Let’s start with the positives. A message that I do appreciate in this season of The Bachelorette is that God loves sinners. Yes and AMEN. “My name’s Britt and I’m a sinner.” In fact, we know from Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Sin is a big problem. Christians believe in a perfect and holy God that can’t tolerate sin. Sin separates us from the perfect and all powerful God. The good news is that God knew sin would be a problem and He sent his son as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. The moment that we admit our sin and trust Jesus for our hope and salvation is called “justification.” We are “justified” or “made right before God” by Jesus alone. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christians believe EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord is saved (Romans 10:13). Knowing that we’re all sinners makes me appreciate another message in this season which is that we aren’t to judge others and have to have grace for others. We believe no one is too far from Jesus’ reach and we have grace and compassion for others. We have grace, especially for those who do not know Jesus.
Philippians 2:1-11 paints a beautiful picture of the God we love, "So, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
The BIG part of the faith that is missing in this season is the second phase in a Christian’s faith. After being "justified” or saved, Christians spend the rest of life being “sanctified,” which means the gradual process of maturity. Yes, we’re still living in an earthly body that craves sin, but we also “have put away our old self….and strive to walk in the newness of life" (Romans 6:4). We aren’t saved to continue living in the same sin we were living in before we became Christians. We will battle the tension between our sinful desires and the new life that God has called us to until we die. In the process, we are also continually sanctified and drawing closer to Christ along the way. This process allows us to humbly rely on God to change our hearts. This heart change makes us realize the true joy, hope, and peace that is found in Christ alone. Galatians 5:13 points out, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
For the Christian, sin should be followed with conviction, turning away from sin, and turning back to God. We do not have a license to live however we want. This means that we are to be humble and to want what God wants for us according to His Word. Hannah says “Jesus Still Loves Me,” and talks about being able to “do what she wants,” but never truly talks about feeling regret or sorrow for her sin. The Bible is full of sinners who repent and turn back to God. Psalm 51 gives us a glimpse into David’s reaction after having an affair with Bathsheba. Listen to just a few of his words “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!“Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities….” Later in the Psalm he states, “Create in me a clean heart, O God,and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Although God doesn’t love David any less, David wants to be near to God and hates the sin that has caused separation from God and hurt to others. Let me be clear, I'm not comparing HB’s situation to David, but I think we can learn a lot from the reaction of David and others in the Bible who have given into sin. I personally have a LOT to learn from David's words too. I continually try to overlook and ignore my sin, but at the end of the day, it's confession and repentance that leads to freedom and a closer relationship with God and others. As mentioned previously, I’m writing about what is seen on TV, so we are never getting the full picture, but what we never see HB want to admit sin and turn from it. We see someone who voices the ways that she is sinning and has sinned, but that she also feels that it is ok to keep living in sin. Romans 6:1-2 speaks about this issue, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
The Bible is full of laws that are for our good. God is a good father who wants what is best for his children. Ultimately, obedience to God is joy in this life. The problem is when we want to live in our sin, rather than grow in our faith. Obedience isn't always fun or sexy, but it's for our good. Be comforted friends, God is not a God who is waiting to smite us here on earth. He is a LOVING God who wants to be near to us. He wants to grow us and He wants us to live in freedom from sin.
If this post is feeling a little like the length of the last rose ceremony, hand tight reader, this is the last thought. This season of the Bachelorette contains more scripture than any other season. This should make me happy as a Christian, but it’s tough because words and phrases can be thrown out of context and water down their true meaning. Again, producers can only show a small bit of what is actually going on, so I don’t know the true intent. With that said, in one particular instance, HB starts a cocktail party by mentioning 2 Corinthians 4:18 “we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” She followed the scripture by asking the men to open up to the unseen things of their heart. I hope that their conversations go deep, but the meaning of this scripture isn’t about us and our vulnerability, it’s about not losing heart through hardship. Paul is tell the Corinthians not to focus on their hardships, but to stand firm on God’s promises and their hope in Christ. We can’t see that hope, but it's eternal. He wants them to know that their suffering is temporary compared to their eternal glory as children of God.
All in all, God desires our hearts and our lives. It's not simply our words that show what we believe, but our lives and our actions. God doesn't care about our list of dos and dont's or our past sins as much as he cares about our desire to love Him and love others. Sin is a big problem that stands in the way of us and God, but praise God, He both justifies and sanctifies us as we strive to obey Him. I'm afraid the "As seen on TV" faith may not fully portray the God who wants to save us and grow us closer to Him.
