Helping Others Overcome

The first weekend of April 2011 brought bloodshed to the people of the Ivory Coast, an estimated 1,000 people were found dead either shot or kill by machete – 800 in one city alone! All of this over a quest for power and political gain. Most of us looked at the article, heard it on TV or talk about it at work, moving on with our day thinking to ourselves that these people who conducted these crimes where somehow so different from us. Are they? Are we to believe that we are not capable of those things? It’s hard to imagine ourselves feeling that much rage or disrespect for life that we would just take a person’s life. In our society we have all of the essentials; food, water, shelter, clothing, freedom – the things that these people our fighting and killing for. Now not all people in the Ivory Coast are raping murders who steal, kill and destroy. Honestly most people are good willed people, caring for their family. Let’s bring it a little bit closer to home… how about when you hear of a person doing drugs or being sent to prison for burglary or murder in our communities. How do we see these people? Do we make excuses for them, judge them, and humiliate them – what about when we sin, say when we gossip, judge, hoard resources, lust after what we can’t have or commit adultery by a simple glance with our eyes or view a porn site?

What makes us different from a murder, rapist, addict, gossiper, or the people who performed those heinous crimes in the Ivory Coast? Everyone was made in the image of God; Genesis 1:27 “God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God…” What makes us any better than a man sitting on death row, or a teenager getting pregnant, what makes us think that we are all any better than one another? Bottom line is that we all have a sin nature. The Apostle Paul said it best in Romans 7 “…so I discover this principle: when I want to do good, evil is with me. For in my inner self I joyfully agree with God’s law. But I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.” It is interesting that Paul writes this because this was a man who had orchestrate mass murders like the one that happen at the Ivory Coast; but had a radical encounter with God. The Apostle Paul has firsthand knowledge of evil and the struggle to do what is good, to do what God’s has called us all too. Paul later in Romans 7 writes this “…who will rescue me from this body of death.” This is another firsthand account that Paul demonstrates here, also how many time have we struggled with something and wanted someone to rescue us from the pain of addiction, lustful desires, relationships, or just plain bad decisions. Paul sums up chapter 7 of Romans with this “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! …with my mind I myself am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh, to the law of sin.” Paul was displaying the need for Jesus Christ in our lives to renew our minds. No matter how hard we try to run from the action of sin there will always be temptations because we live in a fallen world but what Paul is saying is that our mind must be under control to prevent our body from getting into a sinful situation.

The “law of sin” with our bodies is the battle that we all struggle with; we are temporary in this body walking on this earth being tempted by Satan. Even though I have accepted Christ into my heart, mind and body I’m still being tempted and I’d be lying if I said that I never have moments of failure. This is the “thorn in the flesh” that Paul speaks of in 2Corinthians 12:7; he goes on to explain these struggles as a messenger of Satan to torment us. As we plead with the Lord about our past failures, struggles, temptations and everything else that prevents us from that abundant life of love, compassion and purpose; we must remember what God tells Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” There is no doubt that Satan is lashing out on the earth, we all have a personal battles with things of darkness but we must not categorize our sin from worst to least or deem someone worse then another simply because of their struggles. It’s hard for us to look at those who murder and say, they have an issue with rage or anger that lead to murder therefore they are in need of the grace of Jesus Christ. People who commit the “big” sin, you know the ones that make the news, usually have no choice but to be transparent at that point but what if all of our lives where open to the public? A pregnant teen has no choice but to open her life up to the public, to come under stress and judgment for a decision that she made. My point is that all people are God’s people and everyone has the opportunity to come to know Christ. Paul closes up 2 Corinthians 12 by saying he will gladly boast about his weakness so that Christ may reside in him. Jesus is who fills the gap between us and God, we must accept Him in our lives – once that happens then testimonies of restoration can begin to be written. The flip side is to look at others who struggle in life no matter what it is and not pass judgment but extend a loving, compassionate hand that can be gifted in an encouraging word, kind gesture or the most sacrificing way in prayer on their behalf to God.

Instead of making sly, judgmental, ignorant remarks regarding the people of the Ivory Coast in Africa, lets us take time to pray for restoration; lets apply the same principle to the person we see each day at work, home, school or in our life anywhere. Let’s help others overcome their thorn in their flesh so we can experience Christ’s power in our own life.