If you cut me would you feel it? Would it bleed deep or would you be standing there numb
So the
question I have to ask is this:
Do I take
the time to see people; like to really see them or do I act like they are
invisible or don’t matter? In their brokenness with all of their faults, when
it is not easy and things are really messy. Like I am talking about when they
are not convenient and are a burden pain in the butt. Or what about when I
prefer myself, my wants, my ambitions, my goals, my pride and to get to the
point of it all, my root of selfishness over loving people. Yes, shame on me.
How often
and how easy can it be to do this though, to communicate even with the people
who are closest to us that we don’t value them or care about the things they
care about? Here is what our messed up society says is acceptable, look out for
#1 and that’s it. So this leads me to my next thought, where is our compassion
for the lost if at times we struggle to extend ourselves to those nearest to us?
Jesus was
moved with compassion. I will repeat that for some, I said MOVED! That means he
got up and physically did something about it. Makes me think of so many of the
accounts of His life where He was moved with compassion for people and
responded to the mess that was their lives. Challenges my faith, and even my
way of thinking. It means I have to stop and actually ask myself how often I am
moved with compassion where it involves a reaction of more than feeling bad for
someone in my heart. This is where I need to examine the motives of my heart.
This is where I need to repent not only for my hard heart but to ask God to
forgive a generation full of selfishness.
If we can’t
prefer the people closest in our lives and show them compassion, how then will
we be capable of reaching the people that we may even consider inconvenient and
have an intolerance for? I don’t think it works this way at all. It’s
dysfunctional, and brings a level of disorder and God is not a God of disorder.
I think
learning to love the people that we have in our lives (whether we actually like
who they may be) is preschool grounds for being allowed and trusted with loving
the rest of Gods people, the so called messy ones.
In our performance, perfectionism driven
Christianity we can remotely mute that part about salvation. For all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God….I am therefore sure it says all of
us are in need of His salvation and to that there is no acceptation. Let us not
fall prey into a perfectionism driven mentality and forget that we are all
sinners needing sanctification. I don’t have to like or not like someone to
realize that they need God’s grace just as badly as I do.
Just think
for a moment about Jesus and the sorts of people that He encountered, like
seriously what if He had of been like hey you bum get up and get a job. I am
just as guilty for thinking like this at times when instead the word of God instructs
us to LOVE people and be moved with compassion for their lives. For the record
I am not saying hey it is ok not to contribute to society. What I am stating is
that Love in a biblical sense doesn’t look like what we think people should
deserve or receive, but that’s what is so beautiful about it.
I also
wasn’t born yesterday so what about instead of trying to give society a hand
out what about a hand up to pick up their mats and walk. I was thinking and
talking about this recently with a good friend. The concept of speaking and
giving someone what they need instead of wanting the easy way out. This
normally involves less risk on our behalf, costs us little or nothing, and
doesn’t work to create long term change in the cycle of things. Let me leave
you with this thought, let God challenge your thinking and not be so quick to
judge and think about your opinion of someone. Try simply to stop, ask God what
do you think about this person, how does He see them and what do they need? And
don’t forget to show the people closer to you that you value them, if we can’t
be trusted with this, how can God trust us with the unsaved?
.png)
.png)
