Even If i Walk Alone

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

Love

What Does Success Look Like?

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We live in a culture that is dominated by a success mindset. Advertisers attempt to create one vision of success, friends and family another, and some combination of the two usually takes root within our minds. We spend our lives trying to become successful, whatever that may look like. Generally people answer that being successful means having plenty of money, a big house and nice cars. The more esoteric among us might say that success is happiness and a healthy family. What does success look like to you?

Asking for the definition of success in the Western World and then again in the so-called developing world will yield starkly different answers. Whereas more than half of the world lives in abject poverty, those of us fortunate enough to be born in the West generally have never known true hunger. Most have not gone through even a 24 hour period without access to food of some kind or another. I find it very curious that in all the reading I’ve done, I have never once seen someone in the West define success as having food for the day. Pose this question to someone living in a refugee camp in Darfur, and I assure you that food will be part of their answer to what success looks like for them. Survival would be another part of their answer. Each day for people in their circumstances is a true battle just to live. This is reality, not some cliché statement intended to evoke a response. Whether we choose to care or not, millions die every single day from AIDS, malnutrition and ethnic violence. How often do we remember those facts? More often than not, uncomfortable statements such as these impact us when we read them, but they are quickly pushed out of our consciousness and we hasten to move on to more palatable fare.

What should success look like for those who are followers of Christ? I submit that to be successful we must be making a meaningful impact on the world in the name of Jesus. We don’t have to impact masses of people, but we should be impacting someone. Each one of us has the ability to demonstrate the love of God to another person. We have a fairly short list to help us determine if we are heading for success. Are we feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, caring for the orphans, the widows, the single mothers and people in need? Are we nursing the sick, clothing the naked and providing water for the thirsty? Are we so madly, passionately in love with God that we love Him with our entire being, and do we love others with that same love?

We have piled on so many unnecessary and worthless things onto what our definition of success should be. In truth, success for a follower of Jesus is so basic and so simple. We need to take a step back and strip away everything we are allowing to define what we believe success to be. We need to return to the simplicity of Jesus and His message. He didn’t deliver a complicated message or require a burdensome amount of action from us. When we are doing the work mentioned above, it often does not even feel like work at all. We are carrying out the mission of Jesus; we are being who we were created to be. There is no more peaceful place to be than resting in the comfort of God’s will.

How do you define success? Do you have the standard Western definition? Perhaps you even hold to the definition that someone in less fortunate parts of the world would subscribe to. Ultimately, you will never find success until you define it the way Jesus did. Until we fall deeply in love with Him and are carrying out His mission, we will never be successful. Success means living your life fully surrendered to Christ and sharing His love and mission with everyone you encounter. This is the only definition that matters; this is what it means to be successful.

Relentless Pursuit

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Are you satisfied with your progress as a follower of Jesus? Do you feel comfortable with where you are in your walk? I have to be honest, I am definitely not. I have learned so much in the past few years, and my life has definitely changed for the better. Without a doubt, I reflect Jesus much more clearly today than I did even a couple of years ago. Each day is an opportunity to learn a little more about Him and to affect new changes in my life so that I might look more like Him. But it’s not enough. I’m so far from where I want to be that it almost seems that I’ve made no progress at all.

I will not begin to be content until my entire life is consumed by Jesus and His love. Once consumed, I will be free to love others with the same immeasurable love that God has for me. Once consumed, I will live without fear and act boldly for Him every time, regardless of the cost. My words will no longer be used to tear someone down but rather will only be used to build up everyone around me. My thoughts will be pure and free from evil; envy, jealousy and rage will be foreign to my life. I will forgive as soon as I am offended. I will live only to serve others. I will shine brightly in all situations because the love of the Messiah will reflect off me with an intensity that is unmistakable. This is not the man I am today, but this is the man I aspire to be.

I recently read a quote by Leonard Ravenhill that said something to the effect that we don’t have Elijah’s in our world today because we have no one seeking God like Elijah did. Simply put, we don’t manifest the power of God because we have not fully surrendered our lives to Him. This surrender is not the emotional breakdown we might experience at a worship or prayer service, a concert or listening to a convicting sermon. This is not about a moment in time, no matter how special or amazing that moment may have been. No, total surrender is demonstrated in every breath we breathe and in every movement we make. Total surrender means there’s no more selfishness or self-interest. It means seeking God in prayer at all times, and consulting with Him in every concern. God is present; He’s with us at every moment. The love of Christ is shining all around us. We need simply allow Him to start removing the dirt and grime from our lives so that He might reflect brightly off of us and toward someone desperately in need of the unconditional love that only He can offer.

Living a life wholly devoted to Jesus is not easy. In fact, it is very hard. The rewards, however, are out of this world! I can’t be certain what rewards await us once our time on earth is done. That’s okay; I am at least as happy with the rewards of living for Him right here, and right now. The peace that overwhelms me when I reflect on Him and spend time in solitude just praying to Him is beyond compare. The strength and happiness I feel at the very thought of Jesus is something I would not trade for anything. The knowledge that I am doing the work He created me to do is a feeling that has no equal.

Are you satisfied with your walk? Are you consumed with Him to the very core of your soul? Do you desire Jesus more than anything else? Never stop striving to answer ‘yes’ to each of these questions. I’m not there yet, I sometimes fall. I struggle with the best and sometimes I outright fail. Failure is a fleeting moment, however, and I will not stay down. I will live my life for Jesus and Him alone. I will spend my days in relentless pursuit of the One who gave His life so that I might live. I will not quit, I will not tire; I will not rest until I burn with Holy fire. I am far from satisfied.

Intensity

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Each of us has a finite amount of time in which to live our lives; this is a given. As followers of Jesus, this should be a cause for rejoicing. We get the privilege of serving Him in this life to be followed by the far greater joy of serving Him throughout eternity once our time in the physical realm is over. However, we are not to simply wait around for this life to end. We mustn’t disregard the privilege of service on this earth in anticipation of the joy of seeing Him. There is a reason we were created as physical beings; that reason is to serve and glorify God as His loving creation. There is no higher call, nor any larger responsibility. It is up to you and me to bring the reality of God’s kingdom into the world in which we live. It is a massive assignment, one that is made even more so by the realization that we have an extremely limited amount of time with which to work. How can we possibly hope to carry out the mission of Jesus?

The answer is intensity. We will need to be fully surrendered to God in every area of our life. Each and every moment will need to be lived as one of total commitment to Him. Taking our eyes off of Jesus for even a moment will jeopardize our mission. This race requires laser like focus and unwillingness to compromise. Loving Jesus, serving Him, living for Him must so permeate our lives that we can think of doing nothing else. This is serving with intensity; this is what it looks like to live out loud for Jesus, to be a true follower of Christ. We must breathe Him in with every single beat of our heart. We must move toward Him with every step that we take. There is no time for seeking self-centered activities. When we work, we must work for Him. When we seek pleasure, we must find it in Him. When we rest, we must rest in Him.

Living with that kind of intensity can appear to be exhausting and perhaps not even possible. If that is your opinion then might I suggest that you are forgetting that God surrounds you at all times; He is present and surrounding you at this very moment. His Spirit weaves in, through and all around you. You have the power of God at your fingertips; it waits simply to be exercised by you. We limit God so frequently that I think we have forgotten how powerful He truly is and that all of that power is available for us to bring to bear on any circumstance. It is He who gives us the power to live; it is He who sustains us. He gives us breath, so breathe Him in. He causes our heart to beat so move in rhythm with Him. He has created and gifted us to accomplish His work on earth. He has sent us out to be His witnesses into the entire world. We have been equipped with everything we need, and we have no excuse to not make use of those blessings in a way that shines the love of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

Embrace the power of God. Seize all that He has given to you. Our time is short, but our mission is clear. Be the hands and feet of Jesus. Care for the poor, the sick and the hungry. Serve the orphans, the widows, and the elderly. Love everyone; serve everyone. Never turn away from someone in need. Walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Live with intensity.

Measuring Up

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Being a follower of Christ is more than just proclaiming yourself to be one. Following Jesus is an active pursuit, not suitable for those more comfortable sitting in the stands or even on the sidelines. To be a follower of Jesus requires purposeful action and a definiteness of direction. Ultimately, whether we are or are not a true follower will be determined by our actions. You can believe in Jesus right where you are, but you cannot follow Him until you move from where you are to where He is.

We should always be working to improve our character, moving ever closer to the life modeled by Jesus. The way we follow Jesus is to do the things that He would do, to go the places He would go. The entire life of Jesus was marked by integrity. He was always focused and stayed on mission. While some of the religious leaders of His day questioned His character, they could never find any flaws with Him. Try as they might, they always went away from conversations with Him having their tail tucked between their legs. Jesus never had to worry about people seeing Him doing something questionable, because there was no room in His character for questionable activities. We can live the same way. Having first determined to be a person of integrity, we can spend the rest of our days strengthening that same resolve. All questionable activities must be immediately rejected; all negative and derogatory speech must be stopped before it leaves our lips. These are not impossible achievements for us. They are matters of choice and discipline.

Modeling our life after Jesus requires that we act with kindness and generosity towards others. These “others” would include everyone we meet. Jesus loves all people equally and so we must strive to do the same. Become know as a person of compassion, one whom can always be depended on to provide an encouraging or comforting word. People long for someone to listen to them, to share their pain. Let’s be that person they turn to when life has them down, regardless of the circumstances. Following Jesus means we will be living a life that looks quite different from the world around us. What better way to start than with a tender and compassionate heart for everyone we meet? Make certain the love you share with others is genuine and not forced. With practice – lots of practice – loving others can truly become second nature.

It’s easy to claim that we are followers of Jesus. It’s easy to articulate our beliefs and encourage others to join us in those beliefs. The difficulty arises when we realize that we must put those beliefs into action. Regardless of how deeply held your beliefs are they will be inconsequential until you take action on their behalf. You can’t love people without actually loving them. Love that matters is not simply a concept, it is an active verb. So it is with all our beliefs. If we do not act them out, they are ultimately useless.

In the end, we may have talked a great game. We may sound like the holiest person on the planet. But if we haven’t given of ourselves to live out our faith, if we haven’t lived sacrificially in order to share what we have with others, we will have missed the entire point of God’s love. It will be up to us whether or not we believe the cost is worth it. However, if we would be a follower of Jesus, this is a price we must be willing to pay. So how well are you measuring up to Jesus? Are you merely practicing a tired rhetoric or are you living your faith out loud and in full view of everyone? All that matters is what we do with our faith. We are known by our confession but measured by our works for Jesus. Are you a true follower? How do you measure up?

The River

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Rivers can be beautiful things. They can be peaceful and calmly flowing or they can rage in a terrifying and uncontrollable manner. The Spirit of God is often compared with water; if the Spirit is within you, flooding you with a river of God’s grace, what type of river are you showing the world? I believe we must master elements of both the peaceful and rushing waters so that we can most appropriately pour the Spirit of God into the lives of others. We must be sensitive to the needs around us, and securely plugged into the overflowing and living water of Jesus to effectively minister to those in need.

When people encounter us they should feel a sense of peace, much like they would when sitting on the banks of a gently flowing river on a cool day. There should be a serenity about us that is immediately transferrable to those who are near. As followers of Jesus, we know exactly who we are and are intimately familiar with our mission. We don’t need to be concerned with finding our purpose in life, because we already know it. We don’t have to be concerned with the direction our life will flow, because we already know that as well. Armed with that knowledge, we can be confident in any situation. Confidence is calming not only for ourselves but for those around us as well. In addition to confidence, we should exude a sense of peace. We follow the One who is called the Prince of Peace; as a result, we should have a great internal peace that we can share with others.

Our love for others must also flow much like a raging river. Love should rush uncontrollably from us into everyone with whom we have contact. No one should be able to stand next to us without being swept away by love. I imagine this is what it was like to stand next to Jesus. When people meet us, they should sense something different and be overwhelmed by our genuine love for them. I know this may sound strange at first. How does one show love to a total stranger? It’s easier than you might think. Picture that person as if Jesus was standing right next to them. Treat them as if you have no other place to be and that you have all the time in the world to talk to them. Genuinely listen to everything they have to say. Don’t simply hear them, really listen and respond in a way that lets them know you understand what they are saying.

Much like a river, we have the capacity to flow both gently and to rage uncontrollably. Both of these aspects of a river, and of the Spirit, should reside within us; they are the hallmarks of a Christian. There will be times when the love of God so overwhelms us that we cannot help but burst with the energy of a rushing river. At other times we may be so consumed with peace that we are as tranquil as a babbling brook. We are responsible to transfer both of these states to those among us who are in need. Some will need to have the love of Jesus violently wash over them, cleansing them, and renewing them; let the Spirit rush out of you and into their lives. Others though can bear no more and simply need God’s peace to soothe them; gently breathe the Spirit within you into their lives.

Do you have the capacity to rage uncontrollably with the love of God, while at other times to gently speak peace into the life of another? The Spirit of God provides us with the power of both peace and force. We must learn how to use His power and to discern the proper usage given the situation we are in. With work and practice, we can learn to fully utilize the power He has entrusted to us. As the old song says, it’s great to have “peace like a river”; just don’t forget to also cut loose and rage like a roaring, turbulent river. To be most effective, we must master the dichotomy of a forceful peace. This is the essence of God; He is an unrelenting, ever flowing, river of love.