Rev. Ray and Pat Amos

Genesis 3:12

THOUGHT FOR TODAY, September 5, 2019

“The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

The name of the game is BLAME. From the very first sin until the present we have mastered it well. When God asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree that he was commanded not to eat from; Adam replied, “The woman you put here….”

Blaming goes deeper than we might realize. Who was Adam really blaming? He was blaming God. “You put her here with me.” A lesson as old as creation has not been learned. Adam found no relief, no comfort, and no satisfaction from pointing his finger at another. He could have answered simply, “Yes I did.” We don’t know how the story might have gone then; but the grace would have been sweeter.

No situation will get any better by blaming someone else for our own sins and failures. When I think it is because “poor me” was put in this position, I too am blaming God. What good does it do? Blaming is the thing that keeps tearing the scab off the wound, and makes the infection more dangerous to the soul.

The prophet Nathan made his way up a dreaded road. The task before him was hard. He would look into the face of a sinning king, and say, “You have done this thing.” King David taught us something that day. He made no excuses, blamed no one, he said, “I have sinned.” The path of healing was not easy for the sinful David, but he was on it, and healing came. The first step is our own confession, the rest of them are blessed by mercy and grace.

“Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!”

Grace and Peace, Rev Ray