Forgiveness, For Every Mistake

Not being a pageant watcher at all, I did hear through social media of a mistake that was made by host Steve Harvey.  After the many interviews and catwalks (if that is what they call them), the ladies were judged by a panel over their appearance and performance.  Now these ladies have made it through local, state, and national competition and had been chosen to represent their country in this contest.  With having two daughters compete in the Henry County Miss Pre-Teen Pageant, I can only imagine the money, time, and stress involved at the level of Miss Universe.

Well during the climax of the 2015 competition, Steve Harvey incorrectly read the card and awarded the wrong contestant the title of Miss Universe.  Now imagine the implications of this mistake, they had to remove the crown from one beauty queen and place it upon the other as millions (minus me) were watching. Not to include the embarrassment of the countries and sponsors of the candidates involved.  The competition as a whole lost credibility for some who regularly watch.  And what about Mr. Harvey?  The prestige and eloquence of this competition carries much responsibility, and during the climax of the competition was not a moment for such a mistake.

Two things, one Mr. Harvey owned up to his mistake and took full responsibility for it.  This was very credible on his part, but one mistake his professional career will struggle from because of.  Being a comedian, Harvey will probably cover this mistake with humor; however, it will not be forgotten by Miss Colombia.

ooo...you almost had it, ya gotta be quicker than that.

Second, despite our mistakes - the magnitude and repetitiveness of them - the blood of Jesus Christ can cover them all.  If we admit our mistakes and trust in the perfectness of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.  This forgiveness requires that we turn from those things in which we have been forgiven and place blockers to keep us from repeating those sins.

Although Harvey's mistake will receive much media (as I am sure it already has) and be discussed, analyzed, and changes placed in the competition in order that such a mistake will never be repeated, let me remind you that God feels the same way about our sins, and He sent Jesus.

Evangelism

During a meeting between friends and colleagues, the style and approach to doing evangelism was breached during their conversation.  The pastor that started the conversation laid a very awkward process for doing evangelism.  The other pastor had nothing to offer but a critique of his colleagues’ way of doing evangelism.  The initiating pastor was a bit saddened by his friends’ quick critique, but then after a few moments he turned to his friend and said, "I may not have the best way of doing evangelism, but I would have an obscure way of doing evangelism rather a non-existent way."

I am not sure where I heard this story the first time, but for a Christian/Pastor, this is one of those stories that is not easily forgotten.  In fact, for me it is very motivational and a clear reminder of our purpose as Christians.  As I have said numerous times that God created us to worship Him - and I still believe that statement - but as redeemed and forgiven children of God, our worship is resulted through our evangelism.

Hear me out, in our worship of God; either personal or corporately, our hearts are reminded of God's goodness, love, patience, and sacrifice.  As a result, sharing this message seems to be the only logical response.  God's goodness is that good, God's love is that loving, and God’s sacrifice is that sacrificial, that we want others to share in it.  His goodness and love is transforming through the realization of the sacrifice that was paid for our sins.

I can't imagine not getting to tell someone about God's love and His sacrifice for us.  This was realized one Sunday morning during a sermon when I said, “They would have to cut out my tongue to keep me from sharing Jesus Christ.”  At the moment of sharing this, I got emotional from the weight of not getting to share the glorious news of Jesus Christ.

We are called to be the witness of God’s love through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, by the leading of the Holy Spirit.  To be a witness, we trust and follow the Scripture’s mandate of being conformed to the image of Christ by surrendering ourselves to God’s will.  Through self-sacrifice, we are making ourselves available to the leading God by the Holy Spirit.

Just remember, we will have an eternity to worship God, but only a lifetime to share Jesus with others.