There Can Be Only One

Hey, any Highlander fans out there? That one was for all those who think the first movie was the best and only one.

It does refer to the context of this post though, because someone else said there can be only one. Before diving into who what and why, though, lets first peruse some visual history.

Exhibit 1

No intro needed here. Even when I asked my wife for a list of historical baddies this guy topped the list. He has come to represent evil personified. Old Adolf is still number one.

Exhibit 2

This man also hit the list in the same order when I asked my wife. Papa Stalin, king of the political purge. Blood of the masses for the masses was his credo. We must be headed somewhere with this, right?? Right.

Exhibit 3

A little more modern feel to this expose of Dudley Do-wrongs. Mr. Milosevic definitely belongs here for his all out attempt to eradicate an entire people group from his country. Just as much Haman here as with baddie #1, the genocidal maniacs club seems to like company. Is that why Mr. M is on this particular list though? Nope!

Exhibit 4

Remember this guy? No, it's not Martin, it's Idi. The Ugandan butcher himself. Wow, this doesn't seem to follow even racial guidelines. Everyone is welcome, as long as they have the credentials, but what are those?

Exhibit 5

Oops, nope, it's not gender related either. Madam Mao is here too, to represent the ladies out there who may have started to feel a little too secure in their gender credentials. This gal could rip and tear with the best of them, and for now she will round out the dean's list. Just for now, though.

Oddly enough the inspiration for this post came out of this morning's worship time as I focused on the majesty of our Father, the beauty of Jesus, and the power of the Spirit. All it took was the above mentioned quote to stir some thoughts. 'There is only one good' is what Jesus said when someone called Him 'good teacher'. It seems to me that He was implying to the person His own divine identity, but the fact remains that He said that God is the only good guy out there. That leaves a whole lot of people on the other side of that line, doesn't it? My wife indicated to me just the other day that my own divine resemblance was lacking of late so I know where I stand in relation to that line. Sadly, since Eden, we have all found ourselves born on the wrong side of that line. The other thing is that emigration policy on this side is pretty stiff. We gotta concede the truth of where we are. It can be difficult to do though, because we tend to gather people around us who like us and hopefully don't mind telling us so. That's not all bad since we are told to encourage each other, but it can narrow the view if we only look there for an accurate portrayal of who we are. Every once in awhile we need to climb up on a ladder to peer out over the heads of our peers and see from whence we have come. From that vantage point the hit list above suddenly starts popping out at us. From that vantage point we get a fuller view of the mirror. It ain't pretty is it?

I know I start to look for some way to look away at this point, but He tells me to not forget what I have seen. Eeeek! This gets uncomfortable. How can I be like those guys and gals. They are the dregs, aren't they??? Ain't I floating somewhere near the top of the barrel looking down?? Nope, it's all flat here (sorry S'toon pals, no jab intended). The murdering thugs in the pictures were gathered into my corral when Jesus said that being angry at my brother was the same as murder. The worst skid row hooker is in with the one with the wondering eye. AAaaahhh, what will I do??? He didn't come and lower the bar. He didn't come and eradicate the bar. He came and showed us where it really is, un-freaking-reachably far above us. He showed us that the bar is God Himself. There is only 1 who is good. Suddenly I am faced with the reality of my position. The good thing is that it happened while I was beholding God. This revelation of our place leaves us at His mercy alone, and that is a good place to be. A good place because when the Holy Spirit comes to convict of sin it will be for the sin of not believing in His mercy, and we can only truly believe this when we are seeing ourselves for who we truly are. What a wonderful liberty ensues the fervent grasping of this truth. Freedom reigns in this place where we understand the fullness of God's great mercy towards us. In fact when I looked at these guys during that time of worship I realised the mercy of God in a new way. The mercy He had on these people. The food they had to eat. The beauty their eyes took in. The very breath in their nostrils was mercy. The very breath in my nostrils is mercy, the fragrance of God.