On the other side of the coin, you have those who wake up and discover they have done some really crazy, hurtful things. Their reaction is quite the opposite of what we saw in chapter one. They are completely overwhelmed with guilt and fear. Their thoughts consist of things like, “I’ve been a monster… I don’t deserve to live… I’m unforgivable… I might as well kill myself”. My question to this response is, why would you do that? Jesus died for your garbage, so now that you’ve discovered you have some, why not give it to Him? This is a good time to get saved, not kill yourself.
Why do some people respond in this way? Again, the reasons are many. We’ll talk about a few of the most common ones. One possibility is a lack of unconditional love from parents, or other authority figures. Children usually figure God is a lot like the grown-ups in their lives (because He created them and put them in charge). Parents practically are God to young children. They are the final authority on everything, and their will is absolute. Children are at the mercy of those who raise them, so it goes without saying that a child who has a bad experience with his/her parents will have more difficulty developing a relationship with God. A person who doesn’t understand His love will not be real quick to approach Him when they discover how awful they’ve been.
Another possibility is having a bad experience in church. Don’t allow a scary message (hell-fire and brimstone) or an embarrassing situation (moral failure) to separate you from God’s people. Naturally a person who has been damaged by so called “Christians” will be a little hesitant to run to God when they realize their need for Him. However, some have used this as an excuse to reject God, and we need to get past that. “Good” people make mistakes all the time, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t care about you.
Other people simply are not willing to forgive themselves. They feel like there’s been too much damage, and if they forgive themselves, they would be getting off scott-free. This kind of person can become convinced they need to “suffer” for what they’ve done to others, as if it somehow evens the score. The problem with this kind of thinking is the cross (the suffering of Jesus) becomes nullified. His blood can cover your pain, and the pain that you have caused others, if you’ll allow it to.
And then of course, there are those who just haven’t heard the “good news” yet. They’re suffering from a lack of knowledge. They simply need to hear the truth, and the truth will set them free. There are many ways to spread the good news of salvation, but what the lost and hurting really need to see is God’s peace at work in the life of a Christian. If you have it, you can’t hide it, and you don’t have to try to persuade everyone that you have it. It just kind of leaks out and blesses people wherever you go.