Michael Cristiani wrote a comment on the last post about finding our rest in God. Bishop Augustine is one of the most influential Christians in history. He was a wild mouse who rebelled against every convention and who desperately needed the peace of God. He found it when he heard the voice of the Spirit speak to him and he was born again.
The Bishop lived in north Africa and was a brilliant theologian. However, it appears to me that he failed to really find his rest in Christ while on this earth. My evidence for such a conclusion is how hard he was on people who failed to live up to his standards.
In my experience, anyone who is rigidly ungracious toward other sinners is out of touch with the peace of Jesus. As Hebrews 12:15 says, "Let none of you fail to obtain the grace of God and cause a root of bitterness grow up to defile many people.
Those of us who fail to obtain God's gracious attitude toward ourselves and others are very likely to become bitter. Bitter resentment leads to sickness of body, mind and spirit. Grace leads to peace.
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