Even If i Walk Alone

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

humility

Throw the First Stone

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Why do we as Christians have such an unhealthy reputation to the world outside of our church walls? It has long bothered me that Christians claim to love others and seek to fill the needs of their community, yet we are distrusted, dismissed and even despised. Something has gone terribly wrong; there is a disconnect somewhere of colossal proportions. How did it come to this, and what can we do to correct the situation?

In John 8 (verses 3-11) we find the familiar story of Jesus saving the life of a woman caught in adultery. The religious people of the day had seized the woman, and dragged her into the place where Jesus was teaching. Beyond this obvious humiliation, these same religious folks were preparing to put the woman to death by stoning her. As they stood there, perhaps with rocks in hand, Jesus calmly knelt beside the woman. He then said some of the most powerful words in all of Scripture: “Let the one with no sin throw the first stone.” When faced with their sinfulness, the people dropped their stones and went away.

Before Jesus changed the dynamics of the scene, the crowd of people was refusing to admit their own sinfulness. Instead of showing grace and forgiveness to the woman, they stood in judgment over her. We tend to do this often because it makes us feel better about our own failures. It’s far easier to condemn someone else than to confront your own weaknesses. I think the modern church still suffers from this affliction. We are so intent on judging others that we overlook our own sins. We refuse to admit that we too have issues and that we too deserve death. We don’t want to appear as anything less than “perfect Christians”; in the process we demonstrate our hypocrisy. This is what the world finds so unappealing about us. We need to show ourselves as broken people, a work in process. Instead of judging the sins of others, we should be pointing out our own failures. When the church at large begins getting real and walking in genuineness, I believe the world will respond. As long as we refuse to admit our own shortcomings and are content to target and judge the sins of others, we will continue to drive a wedge between us and those who so desperately need to hear the message of Jesus.

The life of Jesus was all about serving others. There’s little glory in service and it generally requires us to humble ourselves to do things that we consider to be beneath us. It’s far more appealing to stand in judgment over someone rather than to serve under someone in support of their life. Yet this was the mission of Christ. He did not come to condemn the world, but rather to redeem it (John 3:17). If we would follow Him, this must be our mission as well.

To change how we are seen by the world, we must change how we interact with our world. We must return to doing the work of the mission of Jesus Christ. It’s time to drop our shields, remove our masks, and admit that we need the grace of Jesus every bit as much as everyone else. We must genuinely love and empathize with others. Judgment must be left to God; this is not our calling. Instead of condemning the sins of others, let’s learn how we might serve them in such a way that they can rise above their destructive behaviors. In turn, we just might learn how to rise above our own failings. When each of us begins to love with openness and honesty, when we stop condemning and start serving others, then the world will take notice and their attitude toward the message of Jesus will turn from repulsion to curiosity. People don’t need contempt and judgment; they need healing and forgiveness. This is the mission of Jesus. This is the message of all who would follow Him.

Recovering From Discouragement

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Discouragement can catch up with the best of us. No matter how positive our outlook or how determined our resolve, we all go through periods of discouragement. At times we don’t even know for certain what caused the feelings, while there will be other periods of life where Murphy’s Law comes into play and virtually everything that could go wrong does indeed go wrong. As long as we live in a fallen and broken world, discouragement is inevitable.

The key, of course, is how we recover. As followers of Jesus, discouragement has no long term place in our lives. If you find yourself sinking ever deeper into discouragement, (or its close cousin, depression), then it is your duty to find a way out as quickly as possible. We are called to victory in Christ, not despair. No matter what occurs in your life, what remains is the fact that Jesus loves you more than His own life and that His power is available for the asking. If we have devoted our lives to Him, we have already overcome anything this world can throw at us. This doesn’t mean life will be easy, happy, or free from discouragement, but it certainly should allow us to look at life with a different perspective.

On this blog, we generally focus on what our duties are as we strive to be true followers of Jesus. What we don’t spend a lot of time on are the rewards of being a follower. The reason for this is that even without the rewards and privileges associated with following Christ, we would follow Jesus anyway simply because of our love for Him. There are rewards however; we are now heirs to the Kingdom of God. Jesus freely gives all that He has to us; His love, His grace and His power. It’s easy to read words such as these and simply move on. Take a moment and really consider all that you have in Christ. It’s mind-blowing and almost beyond belief.

If focusing on the power of God is not enough to lift you from your discouragement, try taking inventory of all the blessings in your life. Nearly half the world lives on less than $2 dollars a day. What would you do if your income was $60 per month? How would your life change? Picture yourself having to live on that amount, then make a list of all the possessions, conveniences and luxuries you now have that would go away if you had to live on $2 per day. For extra credit, enter your income at the ‘Global Rich List’ web site to see where you rank. It’s a humbling realization. Pray over your inventory of blessings, thanking God for each and every one. It’s hard to be depressed or discouraged when you realize how amazingly blessed you are.

Finally, you must do something to improve your situation and your mindset. You must take action; you can either choose to remain motionless and allow life to continue to happen to you, or you can choose to move and throw yourself into life and force it to react to you. Refusing to move virtually guarantees you will stay in your discouragement. God gives you the strength and power to pull out of your state of mind, but you must actively utilize that strength. We were designed to live in an interactive communion with God. It takes two to dance this cosmic tango and we must do our part. Realize that we were created for purpose and we were designed for motion; so get moving! We are far too blessed to feel depressed and far too gifted to be discouraged. Change something in your life, do something different tomorrow from what you’ve done before. Sometimes simply participating in a worthy endeavor, especially one we’ve not attempted before is enough to shake us from our rotten mindset. Be kind to a stranger, buy lunch for a friend, or help a neighbor. Remember your blessings and the person you are in Christ. Don’t revel in your discouragement; instead, recover from it!

How Should We Then Live?

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With apologies to the classic book of the same name by Francis Schaeffer, I have recently been struck by the phrase “How should we then live?” It’s one of those thoughts that is stuck in my head and refuses to leave. In what ways will I set myself apart from the rest of the world and be identified as a disciple of Christ? In what ways will I pursue justice for the weak, the homeless, the orphan and the widow? How should I then speak for them? How should I then stand up for those who cannot do so on their own?

In Proverbs 30:8, it says that we should desire “just enough”. We should not desire too much or we might become greedy and slothful. If we have too little, we may become jealous of others and perhaps even resort to dishonesty and theft to gain what belongs to someone else. Paul echoes these sentiments in his letter to the Philippians (chapter 4, verses 11 and 12). I have prayed this prayer in relation to my finances. I desire to have “just enough”; if I am blessed with anything more, then I know I must invest that money in the kingdom by giving it to the poor. If I am blessed to have “too little”, then it is my responsibility to learn to draw closer to God during this time and allow Him to grow my faith in Him. To receive the blessing of “just enough” is a great practice in humility and should not cause stress, but rather thanksgiving.

I believe that this same principal applies to all other areas of our life as well. Having “just enough” to eat leads to far greater health than overindulgence. To have “just enough” in terms of our clothing, the number of our possessions or the size of our homes is to live in humility before the Lord. A follower of Christ should never be attempting to keep up with the Jones’, but rather to find favor from Jesus! And so on a very personal level, I believe that is how we should live. We should live in a constant state of “just enough”. Be content with that which the Lord has blessed you. If ever you feel like you do not have enough, cry out to God to further fill you with His Spirit, because He is definitely enough. Let Jesus fill the emptiness in your life and you will be eternally full.

Having “just enough”, living humbly and in full faith before our God, will give us the attitude we need to spread His love to those around us. Having just enough food will cause us to sacrifice when we feed someone in need; having just enough “stuff” will enable us to be blessed by giving more than we are able. Ultimately, the way we should live is in service to others; it’s demonstrating the love of God to friend and stranger, acquaintance and neighbor. We are called to love, service and obedience. We have been given just enough strength to accomplish what God has created us to do.

How should we then live? We should live in humility and faith, seeking just enough to survive and serve, and being content with whatever we are provided. We should live always putting the needs of others before our own. We should live in a constant state of devotion and submission to God. We should live as people who pursue justice for all people, who feed the hungry and clothe those in need. We should live as obedient, faithful and loving servants of Jesus Christ. This, then, is how we should live.

Becoming a Person of Character

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Every day, we are being watched by other people whether we realize it or not. Those whom we have never met are constantly forming opinions of us. Take an honest look at the way you view the world around you; we all make snap judgments of others based on experience, prejudice or jealousy. The man in the sharp suit is successful, the woman in the low cut blouse is a tramp; the dark-skinned boy is a thug or the light-skinned boy is a dishonest schemer. All this and more from we who profess to follow the teachings of the One who told us not to judge.

J.C. Watts said that “Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking.” Follow that up with this quote from Thomas Paine: “Character is much easier kept than recovered.” If we are going to be observed and judged by people throughout our day, and we desire to reflect the life of Christ, we must become people of impeccable character. I don’t believe any of us would doubt the character of Jesus. He lived a life marked by the highest morality and the highest character. While He may have set the bar at an unattainable level, we should nevertheless strive to reach His marker.

The first step in developing a solid character is to build it on the strongest of foundations – Jesus Christ. If we don’t base everything we do on Jesus, no matter what we do will eventually fail. Jesus is the truth, in Him alone is life. To start with Jesus is to guarantee success in your life. A life that ends in the arms of Jesus cannot possibly be called a failure! When the daily stress of life beats against you, you will need to be anchored in the truth, anchored in someone stronger than yourself. You build on this foundation by developing positive character traits. These traits are the same ones that were modeled by Jesus: humility, truthfulness, honesty, graciousness, compassion, integrity, love, peace and joy. These traits can be developed; they aren’t something you are born with. You must work to incorporate them as habits into your life.

You cannot fake a good character, at least not for long. Most will immediately identify you for the fraud that you are; others will discover it over time. To be certain, you will eventually be found out and humiliated in some fashion or another. It does no good to fake the traits of good character. Instead, work hard to develop each of the habits in your life. Your desire to become a person of character starts with maintaining a positive mindset through all adversity. Positive people are simply more attractive people. You must determine in your own mind that you will begin to cultivate the habits of good character. Once you have set your mind to the task, practice incorporating these traits into your life each and every day. Simply making the decision to be a person of character will reap immediate rewards in your life. You will suddenly find yourself choosing to do the right things for the simple reason that it is the right thing to do. You will be on your way to becoming a person of character.

Does character really matter in the grand scheme of things? Shouldn’t we just focus on reading the Bible and telling others about Jesus? Don’t forget, our goal is to live a life that looks like Jesus. Since Jesus had the highest character, this is why it is important that we too have a strong character. The way we live is our most powerful witnessing tool. When people admire us and desire to be more like us, they really desire to be more like Jesus, because it is He that shines through us. So yes, reading the Bible is vital, as well as telling others about Him. There is no stronger way to tell someone about Christ than to be a person of character that reflects our King in everything that we do.

Unity and the Poor

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Lately my study has been focused on the poor and unity in the Church. In my last post (see “Haiti: What is Our Response?”), I talked about what our response to those in need should be. I want to continue on that topic today as it is so prevalent in Scripture, and so ignored in our modern society.

Let me first speak of unity among the body of believers in Jesus Christ. When we choose to follow Christ, our lives are forever changed. His priorities become our priorities. We love the way He loves. We treat others the way He does. At least this is what should happen. Many of us accept the gift of Christ, pledge to follow Him and we never hear from them again. Others begin to follow Christ and do well until they join a church. Within the walls of the church building they become disillusioned by the infighting, jealousy, greed and apathy. Still others find that their fellow members do not hold exactly to their own beliefs. More infighting breaks out. Along the way, the call to follow Jesus becomes nothing more than some words on a projector screen.

We are not called to this; we are called to be gentle, humble and patient with one another. We’re called to accept everyone with love. We’re called to be unified with peace (Ephesians 4:1-4). We let our petty arguments get in the way of our calling. We are called to the hope of Jesus Christ. What exactly is that hope? That all people would experience the love and grace of God in their lives; this is the hope to which we were called. We cannot take the hope of Jesus to the world as long as we are wasting time fighting one another. As we fail to take the message of hope to the world, the world remains starving and in need.

If we would but put aside our petty jealousies and disagreements we could actually begin to make changes on this planet. If God can use a single individual to effect great change, how much more a hundred individuals or even a thousand! My first plea is to decide right now to strive for unity with everyone you meet, particularly with your brothers and sisters in Christ. We need each other to work for the common goal of living a life that looks like Jesus.

Once unified (or alone if others simply refuse to come together), our mission is simple: give the love of Jesus to everyone we meet; feed the hungry, care for the elderly, house the homeless and take in the orphans. To this we were called, and to this alone. Are you willing to give up everything you have, everything you are, for the simple reason of giving it all to those in need? The poor are all around us, down the street, across town and all over the world; probably even in the pew next to you. What if we, as a church with one purpose, decided to get mad enough to do something about poverty? What if we gave more than one Saturday a month and more than what we could afford to give? What might be accomplished through our unity for the good of the Kingdom? My second plea is to do all you can to serve the poor.

If we love Jesus, we will do what He says (John 14:15). Do you love Him? Are you truly a follower, one who has committed all to follow Him? Are you holding back, concerned about doing it your way, or maybe wounded by the words of others? We have a limited number of breaths on this earth. How many more will you spend not caring for the poor and others in need? We, as followers of Christ must put everything aside and serve in unity. It is our duty to serve the poor. Let’s come together and make a real and lasting difference in the lives of those in need. We are the called; are you with me?