Have you ever been deceived? There is a unique pain and disappointment involved in being the victim of deceit. Deception involves a break in trust. All of life's meaningful relationships demand trust and are built on the ability to have 'good faith' in what we are being told about what's real and what isn't. Deception involves a misrepresentation about what's really happening. It's a distortion of the facts for the purpose of selfish advantage. Deception is subtle. We often don't realize we are being played the fool. Once we realize we've been the victim of deception we are deeply hurt and embarrassed. How did we not detect the falsehood and lies?
Truth and lies are the substance of spiritual reality. When we live life based upon truth we are dwelling in safety. When we live life based upon lies we are dwelling in disaster. Our ability to discern truth and error flow out of the condition of our souls. An injury to our inner person hinders our ability to discern whether we are being lied to. Our spiritual condition also plays a big role in creating healthy boundaries and a sense of what is real or false.
The necessity of a 'second birth' is fundamental to knowing what is true and false. All of us are born in a state of imperfection spiritually. We are born broken on the inside. Jesus talked about our need to be 'born from above'. Being born again spiritually begins a process where our inner self begins to discern truth from error. The reality is that deception is really an inside job. When we don't understand how our injured soul (emotional and mental self) impacts our lives we respond to life's events out of hurt instead of health. Hurt people are easily deceived. Hurt and injured people fundamentally have no idea who they really are.
The necessity of unconditional love and acceptance in our lives is absolute and imperative. We need to be loved. We need to be accepted for who we are.....where we are.....right now. The world often operates on principles of shame and control. When we encounter brokenness, we often respond with rejection and barriers. The depth of our brokenness and pain often creates an ongoing cycle of continuing rejection. We feel isolated and alone. We are a set up for deception. Often deception begins with a baited lie of false acceptance. The deceiver 'plays' on your brokenness....your aloneness and offers false hope and empty promises of relationship or security or whatever is lacking.
The need for real unconditional love drives all of human behavior. When you encounter the real deal you've found something true and something forever. God is love. When you encounter religion or religious people who put up false walls and boundaries not based on truth (God's word), you must run fast and far from them. There are perhaps no more dangerous people on the planet than religious people who love conditionally. Conditional love is a fruit of insecurity and pride. If people have an 'agenda' in their relationship with you, its conditional love.
Jesus best illustrates truth and unconditional love. In the gospel of John we read the profound and central message of good found in our world. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it."
Selfless love begins and ends for a broken world with a genuine Savior who accepts and loves us where are..... but he doesn't leave us there. Truth applied to our lives both transforms and heals us from the inside out. Are you hurting? The worst pain imaginable is seldom healed by medicine or surgery alone. The worst pain is often a fruit of injuries to the soul. We are born into a broken world and few escape uninjured. My prayer for you today is that you will encounter the unconditional love and acceptance that grace makes available. To be free of deception and walk in truth is the gateway to healing and wholeness. Truly, it is the truth that sets us free.
Jim
So good!
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