Tag: action

Love better.

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:44, 46-48

THIS. IS. SO. GOOD. And relevant. What makes us stand out as Christians? How do people see that we follow Jesus? What makes us different? This is it. This should be it. So many times, over the past year especially, I’ve seen my fellow Christians, even people I know and love from our own church family, just absolutely hating on other people: putting them down, judging, saying they “deserve” some hardship or struggle because of something they say or do or believe. I’ve written about this kind of thing before, long before COVID, but this pandemic, this crisis that could have brought us closer together, that could have been our time to shine a light in a dark world, instead divided us; it brought out a really ugly, dismissive, prideful side of people (mainly people who claim to be Christians) that absolutely breaks my heart.
When people look to us at a time like this (or any time really) and see us acting no differently (or maybe even worse) than the rest of the world, why would they want what we have? If that’s what it means to follow Christ, what’s so great about it?


If the world doesn’t see supernatural, unconditional love in us, they won’t see Jesus. That last verse is scary. How the heck can we be perfect? We can’t, and God knows that. Otherwise we wouldn’t need Jesus. And that’s why He sent us the Holy Spirit. His love is perfected in our weakness. (1 John 4:12)

This passage is so powerful to me because these are Jesus’ words. Jesus himself is calling us out, calling us to a higher standard, and calling us to LOVE BETTER.

Called.

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

If ever there were a specific passage for a specific time, this is perfect for right now. Of course, it applies every day, but this is such a timely reminder of how we are called to live as Christians. I feel like in a time when we are all so self-centered and only focused on our own comfort and happiness, we need this encouragement and nudge in the right direction. My heart has been so heavy lately seeing all the hate and selfishness in this world. I know the bible warns us how evil the world is, but I’m not sure I realized the extent of it until this year. Sure, I knew evil people existed and caused their share of problems, but I think I assumed the majority of people in the world were generally good. This year has sure taught me otherwise. This year has not only forced me to see the reality of the evil that runs rampant in the world, but it has also made me greatly reevaluate my own intention and focus. It has made me take another look at my role in not only my life, but society in general. That last line of the passage gets me. The things listed are God’s will for us, it comes right out and says it. So many times I’ve felt like I didn’t know what God wanted of me, but He spells it out very plainly here.

Admonish the idle: my bible also includes the words “disorderly” and “undisciplined.” If we’re honest, we’re all a little disorderly sometimes, and God knows I’ve got a lot of work to do in the discipline department. The word “admonish” means to warn, advise, or urge (someone) earnestly. To me, this is a great reminder that we are called to keep each other accountable when it comes to our Christian walk. We are called to (in love) point out when someone is missing the mark. Likewise, we are called to be humble, so that when we are admonished by our brothers and sisters, we can keep our heart open to God’s direction, address it with grace, and make changes if necessary.

Encourage the fainthearted + help the weak: to me, this goes along with the first thing. We’re all weak sometimes. We all struggle with some thing or another. We all go astray sometimes. That’s why it’s so important to build each other up, encourage each other, and together turn back to God. We can’t do life well and be who we are called to be without each other’s love and support. We’re made for each other, just as we are made for God. Following Him is a lot easier when we have help.

Be patient with them all: whew, this is something I’m working on myself. I’ve seen so many people that I love lately be inconsiderate and selfish, hurtful out of arrogance, and just plain mean and nasty. And I’ll be the first to admit that my reaction to seeing this is not patience out of love – more often than not, it’s impatience out of anger. I need to work on that whole “slow to anger” thing. It just really gets me going when I see people mistreating other people, whatever the reason may be. And that’s where another hard concept comes in: loving the sinner while hating their sin. That’s another huge thing for another day.

Seek to do good: I love that this says, “to one another and to everyone.” We are to strive to do good to everyone – and that doesn’t just include our family, friends, and church, nor is it limited to people we like or agree with. It’s everyone.

Rejoice always + give thanks in all circumstances: God is always good. Always. Even when we don’t feel it, even when it seems our world is crumbling around us, even when it seems there is no hope in humanity anymore. God is still good, and there is always something to be thankful for if we step back and really ponder on who God is and what He’s done for us.

Pray without ceasing: talking to God through everything helps us stay focused on our calling, alert of evil and temptations around us, and keeps us in the right frame of mind. When we pray, we are more likely to see things with a heavenly perspective.

I’m not sure if God could send us a clearer message about how to treat people. I am sure that Christians as a whole are not following these instructions. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, we’re human and we’re going to mess it up. But, we also have the Holy Spirit and [ideally] each other to help us along. We should be doing better. We have work to do. I know that sounds daunting and hard and uncomfortable. I know it’s easier to just worry about ourselves. I know sometimes it feels as if it’s us against the world. But guess what? God has already overcome the world. We don’t have to. He’s gone before us and made a way for us to live as He has called us to.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

Move.

As I’ve said before, it takes me days, weeks, even sometimes months to process and formulate my words enough to share with you all. I have a lot written in my journal and typed out on my phone about personal things going on in my life right now, and I’m still working on feeling like I can share. At the moment, however, a huge amount of my thoughts are consumed by the current unrest in our nation. It’s taken me a few days to gather my thoughts, and I’m still not convinced that they are organized in the best way, but here they are.I feel like our nation is stumbling, and if we’re not careful, we will fall. We’ve stopped caring so much about one another and focused more on the idea of freedom. But, simply put, we can’t have liberty or pursue happiness if we don’t have life. People are suffering, and people are dying. And we’re over here worried about whether or not we can get a haircut. I try so hard not to get too political. Politics are a touchy subject with almost everyone. I hate politics. Politics are hard. But when politics overshadow people, I have a problem with that. When politics hurt the very people they are supposed to protect, I have a problem with that. And please, don’t ask me for a solution, because I don’t know. I acknowledge that finding one won’t be easy, but we at least need to start to try. Our job as Christians is to listen to one another, bear one another’s burdens. If we are dismissive of someone else’s feelings, or do nothing to address them, we are not doing our job. I find this concept to be very difficult in practice, but it should not deter me from trying.I’ve been silent lately simply because, astonishingly enough, I can’t find my words. I can’t find words to say I’m sorry, to apologize for unintentional ignorance, for being dismissive of issues that I just did not want to believe were actually issues. As I reflect on my childhood, I’m looking for where I missed the mark. My parents made sure that I understood that every single person is a child of God and no different than me. I was almost confused when they felt like they had to tell me that people who had different skin than I did were just as special and important and made to be loved… I couldn’t fathom that some people thought otherwise. I remember learning about racism in school, but for some reason I understood it to be something that happened in the past. I sincerely believed the world had moved on. I sincerely, and naively, thought that people who had such horrible thoughts about others were few and far between, and no one gave their opinions any weight at all. Even now, it’s 2020 for goodness sakes, we’re past these things, right? But we’re not. And I want to do whatever I can to rectify the present and change the future. It starts in my heart and it starts at home. I’ve been praying for God to show me where I’m lacking, where I need my heart softened, and where I can improve. And I’ve asked for the strength to change and the capacity to love my brothers and sisters even more.God has shown me so many times over the last few months that things I thought I had down pat still need work. He has shown me that stagnation is never good. He has flipped my world upside down and refuses to let me stay where I am, and I hate it, but I know it’s for my own good. I know He’s molding me, helping me to become the way He intended me to be – the best, holy, righteous version of me.I haven’t had much to say because words are just that, words. Without listening, growing, and taking action, they mean nothing.There’s a difference between simply knowing something and knowing something to the point that it drives you to action.We say we know God loves everyone and wants us to love others too, but do we know it to the point that we believe it and do something because of it? Do we just think it’s “nice” and go about our day as if we didn’t know it? One time, I remember Jim posing this question during one of his sermons: do we really believe if our belief doesn’t lead to action in some way? That question really resonated with me and has formed the basis of my thinking when I’m testing my own faith. The bible says even the demons believe in the one true God. They believe and shudder. (James 2:19) Their belief leads them to action- shuddering in the glory of the Lord.The thing about God is, He doesn’t need us, but He asks us to participate. Everything we are called to do we have to initiate. Sure, He will give us everything we need to do it and help us get there, but the fact remains: we have to move. Today is National Doughnut Day (as you may know, something near and dear to my heart) and Krispy Kreme is giving away free doughnuts. So here’s my loose analogy- knowing about the free doughnut doesn’t automatically put a doughnut in my hand. I still have to get in my car, drive to Krispy Kreme, and ask for the doughnut. Similarly, our knowledge of God’s existence doesn’t make anything happen. It doesn’t feed or clothe anybody. It doesn’t tell anybody about God’s love. It doesn’t mean we’re saved. And for some people that’s hard to grasp. I know I’m still learning and growing my way through it as well.The point of all this is to say: if you feel God tugging on your heart, move. Go, do. Start an uncomfortable conversation. Ask hard questions. Seek, learn, grow. God will give you what you ask in His will, and His will is for us to love Him and love others.