A person of great privilege

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. (Romans 5:1-2)

We don't 'get right' with God - we are 'made right' with him. This work is accomplished by faith, never by our works. All that was needed to make us right with God was done by Christ Jesus. One of the things we may miss in this passage is this 'place of undeserved privilege' we each enjoy as a result of Christ's finished work on the cross. We might think a person of 'privilege' enjoys extreme wealth, social standing, and easy access to things they want or need. We wouldn't be far off with this definition, except for that part about 'social standing'. Being a Christian doesn't always elevate us to the top of the social charts, does it? In fact, there may even be a 'slippage' in our 'social standing' with friends or family just because we make the choice to be a follower of Christ.

Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now,
for in due time you will laugh. What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. (Luke 6:20-23)

Will the followers of Christ choose him for the wealth and fame, or for some other reason? I believe it is the latter, for in choosing Christ, we make a choice to live a life of service, not one of being served. Am I saying a believer will not have earthly wealth? Not at all, but they will not be motivated by it, or live for the accumulation of that wealth. Am I saying the believer will not have 'easy access' to the things they need? Absolutely not - for Christ cares for each of our needs as though they were his own. What I am saying is that a believer is not seeking more from this world, but they are seeking to enjoy more of God's goodness and grace in their lives. Their focus is not on what the world affords them in the way of fame, wealth, or enjoyment, but rather on the peace, love, and hope God brings as we press into him.

We actually enjoy an 'undeserved privilege' right here and now, but we live far below that privilege in Christ Jesus. Why? We seek what the world offers us before we seek to enjoy more of this privilege. It all comes down to where it is we find our fulfillment - joy, peace, and hope. If it is in the things of this world, we will live very disappointed lives. If it is in Christ, we shall soar high above whatever this world affords. Just sayin!

How are you depicted?

People will insult you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do that, know that great blessings belong to you. Be happy about it. Be very glad because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did these same bad things to the prophets who lived before you.  (Matthew 5:11-12 ERV)

Recently I have viewed two movies that projected Christians in a very unbecoming manner. One showed the woman as a "Bible-thumping" prudish woman who alienated people with all her "holier-than-thou" talk. The other depicted the believer as someone always being the brunt of jokes, poked fun at for not wanting to do some of the things his buddies wanted to do which almost always bordered on the edge of breaking the law or actually going all the way to be law-breaking offenses. It wasn't that the young man didn't want to break the law, it was the way they depicted him - always giving some "pat" Bible answer for why they shouldn't do what they were about to do. The answers weren't wrong, but the unbelieving friends weren't going to understand "Christian-speak" any better than I understand Russian! If we are going to take a stand for our convictions, then we need to be ready to stand, but in gentleness, kindness, and with humility. We aren't to throw the scripture into the faces of those with opposing views. We aren't to be doormats, either. There is a fine balance to be maintained and we won't always be understood for our convictions.

Know what you believe and then live it. This is the best way to "message" God's Word. Don't be confrontational - no one likes the Word of God being shoved down their throats. It doesn't do as much good to quote the passage as it does to live it out. When we look at the life of Jesus, it was his words the religious leaders found fault with. It was his actions the hurting and searching fell in love with! Don't expect the unbelieving, unchurched to understand "church-speak". The ways we talk "about" God to the unbelieving might just cause more of a wall to go up than we wanted. If we are to be effective as witnesses of God's grace, then we just need to live out that grace - by displaying the fruits of the Spirit in our lives. 

Love - let it guide your answers and your actions.

Joy - let it shine out, speaking of the deep faith we have in Jesus.

Peace - let it be the basis of our relationships with all men, even when circumstances change and others demand things opposed to peaceful exchange.

Patience - let it be the hallmark of your exchanges with each other, for nothing speaks louder of our faith than to be willing to long-suffering with another's actions.

Kindness - let hatred be displaced by the return of kind deeds when the expected response would be to retaliate.

Goodness - let all that you speak and do be that which is profitable. The words we speak aren't going to affect others until they see what those words produce within in our lives.

Faithfulness - let all we do be consistent and unwavering. The steps we take toward obedience aren't to be done in secret, but they are to be the billboards of God's grace in our lives.

Gentleness - let it overshadow even the harshest of actions against us and be amazed at how this one trait brings the hearts of the hardened to a place of questioning what it is that resides within us.

Self-Control - let it be evident that obedience is a choice and is exercised in our every action, but not because we are "holier-than-thou", just that we are forgiven sinners in pursuit of greater grace.

Just sayin!

Making an IMPACT?

We all probably want to live impactful lives - lives with meaning and purpose.  In the most literal sense, impact could be thought of as the result of an action - that of making contact with another object.  I think this may be what we hope for in our daily walk - that our lives would make some type of impact - there would be some positive result of the actions we take.  What makes a life one which has an impact on others?  I think it may be that the life is lived with integrity, manifested mercy, perseverance under pressures, a high level of accountability for one's own actions, compassion for those in need, and temperance in one's dealing with others.

...let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.  (Matthew 5:16 CEB)

Integrity:  Living with integrity involves all of the character traits I listed above, but people with integrity become highly trusted companions in this life because they can be counted on to be consistent.  There is congruence between the principles they propose as important in their lives and the actions they manifest as a result of those believed principles.  In other words, they aren't focused on others always seeing their "best side", but knowing they are human, struggling with the same things the other guy or gal is struggling with, and yet leaning heavily upon the mercy and grace of God to live in a way which points others toward this same grace and mercy.  A life of integrity isn't one which is perfect, but is one which is honest, straightforward, and not lived in the "shadows". 

Merciful:  Honest lives learn what it means to be merciful because they have learned how much they themselves need to rely upon the mercy of God in their own lives.  What we receive so graciously from God is to become a hallmark in our own lives for those who observe out own actions toward others.  God never tells his children to hoard mercy and grace - instead he points us toward manifesting it in a consistently generous manner in circumstances where it is least deserved and often not sought.

Perseverance:  Most of us think of the perseverance a person manifests as part of their "stubbornness" - they are continuing to move in the direction they are moving because they are just stubborn enough to not give up.  In contrast, a believer is asked to lay down their stubbornness and in place of stubbornness pick up perseverance.  This differs from moxie because it isn't reliant upon what WE can do, but upon what God is doing IN us.  There is a steadfastness in spite of obstacles.  Yes, there are still obstacles, but from somewhere deep within, there is a trust in the one who helps us maneuver around, or actually remove those obstacles from our path so we have safe passage.  WE don't DO everything on our own anymore, but lean into the wisdom and truth God reveals in our lives and then use it to overcome those hurdles.

Accountability:  Accountability is really a result of the actions of God's Spirit within our lives. We become "answerable" for our actions - not because we are trying to be "super-spiritual" or because we want to portray some "goody-two-shoes" kind of lifestyle.  It is because we know the only way out of wrong actions is by owning up to those actions and then allowing God's Spirit to guide us into the right ones.  We don't like being accountable until we see the advantage of accountability - true freedom from those things which plague us daily and trip us up every time temptation comes our way.  As soon as we begin to become "answerable" for our decisions, we realize something dynamic taking place - we begin to recognize where we went wrong.  This is something we truthfully see without a high degree of accountability - for accountable people want to understand the source of their missteps in order to avoid them in the future.  God is excited when he encounters this type of willingness to yield to the leading of the Spirit in our lives and he honors that willingness.

Compassion:  Believers should be some of the most compassionate people in the world. Why? I think it is closely related to the mercy we have been shown.  Mercy is getting what we don't deserve.  Compassion is extending grace (mercy) where it is not always sought, nor is it always deserved.  Compassion is revealed in the tenderness we exhibit toward those who get on our last nerve, give us a ration of trouble, or intend harm for our lives when all we are doing is trying to live uprightly.  It is more than just turning the other cheek - it is living in such a way the other guy doesn't stand a chance!  Mercy might not be understood 100% of the time, but when the other guy runs headlong into mercy, it leaves an impact - they just don't stand a chance!

Temperance:  Temperate lives are simply lives lived with control.  Not under control, but with control.  There is a difference.  To be under control means we are kind of like a pressure cooker - we keep all the steam built up, but it is still there and given the right circumstances, we could actually blow!  Living with control means we release before the pressure builds - this is why mercy and compassion are such a big part of our lives.  I have to work on this one kind of frequently in my own life because I am a little bit of an "under control" kind of gal and need to be more attentive to letting go of things which don't really matter in the scheme of things.  Mercy and grace go hand-in-hand with temperance.  When we can learn to extend grace, we let go.  When we are compassionate toward others, we seek to understand their position, not just our own.  These are characteristics of the temperate life - living with control - not so as to control another, but to be an example of the mercy and grace of God to those around us.  

Want to make an IMPACT today?  It isn't too late!  Just sayin!

Rules of Christian Living - Part Seven

Our last "to do" in our list of "Rules for Christian Living" is this idea of not letting evil get us down, but rather turning evil around in our world by us doing good. This one seems awful simplistic, especially in light of some of the evil we see around us these days, doesn't it?  It is hard to "undo" rape, terrorism, or even the plaguing thoughts of bullying.  It is harder still to "undo" the destruction of diseases such as MS, Alzheimer's, or Parkinson's.  We might be able to slow the progression of the "evil", but "undoing" the effect it has on people - that is really a thing we just haven't been able to accomplish yet.  Look again at our passage. It doesn't say we defeat the evil in this world.  It reminds us we can live in such a way that we don't get defeated by the evil around us by living in such a way that goodness if the hallmark of our lives.  The idea is that of not being "conquered" by evil.  There is but one way to not be "conquered" - it is found in living so close to the one who conquers all things by his power!

Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good. (Romans 12:21 CEV)

I think Martin Luther King, Jr. may have hit this idea on the head:  "We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."  If we take our passage in context, we begin to understand the truth being taught is that of maintaining a right perspective in relationship - first with God and then with those who are walking right next to us.  We started our study by discovering what it means to be "sincere" in our love for each other. Then we moved into this idea of being committed to the relationship - giving it our all and never giving up.  In turn, we learn to reach out to others who have definite need in their lives, serving them in whatever capacity the opportunity may afford.  Adding the committed concern we exhibit when we are willing to take our friend (and enemy) before the Lord in prayerful thought is definitely a sign we are on the right track when it comes to "acting" within relationship how it is God expects us to act (and react).

We can be defeated by a great many things, but in truth, defeat is really a seed for something to grow if we let it.  If you have ever been truly disappointed by something which really didn't work out as well as you wanted it to, you may have found yourself realizing there were other ways to "use" the moment to actually defeat that disappointment.  I remember making a new type of fudge one year, only to find out the fudge never would set up.  It just was as runny as could be.  It may have been a failure on my part which led to the "flop", but when it came to redeeming the moment, we decided to bottle it, then serve it up as an ice cream topping!  Now, this may not be ingenious, but it was one way to turn a defeat into a victory!  We used the "flop" to create a different kind of "success" in life!  This is often what we find ourselves doing in relationship because all of our relationship "moments" will not "perfectly set".  Sometimes we need to take those which don't "set well" and use them as seeds to create something even more interesting and beautiful within the relationship!

This is the principle of defeating evil with good.  It is the ability to look beyond the bad stuff and see the potential for good to come out of it - even though it means a little more work and a little more time.  The fudge required we buy some canning jars (as we made a big, big batch)!  We then had to wash them, fill them, label them, and determine where to "store" all this new-found ice cream topping!  We wanted to share the fudge as Christmas treats with friends and family - so guess what they got for Christmas - yep, a bottle or two of this exquisite fudge topping for their ice cream!  White chocolate, bing cherry, and walnut topping for their evening ice cream splurge!  To our delight, they were delighted with our "flop"!  This is sometimes how it is in life - when we least expect something good to come from what seems to be a total disaster in life, the best kind of thing can happen.  We had friends and neighbors asking for the recipe and even asking for a second jar!  

We may not always be able to "ward off" evil, but we can respond to it by a certain strength within which counters the effect it has.  We can learn to forgive, but we have to allow the seeds of disappointment to actually come if we are ever to be challenged to forgive!  Just sayin!

Rules for Christian Living - Part Six

We have all probably heard a version of this quip:  "Payback is a bummer".  You may have heard it just a little differently, but you get the idea!  The "payback" for some of our misdeeds or meddling may be something we are not really counting on, but we can almost stand assured it is coming!  When I was younger, I was much more of a practical joker and liked to pull little pranks on people.  I learned that payback was really not something I liked!  There were times some of my friends and I would try to "one up" each other in the prank, having to be very creative about how it was we'd get the other one back for the last prank they pulled.  The problem with this kind of "one-upmanship" is that eventually the pranks had to get pretty elaborate and almost a little cruel or unsafe.  There was almost no end to the places we'd invade, the things we'd use, and the mischievous ways we'd prank one another.  It had to stop somewhere, though.  So, eventually I found myself a little convicted for some of the stuff I was doing and in time I cam to recognize these pranks as really not creating more of a cohesive relationship, but driving a bit of a wedge in between us.  I stopped - and guess what - they stopped, too!  Why did they stop?  They no longer had to "pay back" the mischief - we were just free to be going about our normal business of life without trying to create the way we'd "get even" with the other guy!  I think God has a similar plan in mind when it comes to our relationships with each other - we need to guard against the "one-upmanship" practices, engage in active forgiveness, and allow him to be in control when things are spinning way out of our own sphere of influence.

Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good. If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord. Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head. Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21 CEB)

The principles we will consider today are really hard for some of us to grasp because we have not learned to let go of stuff, doing what I refer to as "gunny-sacking" the hurts and misdeeds of others until we "need" them someday in the future to really "stick it to them".  It is like we have this "sack" we might label our "revenge rucksack".  We pack it so full of the things people say, do, and even don't have a clue they have said or done which hurt us, leave us disappointed, or just plain were unthinking acts.  Then one day that "perfect" moment comes when we will "unload" this stuff - putrid from sometimes years and years of decay within our "rucksack"!  Eeesh!  What a mess this creates in relationships.  It is God's intent for us to not just empty the rucksack, but to completely remove it from our shoulders, hands, and possession!

We will always be in contact with others within our circles who just don't see things as we do.  This is life.  You might expect me to say we need to learn to "deal with it" to the best of our abilities, but herein is where we find ourselves pulling out the rucksack and "packing for the trip".  We need to learn to not so much "deal with it" ourselves, but allow God to deal with it!  If we do this, we find ourselves not needing the rucksack in the first place!  If you think of the purpose of a rucksack, it is designed for the shoulders, to be slung across the back of the one bearing the load within.  Rucksack is a German term meaning bag for the back.  So, in essence, when we put things another does or says which disappoint us into our "rucksack", we are bearing the burden of the hurt they are causing on our own shoulders.  It becomes the load which often breaks our backs because we weren't meant to actually bear up under that load in the first place!

The idea of "remaining current" within relationships is probably one of the ways we eliminate the tendency to put things in the rucksack.  When we deal with the hurts of today, they don't become the disappointments we nurse well into the future.  Sometimes we can easily accomplish this by taking just a few moments to step back, considering the perspective of the other person, and realize they just didn't intend to come across the way they did, or didn't even realize they did what they did.  At other times, we need to talk things out and get things in the open so they can be dealt with.  Either way, we eliminate the tendency to store up stuff in our rucksack when we do!  

Revenge is really not sweet - although it may seem that way to one who has been "housing" a lot of stuff in their rucksack.  The issue is really that the bitterness created by "housing" all those memories and hurts inside the sack just allows them to get all jumbled together and messed up.  Eventually we won't be able to distinguish one "issue" from another because they are all "tainted" by the other!  What comes out is a mess of bitter and disgusting thoughts, words, and deeds.  To avoid this happening, we need to rid ourselves of the sack!  What we are asked to do is trust God to "deal with" the other individual in the way he sees fit.  God may convict them with his kindness, or he may bring a little displeasure their way - that is his business and totally his "purview".  We need to just leave this in his hands.  When we do, we walk away without a burden on our shoulders we weren't meant to bear up under in the first place.

So, our lesson today - ditch the rucksack!  Just sayin!

Rules for Christian Living - Part Five

It is said when an individual is able to empathize with another they are able to associate with the feelings, attitudes, and sometimes even the pain of another. It is as though they have walked through, or are currently walking through the same stuff the other person is at that moment in time.  There is an "association" with the other person's plight, joy, freedom, etc.  To suffer "with" another is different from entering into the suffering with the individual.  Sympathy is something which occurs because two people are so similar in tastes, opinions, etc., that they often see things the same way.  When God asks us to be happy when others are happy, sad when they are sad, he is asking us to use a little of both.  He desires nothing more than we become like minded - developing the same tastes and opinions.  He also wants each of us to learn to walk with one another in the challenges of life we have also walked through - not alone, but with each other.  Sympathy suggests the general idea of kinship - empathy reveals the willingness to go the extra mile with the one next to you - whether the journey be the best or the worst!

When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. Be friendly with everyone. Don’t be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. (Romans 12:15-16 CEV)

Many years ago, the light little tune came out, "Don't worry, be happy!"  The jingle caught the attention of many and became a light-hearted tune to lift the spirits.  The problem with the tune - it lacks depth despite the "lightness" of its message.  We cannot make light of another's misery, nor can we discount or dismiss their happiness.  This is what Paul has in mind when he reminds us to live in such a way so as to enter into the happiness of another, as well as share in their difficult places.  "Kin" does that!  When there is a blood-connection as there is with those who are children of God's Kingdom, there is this connection with the ups and downs of each other.  Why does this idea of being friendly with each other come into the instruction at this point?  The idea conveyed is that we are to "show" our friendship - in action, not just words.  

To this, Paul adds the reminder to be aware of the times when we might want to consider ourselves as a little "better" than others - either because we haven't experienced what they are experiencing, or just because we see our own struggles or victories as more "significant" than the other guy's.  It is not infrequent that we do this little "comparison" thing, evaluating what another is going through in perspective to what we have gone through, or are presently facing.  We almost put their sorrow or happiness on a scale, with the counter-balance on that scale being our own issues or enjoyments.  If another's outweigh ours, they might get our attention - if not, we might turn up our noses and walk away.  This is what we are to guard against - this "counter-balance" issue.  No one walks through things exactly the same - but we do face them with the same types of emotions - fear, sadness, worry, joy, peace, or elation. There are degrees to all our emotions and we tend toward "unique" sets of these emotions in our personal make-up, but we all have the same emotions.

There is something to be said about identifying with the sorrow or happiness of another from both the perspective of sympathy and empathy.  We each experience different struggles and enjoyments in life, but we can experience them together as "kin".  We also can be "paired up" with another that is able to share in our sorrow or joy at a deeper level because they have similar experiences.  I think we need both.  It should come as no surprise that there is nothing new under the sun - it might change faces, places, and time frames, but there is truthfully nothing new under the sun.  What another is walking through has been walked through by many others down through the ages - we need to learn to be open with each other, sharing in our joys and fears, frustrations and hopes, successes and failures - because there is value in this exchange of support, celebration, and compassionate display of love.  The value?  We learn to look outside ourselves and see the other guy.  We learn to see that life exists beyond our own sorrows, challenges, joys and celebrations.  We enter into community - God's intent in all of this.

We may not do this naturally at first, but in time, as we consistently allow God to bring us together with others of like-minded companionship, we find we begin to experience more than the sympathy component, but we enter into seasons and experiences where we enter into the suffering and pain of another (empathy).  It may come as no surprise to some that this is where growth actually occurs - both in our own lives and in the life of the other guy.  Why? As iron sharpens iron, we sharpen each other.  Just sayin!

Rules for Christian Living - Part Four

If you have ever stood in the midst of accusers or those who just don't make life very pleasant for you, you know what it is like to feel a little mistreated. Mistreated people actually feel like they are being "abused" a little - the things being done to them are just plain wrong. The one being mistreated feels like they are standing alone - no help in sight, no end either!  To be the receiving end of abuse is just not pleasant, but to actually turn "toward" your abuser and then bless them is quite another thing altogether!  To return good when all you are receiving is bad or harmful is almost like asking for the impossible, but we need to keep in mind God's plan is to always do the impossible through us. 

Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. (Romans 12:14 CEV)

It doesn't say we are to be the ones giving the blessing to another - it says we are to take that individual to God and ask God to bless him or her.  I think this is where we get it wrong in our lives - we think we are being asked to actually be the ones to have to bless the other person's life, but we are only being asked to bring that individual before God and ask God to "favor" them in a way HE sees fit.  This may differ entirely from how we see "fit" for that individual.  You might be surprised how God knows exactly how to bless another's life. Sometimes the very things which seem to be mounting good in the other person's life can be interpreted as God not caring for the hurt or pain we are in because of the other person's actions.  In truth, God may be using the good he bestows to actually bring the other person to a place of recognizing him.

Did you ever stop to consider what it is to actually bear up under the burden of too much blessing?  Before you send me off to be stoned, hear me out.  When God chooses to bless and bless someone's life with what we see as good, contrary to how they have been acting toward you, it may be the "good" is mounting up to the place they will actually stumble under the weight of all that good!  Before you get your hopes up that God makes someone stumble and fall who has done you wrong, let me assure you he only uses their own desires to reveal their true colors.  It may be he is bringing them to the place they hit rock bottom and recognize they have a tremendous need despite their tremendous blessing in life!

Ask God to bless and not to curse - something so totally opposed to our natural inclination, huh?  When hurt by another, we want to lash out, not have blessing bestowed in their lives.  We want to see wrong done to them like they have done to us - it is this retaliatory response God is after here.  He wants us to recognize we want to get even and this is not his way of ever doing business! If it were, then grace would be null and void in his economy!  God's move toward the one who stands in need of his mercy is always something we just don't understand very well, but we sure enjoy being on the receiving end of that mercy!  Asking God to bless another may not be our first response to their negative behavior, but it is the right one - because we ALL stand in need of his mercy.  

The idea here is asking God to "harass" them in a way so totally in opposition to the way they have been harassing you that they cannot help but be convicted by their actions.  Grace extended brings conviction sometimes sooner than any other thing in someone's life.  Repeated attacks returned with repeated blessing will make the one doing the attacking a little uncomfortable after a while. When they see we don't get riled, refuse to return their negative and hurtful actions with similar ones, and remind God to "handle" them in the way which best reflects him, they will eventually stop.  Why?  It is hard to face grace's open arms repeatedly without falling into them at some point.  Just sayin!

Rules of Christian Living - Part Three

Impoverished people understand their need, don't they?  The one living on the street longs for a roof over their head and warmth in the cool of winter.  The one eating from the trash receptacles nightly longs for the privilege of purchasing a hot meal or buying a basket of groceries fresh from the market. The one clothed in the same garb from day-to-day longs for the ability to launder their things and to enjoy the luxury of having choices about what to wear.  We might not understand poverty if we have never really experienced it. Mother Teresa once said, "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty."  I guess there are more forms of poverty than just being without food, clothing, or shelter, huh?  If what she said is true, then many of us have known a form of poverty at one time or another, right?  Lonely, feeling unwanted in a world crazy enough to make a sane person spin, we wander almost in a daze - hungering for someone to care, somebody to embrace our pain.  Then as though the heavens opened up, we run smack-dab into the open and waiting arms of Jesus!  In an instant, our loneliness is no longer beckoning to be fulfilled; our feelings of being unwanted and of little value begin to melt away.  Why?  In the arms of Jesus, grace heals wounds, mends broken hearts, and weaves love into the core of our being.

Take care of God’s needy people and welcome strangers into your home. (Romans 12:13 CEV)

Yes, our passage deals with the "physical" form of poverty, but it also deals with the "spiritual", "emotional", and "relational" forms of poverty, as well.  Mother Teresa went on to say, "We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless.  The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty.  We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."  Great wisdom indeed!  I think we need to be challenged a little to look within our own walls on occasion to find the real "poverty" which has the potential to lie within those walls.  The truth is that there might just be emotional poverty right there in the next chair, watching the same re-runs of that sitcom night after night that you are!  There might be spiritually needy individuals just longing for someone to show them the way of escape from the place of poverty they have stumbled into.  When we begin to look for need, we might just be surprised how "evident" it is all around us!  Lest we think it is impossible for the "stranger" to actually dwell within our inner circle, think again. I daresay there is a little bit of a "stranger" in all of us just waiting to be welcomed in!

I once learned that you can tell how ripe a banana is by how many ways the peel actually "splits" when peeled from the top down.  Most of us peel the banana from the end which attached it to the tree, but it is meant to be peeled from the "bud" end.  When peeled in this direction, the ripest banana will peel away into five parts.  Ever try to peel an unripe banana?  When you try to remove the peel, it is almost like you need a jack-hammer to break the seal! Bitter parts are left behind from the peel.  The struggle to remove the peel is almost too difficult to actually make the discovery of what is underneath the peel worth it.  I wonder if we realize when a relationship is ready to "peel back" and reveal what is hidden in the core of it?  Do we have a tendency to rush things a little, leaving nothing but bitterness behind?  Or are we trying to get into the relationship the wrong way?  Maybe we are not really concerned about having invested enough time into allowing it to ripen to actually see the pleasure and joy a "fully ripened" relationship can bring to our souls!  

We may not be ready to open our doors to the homeless and "street dwellers" in our neighborhoods, but we can open our hearts to the one sitting right next to us!  I think this is where carrying for the needy begins - in the couches and easy chairs in our homes, the cubicles of our workplaces, and the pews of our churches.  There is no greater need than the one which is simply unspoken, but nonetheless niggling at the core of the heart and soul of the one in need.  If you have ever been in a crowd and felt alone, you may have just witnessed a sense of deep poverty within your own soul.  If you have ever experienced darkness in the midst of great light, you might have experienced the solitude and loneliness of depression.  There is much to be said about the need around us, my friends, but the greatest thing we can say is, "God show me where it exists in me, and let me begin to see it in others who surround me."  Just sayin!

Rules for Christian Living - Part Two

Yesterday we began a study into some "Rules for Christian Living" as outlined in the twelfth chapter of the Romans.  We began with the importance of loving others, honoring them, and to actively engage in practices within relationship which build up the relationship rather than tearing it down.  The focus was on the vigilance required to maintain solid relationships - beginning with the one we have with God and then spreading out to those we enjoy with each other. Today, we will move into the ideas of tenacity, endurance, and patience - three things which just about every one of us has a little struggle with at one time or another.  We begin with the reminder to never give up.  In the realm of relationship, this is probably one of the most important things we can learn. The desire to give up is there more than we probably want to admit.  It doesn't matter if we focus on our relationship with Christ, or those we call our "everyday" relationships right here on earth, we struggle with this idea of never giving up on them (or in them).  Why?  Obtaining or attaining something is often seen as the end result rather than the beginning of a long commitment. We "obtain" relationships - seeking to make a new friend, find a boyfriend or girlfriend, etc.  We might even want to take the relationship to a new level, such as being best friends, going steady, or even marriage.  Without even realizing it, we sometimes have made the "attaining" of that status the focus rather than the relationship growth which will actually help us through the tough times.

Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying. (Romans 12:11-12 CEV)

As we examine this "set" of inter-related "rules", let's not lose sight of the idea of building relationship - the framework being that of love, honor, and active engagement within the relationship.  We begin with never giving up on each other.  To give up means we concede, or simply relinquish the "ground" of the relationship to another, to something which gains focus instead of the relationship, etc.  Both of these things don't really require much effort from us, but suggest a lack of effort - just simply taking our eye off the ball, so to speak. The only way a pitch gets past the batter is because he lost focus on the ball somewhere between it leaving the pitcher's hand and it crossing home plate. The difference between a home run and a strike out might just be related to the attentiveness one has toward the ball which is in play in the game.  The same is true in relationship - we have to know what "balls" are "in play" and where they are at all times.

Whatever the relationship, the "rule of thumb" is the same - we must eagerly follow the Holy Spirit's leading within it!  He is the one who will help us to learn to serve, not just take from the relationship.  This will bring a depth which cannot be attained any other way - service being the catalyst which takes us to new levels within the relationship.  How can service do this, you might wonder? Well, glad you asked!  Serving one another compliments what we learned in our first lesson - love's "staying power" is determined by the focus we maintain within the relationship.  If our focus is "gimme", "gimme", "gimme", the relationship will have a shallowness to it because we are revealing we are only "in" the relationship for what we can get out of it.  If our focus within relationship is on "attaining" it rather than laying the foundation which will help us to "maintain" it, we will have one which really fizzles out quite quickly - leaving us disillusioned and without hope.  

Going back to the idea of conceding or relinquishing - relationship needs to be a little bit of give and take, but when it is all about taking, one of the parties within the relationship will be quite unfulfilled.  Whether it is our relationship with Christ, or that with someone God has placed in our path in the here and now, we need to be cognizant of the "ease" at which we can drift into expecting another to fulfill our every "need".  This is something it has taken me a great deal of time to realize - no one can fulfill my needs!  There is no individual on this earth capable of getting it "all right" when it comes to meeting my needs, and I am not capable of getting it "all right" when it comes to meeting theirs! We are imperfect human beings - expecting someone else will meet our needs is kind of unrealistic.  Imperfection cannot "do" perfection very well!  The only "perfect" one in relationship with us is Christ.  He is the one we look to for our needs to be clarified and ultimately met fully.  

Now, as it applies to serving one another, we look to each other and find ways to "serve" one another.  Why?  Serving one another is a means of "giving into" the relationship - keeping it active, engaged, and fulfilling.  When we stop serving one another, we become "weak" in our commitment to the relationship. Some of the greatest times of "service" in relationship come out of times of praying for one another.  In prayer, God reveals ways we can build each other up, bolster the hopes of another, and bring advice to bear on problems the other may be facing.  There is something else I have learned about times of praying for those I am in relationship with - those prayers often reveal things about "ME" which need a little adjustment in order to make the relationship even better!  As I set out to pray for them, God helps me to see where the attention needs to be turned toward me and where I need a little bit of his "fine tuning" in order to strengthen and build up the relationship.  It shouldn't catch us off-guard when God shows us these things - but we should embrace them as the very thing which will give us "staying power" and "bind us" together in true commitment.  Just sayin!