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From
the August, 2000 edition of The Doulos monthly
newsletter
by
Bob Kennedy
“Tabula
Rasa” is all that’s coming to mind so far.
Although “Tabula Rasa” (Latin for “blank slate”) is not so bad
and may even provide me with a needed topic.
It
was 15 years ago this June that I invited Jesus Christ into my life in the
presence of three witnesses, members of a local church I was attending in the
Youngstown area.
After
saying the “Sinners’ Prayer” where I confessed my past sins, there was no
question that something had changed in me.
Jesus had absolved my debt of sin and given me a clean slate, a
“tabula rasa.” For this I can
never be sufficiently grateful.
Not
only did He clear me of my past sins He has also promised through His Word to
forgive me when I sin again. (I
John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He
is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness.”)
What
an awesome God we serve!
Our
God is a God of relationship. He
reached down to me, that evening in June 1985, and brought me into a
relationship with Him. He has also
taught me that I need people! For
many years I tried to live independently of others.
Sometimes to the point of isolation.
He has taught me, too, that I cannot have a “right” relationship
with Him if my relationships with others are not right.
If
I look at Jesus’ life I see Him continuously reaching out to others and
developing relationships, not only with the righteous, but more often than not
with the unrighteous: Zaccheus, the Samaritan woman at the well, and Mary
Magdalene, to name a few.
Do
you have that “sense of belonging” that only a relationship with Jesus
Christ can provide? If not, take a
look at your relationship with others. Are
there old wounds that need to be healed or transgressions we have made that
need to be atoned for?
I’ll
close with a quote, from an unknown source, that I had written on the back
cover of my Bible:
“I
love God just as much as the love I have for the person I love the least.”
In
Christ,
Bob
Kennedy
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