I cannot wrap my mind around why unbelievers do not want Christ. When He changes us the joy floods in and we are equipped through the Holy Spirit to handle the trials of life with strength and dignity.
There is no greater joy than knowing we are only here on earth for a short time and then heaven awaits us where Christ in all His love will protect us for eternity.
1 John 4:9-10
Those who have been born again do not face judgment for their sins and they love the freedom from sin that dwells in them every day.
Sin is a bondage people cannot see when they are in the midst of it. They think it is freedom to sin and do not see how ruinous it is for themselves and others.
When we have been taken out of the life of sin we can look back and see what a wreck it was and we were. When we are sinful and our families are sinful we don't notice how rotten it all is.
When I became born again my eyes were opened to the continual anger and competitiveness that was common and no one in the family saw it they thought it was normal.
Before I was born again I was continually sad and knew something was off but couldn't understand it all. I turned to sin to comfort myself, the more I indulged myself the more sad I became.
When Christ opened my eyes after becoming born again I realized how spiritually ugly I was and how spiritually dirty the whole family environment was, even though they all thought they were better than others.
They all refrained from the "really big sins" but were rude, cruel and mean most of the time. Or perhaps it was just me they covertly tormented and hid it from the rest of the world.
When we are a target we can see much more clearly than those who are pampered and treated special. Anyone who is flattered and praised continually will not be able to see the rottenness, they only see how happy they feel at the schmoozing.
These people do not notice how sad the target is and even will think something is wrong with us for not joining in with the rudeness and crudeness.
I never remember a time when someone even smiled at me in love, if they did it was to ridicule and demean. The pleasure they had from hurting those they disrespected was devilish.
I remember hearing family members mock fat people. I hated it because I had empathy for those who were heavy. Something inside told me there was more to their obesity than just overeating. There was a lot of judging others for things that were not sins but just outward appearances.
My mother once mocked me because I liked to wear long skirts after I became more mature. She once told me that I should show my calves because they were the prettiest part of my legs. I often wondered why she wanted to show off her legs to others.
You might read this article and think I was raised in a family that was not Christian, but they all claimed they were and even attended church gatherings every week. They even judged others who did not attend without knowing them.
At home, there was no love, kindness or conversation over good things, and the name of Jesus Christ was never mentioned. There were only rules for conduct to impress the neighbors or extended family. Many of these rules had nothing to do with righteousness, they were only there because the culture demanded them, it had nothing to do with pleasing God.
When I would ask legitimate questions I was met with rude comments to shut down any discussion. I came to believe that anything I said or did was automatically judged as foolish and unworthy of discussion. Only to find out that these family members were trained by the culture to only speak things people like to hear, truth didn't matter as long as they all felt good about themselves.
This is the reason I spent so much time questioning things. After I became born again I asked Jesus Christ in me for wisdom to know how to deal with it all and His answer came back that I should remove myself from those who are looking for praise and care nothing about the inner heart but are fixated on appearances to impress others.
When I meet another believer who loves the Lord I see none of these traits of snarky worldliness in them. They are always kind and empathetic toward others. Sadly most people in church gatherings today have never been changed into a new creation by Christ because they joined the Christian church but never became born again and lack all the fruit of the Spirit.
Once the Lord opens our eyes through our transformation by Him they can never be closed again.
Our response to those who have chosen cultural Christianity believe they are superior to others and deserve continual praise. When we see this we know the pride of the devil still remains, there has been no change and as they grow older they become more angry than they were in their youth.
I pray for them but avoid contact,, once we have become a target they will never hear us, see us, or value our wisdom from Christ. They desire to see us as the broken people we used to be in order to feel superior to us. God must use someone else.
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I loved my family but they never once showed love to me, it became impossible to forget the past because the attitudes remain the same today, I can only expect that the future will not be different in our relationships.
Yes, God can change anyone, I am proof of that! However, He will not change anyone who does not want Him to change them. He will not override their free will to choose or reject Him.
If I trust in Christ I have to trust that He knows what to do with them without my help. And, thankfully Christ moves us on to those who love Him as much as we do, what a blessing to be able to speak openly about Christ and delve into the word of God with them as we grow closer to Him and to one another.
In these last days the apostate church will only harm those who are seeking to be led by Christ. Those who are pretenders will attempt to convince us there is something wrong with us when we want to follow the Bible in everything, when we search His Word to find His will, they will mock us, demean us and worse gossip against us without evidence of what they spread.
They did it to Christ and they do it to us too.
1 Peter 4:12-19 "1 Peter 4:12-19
Share the Sufferings of Christ
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you;
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelation of His glory you may also rejoice and be overjoyed.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, and of God, rests upon you.
15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;
16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?
19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God are to entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right."
Keep looking up, it won't be long now and we will all be together at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb with Christ, surrounded by all the saints who loved His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:8 "in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing."
