Blameless?

What does that mean?

When I first became a "christian" it was one of the first words that God spoke into my life that I was aware of.

"Be blameless"! It was in context to the current situation then. At the time, my first wife had left with my two kids and was pursuing another relationship. I was convicted of my own complicity in the situation and God said stop giving her reasons to justify her actions. Regret was the overwhelming emotion at the time. It was one of the reasons I "called on the Lord" in the first place.

This "regret" was the result of living a life as I saw fit and God was telling me that to be free of regret I needed to be blameless in all my relationships. It seemed simple enough. At least in concept. Just trust God to guide me in what I say and do and no one will be able to blame me for how things turn out. Yeah, right.

The issues...

• You have to really seek out and pay attention to the Holy Spirit's guidance. There are a lot of reasons we don't do that.
• People tend to blame others for their predicament. Mostly because we give them a reason.
• The enemy is constantly running around making accusations in our minds and in the minds of those around us.

I have come to realize "I am to Blame". But in that realization God's love covers my complicity and by the Blood of Christ I am forgiven. In the same realization I am called to "Trust in Him with all my heart and not trust in my own understanding. To recognize His presence in everything I do, and he will guide me on the path that leads to no regrets" Proverbs 3:5-6.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/blameless.html

On our deck again

The night was beautiful. The moon, a few days from full, still lit up the cloudless night. I recalled similar nights in northern British Columbia and how the blanket of snow made the night luminous. Hudson, my son, echoed this image as he told how one early morning in winter he came out on the deck and was amazed at how bright and glowing everything was because the moon was shining bright. His regret, "I didn't stay longer".

It was a "stop and smell the roses" moment. I shared about how we'll never be here again. How when we miss seeing the blessing of the moment, the moment is gone.

We sat there watching the embers of the fire glow as it burnt down. I was compelled to reminisce back to the time, as a young boy, I had a miniature deck of cards that I had got from a bubblegum machine. How I had worked hard at separating each card. How I had demanded my Mom come and play with me. How I had threatened her with the destruction of the deck if she didn't come and play, now! She was busy cooking supper. Another moment, but not so Rosey.

I made a choice. As I ripped up the deck of cards, she came into the living room and said: "OK, lets play cards".

The sense of loss was magnified by the realization there was nothing I could do, the deck of cards was gone. Then the realization... It was my fault. Another moment, yes. But oh, the regret, the sense of loss!

Well, what has that to do with our study of time? Hmmm?

I exist. I exist in a continuity. The continuity of the continuum is big. There is incomprehensible complexity in the continuity that exists in the totality of the now. Now is dynamic, it changes with every moment. "Now" is tensed, its change is in one direction. This moment exists in the temporality of God. What was, will never come again.

What is a 6-year-old to do? The moment is gone, never to be recovered. My own choice brought upon me an unanticipated consequence. A sense of loss beyond compare. Is there a lesson to be learned?

Well, of course there is.