Romans12: 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
When there is trouble in a church body, people are sometimes quick to take a side- whether we admit to it or not, we do. I have been in constant prayer and conversation with God over this lately- to be quite honest, I’ve prayed that God would change hearts- but I’ve prayed that with only certain people in mind. Please forgive me. In His word, God tells us to love each other and He says it a lot. Why? Because it does not come naturally to us to love all our brothers and sisters. He has to tell us repeatedly to do it because He knows us. It’s quite easy to just want some people to leave a body of Christ because they just can’t seem to ever be satisfied. It’s quite easy to want a leader or pastor to leave because we just can’t get over something that’s happened. But, that is not what God has called us to. He has called us into the body of Christ. We may not want to love someone because they’re just so darn unloveable. We may not want to love someone because they’ve hurt us or hurt someone they do love. We may not choose to love because we think we might get hurt. There are many reasons why we choose to be unloving. There is one reason why we should choose to love all of our body - -because we are His body. He placed us into this family of believers. He knew the different personalities, He knew it would be hard.
Being in a church is a lot like being in a marriage. We are committed to each other in love. When He is the head, we are bound together, knit together. We may not feel like being loving because our spouse “did it again,” we may not even like our spouses some days, but we are in a committed relationship so we continue to find a way to love. When some people choose to leave a church, it rips that part of the body off. There is no clean break, just as when there is a divorce in marriage. It may seem like it makes things easier because then we don’t have to deal with it. But the people that leave will be missing a part of themselves and the church is left with open wounds and missing parts. We, as a church, should never rejoice when someone leaves, nor should we ever wish that people would leave(and that includes a pastor). It hurts the body of Christ.
Do we want God to keep allowing these things to happen because we can’t get it right?
We, the church, need to get this right. We need to find a way to full reconciliation. We have to so humble ourselves before God and before those that are hurting. People that are hurt need to look to God and to the body of Christ. We have to find a way to forgive, truly forgive, even if we think that we are the only ones doing it. We have to give up our right to be right. We have to be vulnerable enough to risk everything- our pride, our hearts, our standings. He is our defender and our shield. He has saved us. He has forgiven us. He knows it’s hard. But, with Jesus, the yoke is light, especially when we all carry it together.
Matt 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
My Way or the High Way?
I may not be confident in a whole lot of things, but in this one thing I have placed my faith:
I did not and do not deserve love, forgiveness, mercy and grace from God.... but He gives it to me anyway.
And He tells us in His word to love as He loves, to forgive as He forgives, to give mercy and extend grace as He does. What this says to me is that I don't get to choose who deserves it- I don't get to choose who I love and who I forgive- I am to do as He does and give it to all.
I can thank God that He didn't put me in charge of who gets grace and who doesn't. I don't get to choose, I don't get to sit in judgement where He has already forgiven. No matter what it takes, I am to extend grace , love and forgiveness to all. If that means I have to give up my rights, then so be it. If it means that I have to swallow my desire to be right, then I will.
I am to do the will of my Father, I am to obey His word and I am to trust that He will do His work. If I choose not to forgive and not to love, I am in direct disobedience to Him and it will not go well with me.
I don't know about you or where you stand- but I know this:
I choose God's way.
I did not and do not deserve love, forgiveness, mercy and grace from God.... but He gives it to me anyway.
And He tells us in His word to love as He loves, to forgive as He forgives, to give mercy and extend grace as He does. What this says to me is that I don't get to choose who deserves it- I don't get to choose who I love and who I forgive- I am to do as He does and give it to all.
I can thank God that He didn't put me in charge of who gets grace and who doesn't. I don't get to choose, I don't get to sit in judgement where He has already forgiven. No matter what it takes, I am to extend grace , love and forgiveness to all. If that means I have to give up my rights, then so be it. If it means that I have to swallow my desire to be right, then I will.
I am to do the will of my Father, I am to obey His word and I am to trust that He will do His work. If I choose not to forgive and not to love, I am in direct disobedience to Him and it will not go well with me.
I don't know about you or where you stand- but I know this:
I choose God's way.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Brushstrokes
Before my sister's death, she was hospitalized for more than a week and we all knew there were things to be done, things to be said and practical help needed. Her family, including friends and friends of friends bonded together in this mission of love. Some family members called and gave love, some gave the children rides, some watched the kids, some cooked, some visited Luann, some comforted her husband, still others prayed or lit candles. These people formed a bond of protection around Luann and her family. It didn't matter to anyone if their job seemed too small or that it loomed large - we all just came together, physically and mentally in support and in love.
At Luann's death, her family wove an ever-tightening bond around her husband and children. We wanted to protect them, to be with them, to remember Luann and to share our own perspectives of who she was. What I found was that no two people shared the same perception. None of us knew the whole of Luann, but we each knew in part. We could form a general picture of who she was: a kind-hearted, gracious, gentle woman who loved her husband and children passionately and cared about the important things. And, as a whole, that's a pretty good picture to hold onto. But we also each have our own picture, formed by our time with her, our memories, our own experiences. Each of us had a brushstroke or two in this picture of her. And when we came together, those brushstrokes painted a more vivid picture, a brighter picture, a community picture of who she was. And I love her more looking at that picture.
And so it is with church, the body of Christ. We come together as a family with a mission, a mission to love God and to serve Him. Some of us teach, some learn, some preach, some serve, some cook, some call, some listen, some pray. Some of us make friends easily, some don't. Some are not as confident in their beliefs, some are. We form this bond of people striving to worship God.
It doesn't matter if our "job" seems small or looms large. We all just come together because we have this bond of faith.
As individuals, we each have our own view of who God is, who Jesus is to us. I've found that no two people share the same view of who He is. None of us know the whole of Jesus, but we can each know in part. We can paint an abstract of Him as a loving, merciful, all-knowing, all-seeing God and that picture is awesome. But as with Luann, we each have our picture of Him, too - created by our own time with Him, our own experiences,the gifts He has given to us. Each of us has a brushstroke or two in this picture of who God is. And when we come together... Oh, when we come together, that picture of Jesus is so much brighter, so much clearer, so much bigger than I ever could have imagined with just my own relationship with Him. And we love Him more because of it.
Do you want to know someone more? See someone more clearly? Do you want to see Jesus as He really is? Then come together as a family and remember His faithfulness, share your story, love deeply as brothers and sisters, serve one another. Those brushstrokes will paint a work of art, a masterpiece.
Ephesians 4:11-16
At Luann's death, her family wove an ever-tightening bond around her husband and children. We wanted to protect them, to be with them, to remember Luann and to share our own perspectives of who she was. What I found was that no two people shared the same perception. None of us knew the whole of Luann, but we each knew in part. We could form a general picture of who she was: a kind-hearted, gracious, gentle woman who loved her husband and children passionately and cared about the important things. And, as a whole, that's a pretty good picture to hold onto. But we also each have our own picture, formed by our time with her, our memories, our own experiences. Each of us had a brushstroke or two in this picture of her. And when we came together, those brushstrokes painted a more vivid picture, a brighter picture, a community picture of who she was. And I love her more looking at that picture.
And so it is with church, the body of Christ. We come together as a family with a mission, a mission to love God and to serve Him. Some of us teach, some learn, some preach, some serve, some cook, some call, some listen, some pray. Some of us make friends easily, some don't. Some are not as confident in their beliefs, some are. We form this bond of people striving to worship God.
It doesn't matter if our "job" seems small or looms large. We all just come together because we have this bond of faith.
As individuals, we each have our own view of who God is, who Jesus is to us. I've found that no two people share the same view of who He is. None of us know the whole of Jesus, but we can each know in part. We can paint an abstract of Him as a loving, merciful, all-knowing, all-seeing God and that picture is awesome. But as with Luann, we each have our picture of Him, too - created by our own time with Him, our own experiences,the gifts He has given to us. Each of us has a brushstroke or two in this picture of who God is. And when we come together... Oh, when we come together, that picture of Jesus is so much brighter, so much clearer, so much bigger than I ever could have imagined with just my own relationship with Him. And we love Him more because of it.
Do you want to know someone more? See someone more clearly? Do you want to see Jesus as He really is? Then come together as a family and remember His faithfulness, share your story, love deeply as brothers and sisters, serve one another. Those brushstrokes will paint a work of art, a masterpiece.
Ephesians 4:11-16
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