". . . I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:23-25a).
If you have read the gospels at all, one of the obvious points that has to prick your heart is what a great love Jesus had for sinners and those in difficult circumstances. You also had to notice what disdain he had for the self-righteous and those more interested in preserving religious tradition than in being compassionate to those in desperate conditions, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in" (Matthew 23:13).
Those of us in Christian leadership in the Lord's Church should tremble at these words! Are we more interested in what people can do for our church rather than what our church can do for people?
I'm saying all this because there are a huge number of people out in the general population that are struggling with addictions. Jesus loves them! We need to love them too, in a healthy way like Jesus did. The first step in dealing with an addict is to bring him to Jesus Christ. Admittedly, a person can fake this step and it will be worthless to them. However, one of the reasons this is necessary is that it provides another identity to the addict. He is no longer an addict. He is a Christian struggling with an addiction. The change in identity makes a difference! One of the characteristics of an addict is one of shame--"I'm no good!" or "What a wretched man I am!". The message of the cross is that God loves you now matter what addiction you have--He wants you to be one of His own!
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Grace&Peace,
Tom
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