It's interesting to look at this cartoon and see the truth in this for many people. Instead of a relationship being one of mutual respect and love, it is one of manipulation. It is sad because the desire is the same...to be loved, to be needed, to be appreciated.
I think as kids we all feel a bit of guilt in regards to our parents. I'm not sure if it is a guilt laid upon us from the Holy Spirit or our culture/society, but none-the-less it is there. It is all those "I wish I would haves or wish I could haves" that we go to our own graves with and that our children will probably bear as well.
I have been talking about Genesis 1-3 of late. And I posed a question to a seminary professor today. "What is the difference between guilt and conviction?' When someone says, "I feel convicted about something," what does that mean? Are they saying that they feel guilty over something?" It could be in that context. It could be a synonym. It could be that conviction is the inner pricking of the conscience by God - good or bad - and innocence or guilt is established based on the evidence. Here is where my conversation would like to take a turn.
The normal pattern of thought would be, "I feel convicted because I
But it keeps me in a guilt system. I am and will always be guilty and feel guilty over past, present, and future sins.
What if we approached this differently? What if instead of starting at Genesis 3 where everything is broken and Adam and Eve are guilty...what if we start instead with Genesis 1 and 2.
Humanity's history does not begin with the Fall. It begins with being made in the image of God - we are created to imitate and reflect our Creator God.
What if we think in these terms rather than the guilt issue terms. When I sin it clearly is a violation of God's holy Law - the law of the heart (Rom. 2) and the Law given to Israel. I am not denying this. But...we tend to forget that sin is also a re-imaging of ourselves. When we sin we move away from what we have been created to be and begin to image and reflect the opposite of God. Sin in not just transgressing the Law but moving away from our intended purpose - to be the very image of a holy God. In this case its not an issue of guilty or not guilty; its an issue of directionality and proximity.
The questions become, "Are you heading toward the very purpose for which God created you - to be in His image?" "Or are you moving away from that image?" "If you are heading toward that image, where are you in proximity to that perfect image of Jesus?"
Jesus paid it all for me and cleansed me with his redeeming blood.
It is no longer and issue of guilt but of image, reflection, nearness. Do I fail and return to sin in my life? More often than I would care to admit. But I'm on the continuum, and after I confess that reversal I press on toward the mark of the high calling of God - to be made in his image and likeness.
I might still be convicted by the Holy Spirit but it will be because He is working on transforming me into the likeness of the Son not because He desires to confirm my guilt.
And by the way...mom...I'll be sad when you leave this old broken world, but not guilty...O.K., O.K....I'll call more often...I'll try and visit you more often.... I'm a bad son.
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