory.
Maybe the
Chechen brothers really were the culprits in such a senseless bombing.
Maybe we haven’t
even plumbed the depths of all the horrors Kermit Gosnell inflicted upon women
and children in that Pennsylvania clinic.
“Such were some
of you.”
The Holy Spirit
is reminding and convicting me through Paul’s words that my sins may not be as
public, but they are certainly just as damnable. My crimes may never be known,
but I am still worthy of condemnation.
So, before you
speak, think. Please. Think on your sins. Think on your state before a holy
God. Think on the blood of Christ shed for you. Think on the lives of the men
and women involved in such terrible events and how desperately in need of Jesus
they are.
“Such were some
of you.”
And pray. Pray
for them to repent. Pray for them to believe. Speak in love and truth, in word
and deed, so that all might hear that were it not for grace, you could very
well be the Boston bomber. Were it not for God’s merciful hand upon your life,
you could be Kermit Gosnell.
We are every bit
as worthy of condemnation as these men are. We just haven’t stood trial yet.
That you might know Christ,
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