I made the totally awesome artwork below in MS Paint. I don't know why it isn't hanging in the Louvre.
A lesson in: Guilt
Dreams can be strange things. Some people say that you can tell a lot about a person by what they dream about. My dad says he dreams about flea markets and thrift stores and jet fighter planes. My mother seems to dream exclusively about floods and animals, usually at the same time. My brother dreams about detectives.
My dreams, however, could probably qualify me for a spot in the loony bin. I will never forget the dream I had where I met the Beverly Hillbillies, and the Pope, at the same time. My dad, brother, and I were at my grandmother’s house, and we were talking about farming. Suddenly, the Clampett family arrived. Uncle Jed, Granny, Elly May, and Jethro knocked on the door and we let them in. My dad talked with Jed, my grandmother talked with Granny (duh), my brother talked with Jethro, and I talked with Elly May (you saw that coming).
Just then, Jethro pulled out a bag containing none other but the Pope’s clothing. We all agreed that this was the cat’s meow! My brother put the Pope suit on and started walking around in it. Just then, the actual Pope appeared and apparently wanted his clothing back. I guess we refused because he started breathing fire at us. Popes can do that, you know. My brother hit him with a stick and he calmed down. Then we all went for a swim in my Grandmother’s swimming pool.
Isn’t that just absurd? I mean, my grandmother doesn’t even have a swimming pool. I suppose this is what I get for reading The Great Controversy as an evening devotional.
Dreams are largely laughable meaningless things, at least mine are. I seldom learn anything from them. No, nightmares are where the life lessons lie.
My nightmares don’t consist of monsters or falling or fire breathing popes or dentists or Al Gore or anything like that, probably because those things don’t frighten me. I very seldom have nightmares at all, but when I have them, they usually involve me being a jerk.
I’ll dream that I’m flippant to someone and ruin a relationship, or commit some horrible crime and try to live with the guilt.
The other day I dreamed that I was selected as a convocation speaker for my college. I had the opportunity to address all of my peers on a topic of my choosing. Now, while awake I am confident up front and love speaking to large groups of people. But in the nightmare, I didn’t prepare adequately (or at all, I distinctly remember using the internet instead of working on my speech.) When it came time to hold the convocation, I made an idiot out of myself.
As I walked off the stage in shame, I awoke. Sort of. I lay bed in a state of semi-consciousness, and even though the nightmare was over, I still felt like the dream had been reality. I felt very stupid for what I had done. I had let my peers and myself down, all because I didn’t manage my time.
Then, in an instant the fact that this event had occurred only in my mind hit me. I was fully awake and relieved to learn the only mistake I had made was eating the leftover pizza last night. I had been proven innocent, all guilt was gone.
When we sin, we should feel guilt afterwards. It’s a very important step in the process of asking for grace and forgiveness. How can we sincerely repent our sins if we are not ashamed to have committed them?
However, taken past that guilt can become unhealthy. Once we are forgiven, once we have repented of our sins, we no longer need to feel guilty. As far as God is concerned, because Christ’s blood covers that sin, it never happened. It’s like the mistake made in a dream.
We may still have to live with the consequences of our actions, but we no longer need to mentally beat ourselves up over past mistakes. Micah 7:19 says that God casts our sins into the deepest part of the ocean. There is no need to go deep-sea diving in order to reexamine them.
"He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. " Micah 7:19
"I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you." Isaiah 44:22
1 comment:
Well hello there Edward :) I'm very glad to have found your blog, and I enjoyed reading all of the ones you've posted so far. I really liked this one (maybe because I can relate to having such odd dreams, although mine have yet to include a fire-breathing pope) and the thought that you tied in with it. Thank yoU :)
Post a Comment