AGAPE LETTER
It's a shame to have to say this & take the Time to write this at such an age and stage in life. But apparently I do based upon little bits and pieces I continue to hear thru the grapevine etc. I'm also concerned about so-called self-glorifying "pillow talk" by some people with their spouses in which the person creates a super person mythology about themselves, building themselves up at the expense of others -maybe even fabricating negative things altogether about others; and without an opportunity to defend myself against such fabrications .
So I will begin by saying, Since the age of accountability I have been living a very good positive moral life. And even after the age of accountability, any small things I have done wrong in the eyes of the law have all been dismissed and expunged ie traffic & parking tickets etc. And I've never committed any felonies. I don't live a lavish lifestyle, and I live this way intentionally in order so that I can serve the Lord most productively as possible without having to worry about mowing the lawn, painting the house, & all the other things that come with being a homeowner, which almost becomes a full-time job in and of itself once you have a large household.
And thanks be to God, I am always able to pay all my bills and taxes, and regularly do so. I even pay off my credit card bill at the end of the month so that I'm not charged a large interest fee (which is better than our own country is able to do even with all the billions even trillions of taxes they receive). I have always paid for auto insurance, proper vehicle registration etc. It seems silly to have to say these things but there apparently are busy bodies who have questioned this, as if they are police officers themselves.
Therefore if these others will not willingly & humbly acquiesce to being in the state- of- grace in which we simply are aware of our own sinfulness and mind our own business in that regard, rather than always being busy bodies and taking the specks out of other people's eyes, Then For the sake of survival I will have to invoke human laws that require us to not slander or libel others; or be held accountable in the eyes of law ourselves.
I should be able to simply invoke Christian accountability for all those who call themselves Christians or at least are "churched" in order to be treated graciously, but if this doesn't work amongst some, once again, I just repeat that I will have to hold such persons legally accountable.
For years upon years I've been sending Christmas cards to so many people hoping that just sending the Christmas spirit once a year will remind us of who we are in Christ. And from so many great people including many of my beloved relatives, I've been receiving gracious Christmas cards in return.
Unfortunately, I don't receive any Christmas cards in return from some of the people historically closest to me. And the brief periodic interactions I do have with such persons raises questions in my mind about whether I'm speaking to Christians who are genuinely in a state -of- grace. I'm not questioning whether such persons attend church or not. Some people can attend church perfectly all their lives but yet not necessarily enter into a true state -of grace.
And when I speak of state- of -grace, I am speaking of the theological principle of self-awareness in Christ that we are all sinners ! but also, thank God, forgiven. And I'm not speaking of Cheap Grace either. If we keep committing such sins, and then say God forgives, it becomes cheap grace and meaningless.
I'm speaking of repentance & Grace and also not repeatedly committing the same sins ex post facto. And hopefully if we are continually examining ourselves and repenting and growing in Christ then we are not nitpicking others; nor conversely engaging in excessive self -examination (ie scrupulosity) in which we self-examine ourselves too much.
For most people excessive self-examination and excessive repentance is not the problem. For most people it's the opposite- it's a lack of self-examination and lack of repentance. In my regard, while I was going through seminary I went thru an intentional period of self-examination and repentance and trying to make amends for any sins I committed against others, Even going back into my childhood history, probably too far back, in terms of before the age of accountability
And now I'm hearing again from little bits and pieces of the grapevine that some people are using such public confessions of so-called sins (or whatever you want to call them -maybe not even sins -but just natural parts of being a child before the age of accountability) against me Still at the age of almost 60 years old.
This is preventing me from moving on in my life in many regards. It makes it difficult for me professionally, spiritually, and relationally. For me to have meaningful relationships, while people are still taking specks out of my eye from childhood experiences, as if I committed a childhood felony , is not only difficult to accept, but it's morally reprehensible on the part of those who raise up what are now meaningless and trivial issues so many years later.
And perhaps they do so for self-serving reasons, rather than reasons of authentic concern about my soul, let alone about my adult relationships with others and public citizenship.
I rebuke those who are trying to prevent good people from doing good things by negatively pigeon- holing them based on childhood "sins" or errors 50 years ago even before the age of accountability. It would be like a mother shaming her child 50 years later for pooping in his diaper when he/she was 2 years old. Stop this evil nonsense 🚫👎😡.
You will be held accountable by God for preventing a good Christian person from doing the work of a Christian evangelist most effectively if you continue doing this. Imprecatory
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