Lessons from the Heart
Guilty living
By Pastor Ed Selvidge

Selvidge

I have noticed that some people act like they feel guilty when they are around me. If they don't know I am a preacher, they don't act that way. I have concluded that they must feel guilty for s o m e t h i n g they are now

doing. Hey, I

Selvidge

am not the one who people have to answer to on judgment day. I am only the facilitator, the under-shepherd.

God instilled in every human feelings of guilt. Guilt can be a good motivator and it can also act as de-motivator. God created us this way, to have guilt feelings, so we would know when we have done something to displease Him.

The Bible calls displeasing God, rebellion against God, and missing the mark with God, sin. I think that people sometimes feel guilty and act like they are guilty around the preacher because we preachers represent God.

The Bible says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6 NIV

We feel guilty because we all have sinned. But God found a way to help us; it is called forgiveness.

Freedom from guilt is possible and available for you! How, you might ask?

I John 3, verse 21 says, "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God." According to that verse, God gives us the opportunity to be "at rest in His presence." When you are at rest in the presence of the creator of the universe, you are free indeed! Please read before and after that verse to get the whole picture. The jest of the principle is this: God the heavenly Father knows everything about you. He knows your past, present and future. He offers to forgive you of your life of sin. He knows and is willing to forgive you. Through his Son, Jesus Christ, he offers you a life that is "at rest in His presence."

The good news is that God will forgive anyone who asks him to be forgiven. Yes, even you! And, when you ask God to forgive you, you will be free to be in His presence and feel at rest, guilt free!

Consider this final scripture: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)

Some of you may still feel uneasy in the presence of a preacher. I have a friend who dreads being "next Sunday's" sermon topic, so he avoids hangin' with" me too much. Even though I am trying to be less judgmental in my life, I think I will just have to accept people feeling uneasy around the preacher. But when you "hang with" God, He says you can be "at rest in His presence" because He knows your heart and He forgives you when you ask Him to.

Ed Selvidge is pastor at Radnor United Methodist Church.