“Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine
Meltin’ in a pot of thieves
Wild card up my sleeve
Thick heart of stone
My sins my own
They belong to me, me”
I was listening to an interview with Patti Smith by Eleanor Wachtel on CBC when they started talking about Patti’s version of Van Morrison’s song “Gloria”. And in case you never listened to the Patti Smith version, the above verse is the first of the song.
She went on to explain that she wants to take full responsibility for her actions, and if they were wrong, bad, whatever, she still wants to own them–that’s who she is, and she doesn’t want to be otherwise.
I wonder how many people feel the same way, and therefore completely reject the concept of a stranger taking the fall for their actions, and see it as taking pride in their own independence?
I know that sin separates me from God my Father. I know that I can’t do anything to change that. But if I had no interest in being reconnected with God my Father, then I wouldn’t NEED to change that, I wouldn’t care that sin separates me from God, and I certainly wouldn’t want Jesus to die for my sins. (…somebody’s sins, but not mine”).
This worries me, because it seems to mean that sharing the love of Jesus (THE SAVIOUR who saves me from the punishment of my sins) is meaningless to some proportion of my circle–maybe a large proportion. Until I remember… GOD. He knows and loves us all much better than we know and love each other, and knows the exact keys to open hearts.
So we pray for Him to open hearts. Easy! If only we’d DO IT.
Burnaby Family Church 