Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Archives for December 2009

Love in Community

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The title of this blog is “Even if I Walk Alone”. That is a statement that simply means that I have chosen to follow Christ, I have chosen to love as He did, even if no one else will join me in doing so. Ideally I will not walk this path alone; I don’t want to walk this path alone. Being prepared to walk alone should in no way be taken to mean that this is the best way to go about following Christ. A few can accomplish more than one, and the many can accomplish exponentially more than the few. Perhaps the title of this blog really should be “Even If I Walk Alone (…but I’d rather walk together!)”.

Following Jesus is a group exercise, as demonstrated by Jesus calling His twelve disciples (Matthew 10:1-16), sending out the seventy apostles (Luke 10:1-12) and establishing His desire for followers to come together(Matthew 18:19-20). There are times that God has worked through an individual, but by and large God has always worked through groups of people. In our modern society it has become very easy to be self-sufficient. Jesus never calls us to self-sufficiency; He calls us to utter reliance. We are to rely on God in all things, and this includes relying on our brothers and sisters as we all seek to follow Him. Would you rather be self-sufficient or live a life of total reliance on someone else? As someone who grew up fiercely independent, this is a hard question for me, even though I know the right answer. I want, no I need, to rely on God with all that I am. Yet so often I opt for the prideful stance of self-reliance. I take pride in my ability to handle whatever may come my way. Slowly, quietly, my confidence is being swapped out from that of myself, to knowing I can handle anything this world throws at me because of the strength of Jesus within me. It is an agonizing but wonderful process.

Another problem we face is that we tend to not keep the same community for very long. A generation ago, people generally grew up and lived out their lives in the same area. Grade school friendships persisted into the twilight of life; you knew most everyone you came into contact with and strangers were easy to spot. In our current era, we are far less likely to stay in the same city we were born in, much less the same neighborhood. College, job advancements and a quest for a better place to raise a family all contribute to a nation of virtual strangers. Even small groups in churches tend to change faces every few years. We just don’t plant ourselves anywhere anymore. Perhaps we need to give more thought to our sense of community before we move on to the next big thing. Is it possible that we can serve God better by staying put rather than taking off to chase “the American dream”, leaving behind the relationships we have established? I’m not proposing that we should all stay where we grew up, but I am saying we are quick to leave a community for generally selfish reasons without ever giving much thought to the community of believers and would-be believers that we leave behind. It should definitely play a part in our decision process.

This brings me to the community where you are now. Are you nurturing your community? Are you seeking out others with whom to build relationships? Do you even know your neighbors? Are you demonstrating love to those with whom you work or are they “just the people at the office”? We are to live in community and we are to love in community. Our free time needs to be turned into community time. If we are passionate about living a life modeled after Christ, then we must be about living in community. It’s time to put selfishness and self-sufficiency aside. We must be willing to walk this road alone, but ever seeking to walk with one another.

The People You Meet and the Books You Read

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Charlie “Tremendous” Jones once said that “You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.” I submit that the same applies to our walk with Christ. Over the next five years, our growth – our ability to live a life that truly reflects and honors God – will be exactly what it is today except for the books we read and the people we meet.

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Moving Toward Your Goals

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Did you ever have one of those conversations that feel like someone just threw a glass of cold water in your face? Wisdom can come from the most unlikely of sources, yet one more reminder that God has an incredible sense of humor. It’s so easy to get caught up in the details of our day to day lives that we can lose track of what we’re actually trying to accomplish. I was recently talking with someone I’d never met before about doing some work together. He simply asked what my ideal job would be. When I told him, he responded with, “and how does doing this job move you toward that goal?” Wow; that unsettled me because I knew that working with him would do absolutely nothing to move me toward my goals in life. It was a simple statement from a stranger, someone younger than I, and with far less experience in this world; I don’t even know if the man is a believer in Christ. I only know that, at least on this night, God used him to speak wisdom into my life.

It’s amazing what we can hear, what we can learn, if only we are open to do so. While it is not the topic of this post, I encourage you to be ever listening for and ever seeking the voice of God. I think you’ll be surprised at some of the ways He chooses to speak. Personally, I love that; I love that God is unpredictable, unashamed and lacks all pretense. He simply loves us and will speak to us in any and every possible way.

But back to the question of my new friend: how is what you are doing today moving you toward your life goals? Perhaps we should back up and make certain you actually have life goals. Do you have a well defined purpose for your life? Are you pursuing things you are passionate about, things that God has uniquely gifted you to do? There is a well documented but rarely followed secret to accomplishing your goals: you must write them down. Write down your life goals on a sheet of paper and put a date next to each one. This is the date you will accomplish that goal. Now work backwards from the date and write down the tasks you will need to complete in order to reach your goal. Read through your goals no less than every week. Read them daily or twice a day. Constantly remind yourself of what you are working towards, and those things you must do to reach each goal.

Armed with a list of your goals, reminding yourself of them regularly, you will be well equipped to determine if the task at hand moves you toward or away from your goals. You will spend your life doing one or the other. I don’t want to live a life that constantly moves me away from my goals. I don’t want to face God when my days are done with the knowledge that I left unfinished the work He gave me to do. Life is but a vapor, just a breath. Our time is short and fleeting. Don’t waste your life moving away from your goals. Embrace your mission and only take on tasks that move you forward. Only God and you can say for sure what your unique mission, your unique goals will be. I do know that followers of Jesus will always have goals that in some way will advance His kingdom, His love and His mission. You are uniquely equipped to accomplish your goals. Make sure your mission aligns with His, that your goals advance that mission, and that you spend each day of your life doing things that will lead to the accomplishment of those goals. For this you were created, and for this you are called to live.

Apples and Addictions

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Sometimes it’s good to go back to the beginning. We need those breaths in our life where we can simply relax and recollect. How did we get here, what decisions have we made – both good and bad – to become the person we are today? Are there opportunities to go back and amend a wrong or to alter our present course? How are our focus and our walk? Sometimes it helps to go back even further, to the very beginning, when life began. As followers of Christ and believers in God, our struggles all began with a simple, but not so innocent, bite of an apple. I know I have often thought that given the opportunity, I would have chosen to obey God and stayed pure. Hindsight is indeed 20/20, and reality often differs from our passions and ideals.

Every day I fall victim to my own apples. I am shown the path of holiness, and it is quite clear. The way is well lighted and the road straight and solidly paved. It’s sad to consider how the path is not well-worn, but rather shows little signs of traffic. It seems so simple. We simply need to wake up each day ready to love others, ready to do all that Christ commands us to do. We can do anything we want as long as it does not go against the character and principles of God. But, just like Eden, that simply isn’t good enough; we want more. More is a funny word, as by definition we will never achieve it. Life becomes an endless struggle to clutch ever more: more pleasure, more possessions, more social standing. It never ends, and thus, I become aware that I would have eaten the apple as well.

I don’t want to admit that I fail. I don’t like failing at anything, and I’m certain you feel the same. If we’re honest with ourselves though, we fail far more times than we succeed every day. We all have our apples that we chew on throughout the day. For some it’s greed, others a sharp tongue and still others an addiction of some sort. We can’t seem to stop ourselves. Sin is an addiction in and of itself. We are all addicted to something, and we need to eradicate it from our lives.

What are your apples, your addictions? May I suggest you jump on the sobriety wagon? Just like those attempting to kick the more publicized addictions, we need to quit our sinful behavior at once, not try and gradually improve. Monitor your progress; keep track of how many days you’ve “been sober”. Write down the areas of your life you know are not pleasing to Christ. Pray that He will help you turn from these behaviors and thought patterns. Then consciously reject those same behaviors one day at a time. Can you make it one week sober? Two weeks? A month? Tackle one behavior at a time. Once you’ve been “six weeks sober”, you can add a new behavior and start your sobriety pledge for that area of your life as well. The longer you stay sober, the harder it will be to go back to that behavior. Who wants to go back to day one after reaching day 50? Although it’s difficult, stay close to God and pray throughout your journey. He will help you stand up under the pressure. The next time someone hands you an apple of sin, smile and hand it back. Tell them you don’t eat those any longer.