What I write to you is layered with meaning. From the fall in the Garden to this day, we all have been separated from God and from one another. We’ve also struggled with our internal thoughts. We began separated from God; one another, and self, meaning that we do not see ourselves correctly. Repentance is the path back to God. The love of Christ then brings us into fellowship with one another, but it is that last portion of self that is the most conflicting.
The struggle of that final separation is revealed in marriage and homes. The inner man/woman must be revealed in order for true healing to occur. Yet the most difficult perception is self-perception. We just cannot see ourselves very well. James wrote that it’s like a man who sees himself in a mirror, but later forgets what manner of man he was. Self-perception was destroyed when Adam disobeyed. One might contend that Adam did not know he was naked and that he did not have self-perception before the sin, but that would be an incorrect assumption. The fact is that sin distorted his view of himself. Disobedience revealed his nakedness, but it cloaked his heart. He and all who would follow would wade through the mire of self-awareness. This is why the Bible says that we must confess our sins. We must see ourselves as sinners before we can be saved. Religious people; church people no less struggle in this way also. It’s hard for us to see our own expressions. While others see us; feel our spirits; hear the inflections in our voices, we have forgotten what manner of person we are. Some with biblical knowledge do not apply the scripture to their lives because they cannot see their own need. They bypass the scripture which eventually damages the marriage and the home. For this reason we look to the Lord to both reveal us and then to heal us. The key to all these things is our adherence to the Bible which in turns builds a healthy life.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole