{"id":1065,"date":"2017-10-22T12:05:11","date_gmt":"2017-10-22T19:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/?p=1065"},"modified":"2017-10-22T12:05:11","modified_gmt":"2017-10-22T19:05:11","slug":"it-doesnt-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/22\/it-doesnt-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"It doesn&#8217;t matter&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"29\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/theres-only-grace\/inbaby-hand3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?fit=135%2C135\" data-orig-size=\"135,135\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"inbaby-hand3\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?fit=135%2C135\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=135%2C135\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"135\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-29\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Grace is inclusiveness.  No one gets left out at any time, for any cause, for any reason.  But you can\u2019t handle the truth of this, can you?  It\u2019s okay to admit that this is one of the most repugnant things you know about grace.  Some just shouldn\u2019t receive it, right?<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t matter.  Honestly, this phrase has caused more angst to people than any other in the grace realm.  Why?  Obviously, it doesn\u2019t matter.  \u201cBut it does matter,\u201d is the response of a person who can\u2019t accept a gift, no matter how priceless, simply because their value system is askew.  <\/p>\n<p>Consider that a long time ago, in a realm far, far away, you and I occupied a place of complete and absolute peace and harmony, filled with an overwhelming, incomprehensible presence of love.  We were accepted fully just as we were, but more importantly, accepted for \u201cwhen\u201d and \u201chow\u201d we would become.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cwhen\u201d aspect was our birth into the world at some point in time.  Notice how our acceptance pre-dates time, meaning that when we arrived on this orb called earth, we arrived perfected in love.  What occurred to us from that moment forward is the \u201chow\u201d aspect.<\/p>\n<p>If we don\u2019t know we\u2019re loved and accepted, the strangest thing happens: We create a false reality to mask love and acceptance.  This false reality becomes our earthly persona, a coat of armor which we wear to protect ourselves from the self-induced perception that we aren\u2019t loved and accepted.  Regrettably, this armor also becomes our prison since we find it so hard to believe an eternal truth when posited in an earthly existence.  <\/p>\n<p>As long as we allow the armor of our thoughts to dictate our actions we strengthen the idea that we are not loved, or that others aren\u2019t loved as much as we are by our false identity.  Judgement, personal and directed at others, is our battle weapon to secure the thoughts which continually tell us we\u2019ve been abandoned.  <\/p>\n<p>How we look; how old; how smart; how rich; how poor; how tall; how short; how thin; how fat; how much we own; how much we don\u2019t like people; how much we like certain people more than others; plus, myriad other nuances swirl around us living this life within the armor of self-deception. Yet, it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p>Let me provide an example.  The other day, I happened to see two individuals attack one another about racism.  Each held the extreme position for and against it in a particular situation.  The more I watched, the greater my agitation for the dialogue increased.  I don\u2019t hold any of their positions.  My agitation rose because both of these people were of the same ethnicity and each was determined to enforce their belief upon the other, and all of those watching, without stopping to consider that a false identity of being unaccepted and loved is the genesis of this entire issue.  Whatever their particular point was in this matter, ultimately, they both were correct: each lived from the deception of being unaccepted and unloved. They each had developed a deep reliance in living from the opinion of how others saw them rather than the truth of who they were.<\/p>\n<p>Now I know that some, if not most, of you will take exception to this example and might feel that the best thing for me is to roast my hide for exposing this condition.  However, first recognize that I wouldn\u2019t be writing this way if I didn\u2019t believe it so much that I\u2019m able to live it.  Second, I\u2019m not taking a position either way, simple because it doesn\u2019t matter.  Each of us should reach a point in our life where we\u2019re free to let the armor of our false identity fall to the ground and expose the truth of love and acceptance which resides within and is us.  True, many will not like what they see, their helmet of saving face obscures their vision to reality.  Grace.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re issues in life don\u2019t matter because you are loved and accepted by God, why should they matter to me to a greater degree?  Don\u2019t feel that I don\u2019t care about you simply because I don\u2019t jump on your self-deceptive parade of angst.  I demonstrate my care by not adding to your circus.  That might not appear to be what you think you need, however, until you understand of how greatly you are loved and accepted, your actions, which are trying to convince me otherwise, well&#8230;it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grace is inclusiveness. No one gets left out at any time, for any cause, for any reason. But you can\u2019t handle the truth of this, can you? It\u2019s okay to admit that this is one of the most repugnant things &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/22\/it-doesnt-matter\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amazonpipp_noncename":"","amazon-product-isactive":"","amazon-product-single-asin":"","amazon-product-content-location":"","amazon-product-content-hook-override":"","amazon-product-excerpt-hook-override":"","amazon-product-singular-only":"","amazon-product-amazon-desc":"","amazon-product-show-gallery":"","amazon-product-show-features":"","amazon-product-newwindow":"","amazon-product-show-list-price":"","amazon-product-show-used-price":"","amazon-product-show-saved-amt":"","amazon-product-timestamp":"","amazon-product-new-title":"","amazon-product-use-cartURL":"","amazon_featured_post_meta_key":"","_amazon_featured_alt":"","amazon-product-template":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[4,6,5],"class_list":["post-1065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-10","tag-grace","tag-mike-hillebrecht","tag-teaching"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ITDy-hb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1994,"url":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/22\/the-deep-dark-secret-of-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":0},"title":"The Deep, Dark Secret of Grace","author":"mike","date":"June 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Living in the shelter of our religious institutions most of us never would even imagine that there is a secret about grace which we\u2019ve never been told. Sure, some might feel that living under the heavy hand of atonement theology, replacement theology, or even prosperity and kingdom theology, when grace\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2018 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2018 Postings","link":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2018-postings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1056,"url":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/18\/a-level-of-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":1},"title":"A Level of Grace","author":"mike","date":"October 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a day, no, a moment in a day, when out of the blue, it hits you right in the gut: you're saved by grace. You\u2019ve heard it more times than you can count, even claimed it \u2018til you're blue in the face; yet now, it means something tangible,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2017 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2017 Postings","link":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2017\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1976,"url":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/05\/dating-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":2},"title":"Dating Grace","author":"mike","date":"May 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"No, this is not about the adventures of my cousin prior to marrying his wife. As grand as that narrative might be, this is in keeping with my ventures of looking into the realm of a kingdom eternal. Allow me to ask you a very fundamental question: When do you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2018 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2018 Postings","link":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2018-postings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1544,"url":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/05\/taking-what-wasnt-given\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":3},"title":"Taking What Wasn\u2019t Given","author":"mike","date":"March 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the main lessons that every parent has to teach their child is not to take candy from the store when checking out unless you pay for it. Time after time this is one of the lessons I hear from adults about their growing up years, back in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2018 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2018 Postings","link":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2018-postings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2685,"url":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/24\/the-grace-to-believe\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":4},"title":"The Grace To Believe.","author":"mike","date":"March 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In case you haven\u2019t discovered it yet, I am a \u201cgrace\u201d guy. I function entirely through the realm of grace. As a matter of fact, so do you - whether you believe it or not. This is what I am going to tackle in this writing: Belief, believing and ultimately,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2023 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2023 Postings","link":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2023\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2466,"url":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/26\/the-three-pillars-of-grace-pt-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":1065,"position":5},"title":"The Three Pillars of Grace Pt 6","author":"mike","date":"March 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"When someone makes a claim that there are a number of elements in some process or event, often, people are conditioned to look at the numeric values as a hierarchy of importance. Therefore, \u201cone\u201d becomes the most important, followed by a cascading of lesser important points. My claim of there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2021 Postings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2021 Postings","link":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/category\/2021-postings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hand in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mikehillebrecht.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/inbaby-hand3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1065"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1066,"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065\/revisions\/1066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}