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Mebbe she wuz tha town ho. Or worse, a camp follower for the local Roman garrison. Mebbe she did women, az well az men. Mebbe she had a tongue dat wagged tha dog gossipin' all ovah Judea. Mebbe she also wuz an' "unclean" Samaritan, (a real outkast to 1st Century A.D. Jewish communities. We jus dunno. All we know is dat tha Holy Scrip sptiz dat she wuz a "sinner." Check it: "…a woman which was in the city, a sinner..." Dat trak be from verse 37 of tha seventh chapter in Luke's Gospel. This lady weren't no Mary or Martha, fam. She wuz a…sinner. Yo, tha word for sinner in tha original Greek of the text is harmartolos—"one who misses the mark." The religious establishment of Jesus' day, the Pharisees, madd luved to spit this term "sinner" at tax collectors an' "women of ill repute," among others. Them katz knew the Ten Commandments an' tha Mosaic Law backwardz, forwards, sidewayz. Dey could peep a kat who "missed the mark" a thousand cubitz away. But despite a self-proclaimed x-ray vision fo' "sin" the Pharisees theyselvez were madd afflicted wit Spiritual glaucoma. But we'll git to dat in anotha episode. The fact remainz dat dis lady wuz a sinner. She missed tha mark—prolly intentionally--mos o' tha time. An' az we peeped in tha last few "Heaven 4 a G" jawnz, God don't feel…sin. Sin be not jus "missin' tha mark," it be tha anti-God heart attitude, mindset—nature--dat predisposes us all to bump anti-God thotz an' feelin'z an' bust anti-God movez an' behaviors. An' we all anti-God virtually right outta da womb. Yo, who hasn't peeped a young'un moufin' off to hiz momma or even str8 lyin' almos as soon as they learn to spit a trak. Sadly, it our nature. An' God be sad—an serious-- ‘bout it, too. But, "Why is dat?" U might reply. "I mean, c'mon, why God gotta beef wit us, jus cuz we "miss tha mark" erry once in awhile? Mang, a brothaz/sistahz gotta live a lil, ya know? Hood life an' no South Seas cruiz, sun. Whatz wrong wit a lil fun now an then? I'm mean, c'mon God, lighten up, yo!" lol Yeah, lotta peeps feel dat God be jus a wee bit vexious, str8 laced, kill joy, whatevah when it come to He attitude ‘bout sin. Dey feelin' He like som Cosmic Po-Po jus chillin' Upstairz waitin' fo a kat to step outta line an' "boo yah!" He madd bustz ‘em. Word, it might seem like dat. But we gotta understand dat jus as it our nature, right from birth to be anti-God, God's Essential Nature, from Time Immemorial, be anti-sin. He be Holy. He be Pure--of purer eyes than to behold evil. It impossible fo Him to allow evil to exist in His Presence, witout an immediate response to it, etc. He cain't help but hate, loath sin, cuz He be in Essence: Anti-Sin. "Holy," "Pure," "Righteous" be at tha Core of Who God Iz az GOD. Yo, y'all ever play wit two ol' bar magnets? How easy iz it to get them thangz to stick together when you bring tha same poles together? They madd repel. It ain't dat they "intentionally" do dat, itz they essential nature to do dat. Even bettah, has anyone peeped what happens when eveb tha smallest piece of the element sodium be dropped into a container of water. Mang! Fyah! Sparkz fly an' they'z one hott "adverse reaction." Lol Yo, these examples crudly illustrate God's automatic, intrinsic aversion, repulsion, reaction, hatred of sin. It ain't that He some over strict, overzealous religious bully. It dat sin Really be instrinsically Wack, an' God be by Nature Celestially Dope an' Holy. But, God also has another Essential Characteristic, another aspect that's as much His Nature as bein' Holy is. It's the attribute dat peeps find much easier to get they arms around, often to the overlookin' of His Holiness. God also is…Love. God be totally, and selflessly, interested in tha well-bein' of tha peeps He created in He own image, in this world an' tha next. An' He takes an infinitely deep an' serious interest in they welfare for no benefit to Himself really. God does not HAVE TO Love us at all. He is Self-Existent and Self-Sufficient, in tha Truest senses of thoz terms. It jus dat it His Nature to…Love…us, an' He madd chooses to Love, whether we love back or not. Aiight, But how does dis Loving, but Pure, Str8 Holy, sin-hating God get close to tha peeps He Loves, witout them bein' smoked by His Awesome Holiness? An' dat a Real issue cuz tha Bible spitz dat God be a "consuming fire" when it comes to sin. But His solution to dat issue is az Incredible az He is God: God becomes a peep. He becomes one of us. He becomes a man, but a sin-less man. In som wonderful, mysterious and fabulous way, God's Holiness and Love coexists in a man, so that God can get close to, can "access" sinful men, in a way dat is safe fo' them. God gets born of a virgin, and is named…Jesus. But, jus how does this Loving, but Str8 Holy God-in-a-man-suit—deal wit mankind'z sin? How do He engage, interact, relate to his creatures who He madd Loves, but who ill "miss tha mark?" How do He manage bein' both Loving and Holy, and still effectively interact with an' help/heal…sinners? Yo, we'll start to peep dat Science next week in Episode II. I'm out. Paz. ~1~ sun |