Lynn Gardner

tSpo6naSmsorhed  · Shared with Public

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The Living God lit up the farm with Majesty again, and no matter how many times I witness the Work of His Hand, I am in awe of Him. When I went before the Throne of the God of all Creation at sunrise He did a good Work in me…work that I desperately needed for the Journey. I’m troubled for this troubled world but not for reasons most people are troubled. I’m troubled to see so many of my brothers and sisters far more interested in speaking out about the troubled world than they are about the God of it all, and I find myself whispering “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” more and more each day. This magnificent sunrise was a firm Reminder to me to focus on His Majesty…the Light of the world…and to be a Testimony through it all – NOT just for the lost – but to my brothers and sisters as well.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” are the words spoken by the Savior of the world when he was wrongly accused and ultimately murdered by the rulers of the land. If anybody ever had the right to speak out against the wrongs, it would be Jesus Christ…the King of all Kings. If making sure his troubled world heard about its wrongs was of any importance to Him at all, He’d probably still be hanging on the Cross to get the final accusations out. Instead, His heart broke for them and He cried out to His Father to forgive them “for they know not what they do.” Jesus died for ALL including the ones who hung Him on a cross like a common thief. His final words were beautiful words…Compassionate words…words of Love, Hope, and Forgiveness. That’s the story of Jesus Christ…the one whose very nature we are called to take on. It’s not humanly possible to be without sin like He was, but it IS humanly possible to care a whole lot more about the Final Outcome than we do the troubled world itself, and having the “last word”…words of Love, Hope, and Forgiveness is always a choice.

Sometimes I close my eyes and I imagine what it would be like if my brothers and sisters, so determined to spread what they believe is happening behind the scenes in Washington, would begin to spread the Good News instead. I wonder what it would sound like to hear “Jesus is Coming!” a whole lot more than we hear “four more years!” I wonder what the world would be like if it could hear personal Testimonies of what Jesus Christ has done in our lives instead of personal opinions about what’s coming next in politics and how the world has done us wrong. I wonder what it would be like if we longed to see Heaven a whole lot more than we long to see justice here on earth. I wonder what it would be like if God’s people would cry out “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” instead of shouting out insults about the character of those they hate. I wonder what it would be like if my brothers and sisters understood that they’re being used by the enemy as surely as their enemies are and they’re not messengers for the Living God the way they think they are because they fail to speak Love, and Forgiveness right along with all their “truths.

“Watching how so many of my brothers and sisters are weighing in on the world breaks my heart…it is one of the saddest times of my life, for sure. Sometimes I wonder if we read the same Bible or serve the same God at all, but more than that I find myself whispering “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” more and more each day…a prayer for all those lost people too ignorant to know what they’re REALLY doing, and for my brothers and sisters caught up in the war. As surely as God brings the sun each morning, I’ll be letting the Light of my Faith outshine the darkness around me and I’ll DETERMINE to be the Witness He’s called for me to be. Oh, and because I LOVE HIM, I’ll continue to feed His sheep too. He’s my Priority. He’s my Good News. He’s my Savior. He’s my Rock. HE IS THE TRUTH and that’s the ONLY TRUTH this troubled world needs to hear.

How about you?