2 lives..

Broken this morning, the same topic I've known hit again: Luke 7:40-50 & Luke 18:9-14.
1) as one who does not know what his sin is, and so does not know what forgiveness is. paranoid of sin, and clueless of redemption.

I'm afraid american churches, under the lineage of puritanism are so paranoid of sin. Kids are raised to be 'good' in an over-authoritarian home, without the option to be involved in sin. And surely parents never mess up to ever ask forgiveness of their kids.

I swear I see these kids in these hostels here. I think I met one. No clue about living without sin. No fear of sin. Only heard about redemption, but without fear of sin, what is redemption worth?

2) as one who knows his sin, who has become his sin- his identity bound up in it and finds nothing there.. knows the depth he has gone and knows how far Redemption had to go to find him. One who has stood at the edge of life-in-shambles and admitted it as his own doing.

One who has slid down the cliff and though is being pulled out, still needs to fight to stay in the harness.. but it's so tight.. it hurts.. it restricts. Where is the vision? He once was down, looking down, then he was down looking up, is he now halfway up looking down again? That's life.