Letter to the Congregations: 22nd March 2025

Our Dear Brethren,

“Do you know where I come from? You don’t understand what it’s like!”

I’ve used this excuse myself too many times to try and ease my own mind about how I do certain things. I look at my background, where I grew up, the kind of life I was used to, and certain ways of looking at situations that are both familiar and unfamiliar to me because of that. But I also look at how God has put me in situations where my personal comfort zone has been challenged. In those situations I often had to make changes within myself, having to put my own feelings aside for the sake of accomplishing a task that needed doing whether it was my own idea or not. Of course I still have to fight against the urge to use this excuse for myself as I begin to understand more about why I do the things that I do. This is a process that we all often go through in life.

As a pastor I often have the opportunity to hear some of the personal challenges that people go through. Sometimes this comes up in conversation because the individual knows they are struggling to overcome in their personal spiritual battle. Other times the struggle is made evident by their interactions with others. There are times when I hear this same excuse used to justify behaviors, often harmful and sinful, that people just aren’t ready to give up. Some try and justify working on the Sabbath, foul language, entertainment choices. Others try and excuse their poor treatment of their loved ones because of their environment or how they were raised. Unfortunately I’ve seen several situations where these seemingly small justifications turn into a slippery slope of backsliding into sin. I’ve seen marriages and family relationships severely damaged. I’ve also seen the respect and love of brethren pushed aside for the sake of personal justification.

Sometimes this kind of self-excusal of damaging behavior creeps in our minds because we’ve seen and heard others do the same things. In families children learn from those around them who they look up to. They can learn both good and bad behaviors and can, even without meaning to, inadvertently pass these patterns on to future generations. Ultimately it is our relationships, both with our God and with one another, that suffer when we make these kinds of excuses for ourselves. How can we break the cycle of making excuses for ourselves? Has it ever been done before? Is it even possible?

Thankfully God has preserved many stories of many people whose struggles were no different than our own. When they made their own excuses they only put stumbling blocks in front of themselves and the ones they loved. But when they embraced the strength from God and set aside their excuses they were used by God for His great plans! One aspect in all this was their ability, because of the faith which God had gifted them, to look at the future God has prepared for all of us. And we have that same faith in us today!

These ancient brethren of ours may have started out by making excuses for themselves, but look what is written about them:

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth…who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection…And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us” (Hebrews 11:13, 33-35, 39-40).

We are included in this list of the faithful people of God, if we are willing to accept that calling and act upon that faith. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Jesus knows where we come from and understands the human struggle. He never made excuses for Himself and has high expectations for us as His brethren. If we want to be like Him then we need to stop making excuses for ourselves and embrace our faith and the powerful examples of our faithful brethren!

Our love is with you,

Lewis VanAusdle

Pastor, United Church of God

NYC, NJ, CT, Malawi, Zimbabwe