Even If i Walk Alone

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

What Now?

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What if you’ve fully surrendered your life to Christ and don’t know what to do next? It’s not as if life comes with neon directional arrows so you know which way to turn at any given moment. You’re ready to sacrifice everything for Christ and do whatever He asks; you simply aren’t certain what He’s asking. What about the talents He’s given you; is it okay to use them for endeavors that aren’t exactly in line with promoting His kingdom? Where do you draw the line? I’ve been battling many of these same issues recently, and I suspect I am not alone. These are weighty questions, and I most assuredly do not have all the answers; but I will share with you what I have been learning in hopes it may be of some help to you.

As followers of Christ, everything we do should be for His honor, for His glory, and to further His Kingdom. We are the servants of Jesus; we are His slaves. When we committed ourselves to Christ we relinquished all claim on our lives; we are His and He is ours. The life we lead for Him cannot be separated from the life we live for ourselves; they are eternally intertwined. No longer is there any concept of things we do for Him and things we do for our self. When determining what we should do with the gifts He has given to us, there is no choice other than to use them for His glory. If you are a singer, you must sing for Him; if you are a teacher, you must teach others about Him; if a craftsmen, use your creations to further His kingdom.

I realize these can seem like vague generalities, and it is most helpful to have concrete examples. Since I don’t know your situation or your gifts, I will attempt to articulate what this looks like in my own life. I have been given the ability to write, and writing in almost any genre comes easily for me. I now realize that all that matters is that I use this gift for Jesus. In my pursuit of earning a living as a full-time writer, I have recently had opportunities to go down paths that held the possibilities of cutting significant time from that goal. I could write for various interests and develop copy to sell the products of others. However, my overriding objective is to shake the world with the love of Jesus. These other opportunities would do nothing to show the love of Christ to my audience; they would simply enhance my own profile and marketability. I struggled with this decision for several days before coming to the conclusion that I must not pursue anything that will take additional time away from my definite chief aim of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus and encouraging others to live in total devotion to Him.

Living life solely for Christ will challenge our logic and alter our perception of things like possessions and economy. We may not obtain the comforts of this world, and we may never know financial security. The only thing we are guaranteed to acquire is increased persecution. The closer we get to Jesus, the more intense the attacks will become. It takes either a special kind of lunatic to pursue this life, or else it takes someone who is madly, deeply in love with Jesus Christ. I prefer to not place myself in the lunatic camp and instead endure whatever may come for the sake and privilege of loving and serving Jesus. I may not always be certain where the next step leads, but I do know that Jesus waits at the end of the road.

When I am not sure of what to do next, I fall back on the basic truths of being a follower of Christ. I am to pursue justice, feed the hungry and care for the poor and outcast. What can I do that will further that mission? This question brings clarity of purpose and helps refine our choices. I want to encourage others to give their lives fully to Jesus so that together we might impact the world and help bring about His kingdom here on earth. Are you struggling for direction or battling how best to use your gifts? Remember that everything you do must glorify God and further His mission. We are His slaves, and if we are sincere in our commitment, we will love every minute of it. Nothing fulfills a life like doing the work of Christ.

Love is… Kindness

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Knowing that love is the central attribute of God, and recognizing that we wish to pattern our lives after the model of Christ, I thought it important to take some time diving a little deeper into what love looks like when demonstrated in our own lives. Today I want to look at the topic of kindness. In I Corinthians chapter 13, the famous “love” chapter, Paul states in verse 4 that love is kind. Therefore, if we want to demonstrate love to one another, we must learn to speak and act with kindness.

It only takes a moment to smile at someone and engage them in eye contact. Simply taking the time to recognize another person attributes value to them. We are communicating that we esteem them worthy of our time, and that small piece of encouragement alone can turn around someone’s day. Haven’t you had that happen to you? You can be having a miserable day, only to get stuck in a long line at the checkout counter, when a complete stranger disarms you with a smile. It’s hard to remain mired in pity when confronted with kindness. It’s an interesting dichotomy how easy it is to feel all alone in a world of nearly seven billion people, but having someone favor us with a smile reminds us that we are not alone, that we are all in this together.

The words we speak are vitally important to how well we reflect kindness. Words can heal and words can destroy. They are powerful and must be carefully chosen. Ephesians 4:29 says that “No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need.” We are all in need of being built up. Life has a way of beating us down, so having someone speak encouraging words into our situation is extremely refreshing and gives us the strength to persist in our journey. Since you know how much it means when someone speaks kindly to you, why not practice this towards others as well?

We all need to develop the habit of recognizing opportunities for kindness. I have started to begin my morning by praying that God would reveal the occasions where I can act kindly throughout my day; I ask him to light them up like neon signs, because I can be self-absorbed and easily miss things that aren’t staring me in the face. When you get the chance, make sure that you take it. Respond in kindness; buy a cup of coffee for someone, compliment someone’s new outfit, hold the elevator, open the door or assist in carrying something heavy. There are multitudes of ways you can show kindness to another every single day. Pray for recognition of these opportunities and for a heart of kindness that will compel you to respond to them.

One great suggestion I once read was to keep a log of every unkind word you speak or deed you perform for an entire day or week. If you will diligently record the ways you act unkindly, you will not only be mortified, but you will be determined to change. Here’s the hard part: once you have your list, go back and apologize to everyone to whom you were unkind. This will develop an attitude of humility, and I assure you the experience will leave you wanting to make certain you never have to go through it again. As you become painfully aware at the unkind choices you make, kindness will begin to develop as a habit in your life. Demonstrating your new habit to others will soon become second nature.

Ask God to reveal opportunities for kindness to you throughout your day, and also for the courage to take action when you see them. Guard your tongue against spiteful or damaging words and discipline yourself to speak only words of encouragement. Pray for God’s help with this, because it cannot be done in our own strength. Consider keeping a journal of unkind words you speak and follow up with an apology; it will be a life-altering experience. As kindness becomes a new habit for us, we will grow in love. To grow in love is to grow in Christ. And this is the goal, is it not? Begin practicing today and others will see the love of Christ reflected in you.

Living a Non-Conformist Life

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Each of us was created for a purpose and has a specific role to play in furthering the mission of Jesus. We have been given a unique combination of passions and talents with which to live out our calling to be disciples of Christ. When was the last time you took inventory of your life to determine how well you were fulfilling your purpose? When was the last time you dreamed the dreams of youth, those carefree times when you recklessly threw yourself into a task without even considering the consequences? Many of us grew up being told we could be whatever we wanted to be, yet somewhere after high school we began to believe that less and less. We no longer dream or believe but rather sleepwalk through a life of conformity. I want to be a non-conformist for Christ.

What would it look like if we put aside social acceptance and cultural propriety and simply lived the life for which we were purposed? What if we cast off the fetters of responsible behavior and instead began to live radically for God? No longer constrained by a list of rules meant to keep everyone in their place, we would be suddenly free to blur the edges and color outside the lines. We would create new ways of doing ministry, breathe new fire into tired ideas and attack our mission with a zeal usually reserved for Bible stories. Imagine defying the acceptable norm and hanging out with those who society deems unseemly and repugnant. Imagine touching the sick and diseased or taking some time to share some conversation with people of questionable integrity or repute. This would certainly be a life that flew in the face of conventional wisdom. The best part is that it would be a life that looked an awful lot like Jesus.

Don’t worry; you’ll probably never have the opportunity to live in such a manner because we have forgotten how to dream. We’ve long ago shuttered our passions and creativity and exchanged them for a life of normalcy and acceptance. How mundane is that? When I read the Bible, I find Jesus to be anything but boring. He was always doing the unexpected and living a dangerous life. He was bold and unafraid. He was opinionated and firm in His convictions. He was gentle, kind, and cared deeply for those around Him. Through it all, He never lost His ability to dream. He knew what His purpose was from childhood, and never wavered for a moment. Yes, it’s true He is God, and so how else would we expect Him to act? But remember, we claim to be His disciples; we claim to live our lives as He lived His, and that He is our example and model. If we believe all this and live a dispassionate life of conformity, then we are simply fooling ourselves.

Remember when you dreamed dreams and were determined to see them fulfilled? Remember how you pledged your allegiance to Jesus and swore you’d never turn away? We said we’d follow Him anywhere and we’d model our life after His. Somewhere along the way we began listening to the whispers of another and sacrificed everything we were on the altar of conformity that is the “American dream.” Fiscal responsibility suddenly trumped holy abandon and self-sufficiency replaced total reliance. Now we are everything we vowed we would never become. We were called to be radical, peculiar disciples whose only loyalty was to the Kingdom of God, but instead have settled for being mature, responsible citizens of the world. I don’t want to face Jesus as a conformist. I want to greet Him as an audacious non-conformist, one who dreamed big dreams and used the talents given me to further His kingdom in radical ways. Everything I do I want to do for Him and because it is something He would do.

Are you conforming or diverging onto the path less travelled? Do you seek safety or are you willing to lose it all for His sake? If we are not living passionately for His kingdom then we are missing the mark and we have missed the point. Following Jesus is not something to which we can simply give lip service. That’s professing, not following. We have to move beyond confession and into a life that is fully alive in Christ. We must live each day as if it is our last because someday it will be. Don’t conform to what this world expects. Rise above and live the life for which you were created.

Living in Faith, or Living in Fear?

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Fear is the enemy of hope and the opposite of faith. When confronted with decision points in our life, we will generally side with one or the other. We will either choose to cautiously back away in fear or boldly charge forward in faith. Fear can be a good thing; it can keep us from touching a hot stove or falling off a cliff. Faith can be misplaced at times, as in expecting to sprout wings on your way down the side of the aforementioned cliff! But for the purposes of our discussion, I am talking about the fear that paralyzes you from moving forward or taking a chance you know you should take. The faith I want to discuss is the God-given strength to face down your uncertainty and doubt and move forward down the path He is leading you.

On the track “Fear” (from his album, ‘Explore Dream Discover’), Daron Earlewine calls fear the most insidious four letter word. It’s the most damaging curse word of all. Fear will keep you from living the life for which you were created. It will cause you to hide your talents from the world so that no one will see; it will keep you up at night just thinking of facing the new day without the courage to change. Fear will rob you of opportunities to serve and love others, and it will make you pass up opportunities to tell someone about Jesus. Certainly this is not the life of power and freedom we see exhibited in Jesus Christ. We were not meant to live as timid beings on this earth. Yet fear can be so paralyzing that we cannot imagine ever rising up from beneath it. We know we shouldn’t feel this way and determine to overcome it, only to find ourselves frozen again.

Fortunately, faith is the cure for the common fear. As the agents of God’s mission we have been called and empowered to boldly go into all the earth serving others, reflecting God’s love and telling them the good news of Jesus Christ. This power is available free of charge to all who follow Christ; it’s part of the package, a bonus if you will. Not only do we have the privilege of serving the King of the universe, not only do we get to spend eternity basking in His presence, but we receive the power to overcome fear as well! Faith is an action verb, not a passive one. As we read in James 2:20, faith without action is useless. If you are like me, you’ve spent far too long convinced that faith was passive, just something you believed. Faith is so much more than a simple belief; that is just the seed.

As our faith grows we will find it becomes progressively more active; the more active our faith, the less confining our fear. Similar to the effects of compound interest on money, little steps of faith each day snowball into a dynamic and rich faith that laughs in the face of fear. One who has fully devoted their life to Christ – and has a life that actually reflects that commitment – knows no fear. When you come to the realization that the worst thing that could happen to you in this world results in giving you everything you’ve ever wanted in the presence of Jesus, fear becomes irrelevant.

Are you living a life of fear or faith? Fear stops you from walking in the way of Jesus; faith propels you toward Him. Fear limits your effectiveness in the Kingdom of God; faith magnifies and multiplies your gifts as you employ them in the service of others. Fear is of the devil and should find no place in the heart of a disciple; faith is a gift from God and should permeate every inch of our being. We were created to do good works for Christ (Ephesians 2:10), and to accomplish that purpose we must boldly move forward regardless of the risk. Jesus did not flinch when the road before Him became difficult and dangerous. Instead, He trampled fear beneath His feet and pressed on because of His faith in the Father. We are called to do the same. Release your fear and take bold steps of faith; plant your feet firmly in the footsteps of Jesus. Place your faith in the one who knows no fear.

The Way, the Truth and the Life

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Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life. Truth and life are found only in Him, and the way we find these things is by living in the way He commands us. There is no alternate truth and no alternate life. We can believe the things He said and live, or reject His words and perish. These thoughts can be very divisive and are often seen as intolerant, but Jesus did not come to bring tolerance; He came to bring redemption and love to all who would believe and walk in His way. People want to believe that there are many truths or perhaps many paths to truth, but this belief is diametrically opposed to what Jesus said. There is no “and” or “or” to finding life; there is only Jesus.

This is a simple teaching, yet one that is hard to accept. The fact that there is only one way to truth and life makes it fairly easy to make the right choice. We don’t have ten different paths to confuse our decision; there is only one. Yet this teaching is difficult because we want to go our own way. We want to blaze our own trail, and having to succumb to the ways of another finds us wanting to rebel. The narrow path is brightly lit and lined with people who have gone before us who are there to keep us from stumbling off the road. Yet we are stubbornly intent on walking down the wider path, even though it is dimly lit and has dangerous cliffs on either side. When one takes a moment to step back and logically examine the choices, which way we should go becomes painfully obvious.

Jesus is the only way, and everything He says is true. While we can debate the finer points of modern church organization and disagree over worship styles and evangelism methods, Jesus is not up for disputation. He is who He said He was, and His instructions are clear. Throughout the Bible we find the common theme of caring for the poor and seeking justice for all people. We see that love is the greatest gift and the most powerful weapon. Love, justice, and mercy; these characteristics are the truth of Jesus. Paul said in I Corinthians chapter 13 that we can have all there is, but if we lack love then everything else becomes futile and worthless. If we don’t have love, then we don’t have truth. If we don’t have truth, we don’t have Jesus.

If we possess and practice love as Christ did, we will find the life that only He can offer. The love of Jesus is unconditional and unselfish. It is much different from the so-called love we find in the world today. We have so carelessly tossed around the word “love” that we have stripped it of its beauty and meaning. We say we love ice cream, football, surround sound, and sex; no wonder we’re confused by what it means to truly love as Jesus did. Serving others, having compassion on the poor, selflessly denying yourself so that someone else might have what they otherwise would not – this is the love modeled by Jesus. Until we learn to love as He did, we will lack truth and be unable to find our way along the path that leads to life.

Where do you find yourself today? Do you believe that Jesus is the only truth, the only salvation for mankind? Do you understand what it means to walk in the way that He did? Where are you in regards to living your life in love and service to others? These are questions of eternal importance. Where you spend eternity hinges on your answers to these questions. Jesus said that without Him, we will die. If we trust in His truth and live in love as we walk the road He travelled before us, we will find life in Him. If you have been seeking truth outside of Jesus, confess that to Him in prayer today. Acknowledge that you’ve missed the mark and have been walking on the wrong path. Ask Him to teach you to live in love and accept the truth of who He is today. Determine to never turn away, and ask Him to lead you along the way of truth. Walk in His love and His truth and you will find life eternally through Him.