Even If i Walk Alone

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

purpose

Paling By Comparison

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We crowd our lives with so many good things that it becomes easy to miss that all the good things in the world are worth nothing in comparison to Jesus. In our efforts to live a Godly life, we become consumed with the busyness of our culture while wrapping it in a pleasant “Christian” covering. We head up committees at church, volunteer whenever possible, pray and read the Bible. If we are financially able, we send our children to private Christian schools, thereby securing a future for them where they too can be obsessed with the busyness of acting out their religion. In the Western culture, we have so many resources available to us and so many opportunities to serve that the noise of our efforts often drowns out the very mission for which we purport to be engaging. I encourage you to look again at the life of Christ; He was not a man dominated by busyness. He walked from place to place, often took time to get alone to simply pray and think, and always had time for those in need. Though it may have been short, His was not a rushed life. By all appearances, it does not seem that Jesus tried to fill every available moment of His time in the name of religion. Instead He chose the better way of simply obeying His Father and carrying out His mission on earth.

Satan is a master of taking good things and twisting them into something that actually pushes us away from God. Volunteering our time for worthwhile activities should always be a good thing, yet if we are neglecting time alone with God or if our volunteer time is not done with the focus on the love of Jesus, then we have allowed Satan to twist our generosity into something that pleases him. Whenever we are not actively involved in true Kingdom service, Satan is pleased; he is happy to let us coast along in this direction because we are doing him no harm. The longer we drift in this manner, the more difficult it is to see the problem with it, and the harder it becomes to turn around. This is why it is so important to constantly monitor our walk. Are we doing something that looks like Jesus in this moment? Now how about this moment? Every second of every day we are constantly making choices to either follow Him or to turn another way. As long as we are focused on the things Jesus did rather than on what we think we should be doing, we will be fine. The moments we glance to the side are the moments for which Satan waits. He is constantly trying to catch our eye with the shiny objects of this world (a new car, a bigger church building, a new ministry, etc.). All things can be used for the glory of God or for the glory of ourselves. We must be diligent when considering our choices.

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, in this world that can even remotely compare to the love of Jesus Christ. Why do we so often accept the petty treasures of this life in lieu of the eternal and matchless abundance of God? How long will we continue in this self deception and delusion? Jesus gave His life for us, even though we are an evil and unrepentant people. He loved us with such grace that He continues to see us as what He created us to be rather than what we have allowed ourselves to become. All He asks in return is our devotion to Him. We owe Him that and more. He alone can save us from ourselves and from the very forces of evil. God is our treasure, Heaven is our reward, and Christ is our salvation. We must once and for all cast aside everything to which we hold dear and instead cling only to the matchless glory of Jesus Christ. Everything else pales in comparison to the beauty and the love of the Holy Son of God. Don’t settle for the shiny trinkets of this world. Instead, let us devote ourselves to reach for the hands of the eternal King, the lover and healer of our souls.

Awareness

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At some point, I hope someone will be able to explain to me the wisdom of going to the dentist on consecutive days to have work done on each side of my mouth. I figured I was being efficient in getting all the necessary work done quickly so that I could check it off my list. What I have discovered is that the only thing worse than one side of your mouth aching, is both sides of your mouth aching. Nothing really gnaws at you like a toothache; it’s not fun and there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. In the midst of this I opened my email to read of yet another attack on Christians in a foreign country. One of my daily prayer guides today contained a story of a young boy whose arm had been hacked by a machete when Muslim extremists attacked Christians during a church service. I then happened across a ministry that is doing great work in the area of human trafficking. Suddenly I felt very foolish for the petty thoughts of my toothache.

Everyday there are new stories coming out about the suffering of our fellow human beings. Some are our brothers and sisters in Christ; others are waiting to be told about Jesus. All are in desperate need of His love and encouragement. We are the vehicles of delivery for that love. We cannot share love with those in need if we are unaware of their situations. It is very important that we make an effort to read the stories of those who are suffering. It is very important to walk down our streets with open eyes so that we do not miss the obvious needs around us. And it is very important that we ask God for discerning hearts to seek out those He would have us to help. In short, we must be aware of the needs that surround us both in our own cities and around the world.

Many choose to not seek out the hurting because they know it will require some form of sacrifice from them, whether that be in terms of time, emotion or money. We are a people whose lives of luxury have led to a growing aversion to sacrifice. For true followers of Jesus, the term sacrifice is somewhat of a misnomer. Whenever we “sacrifice”, we gain Christ. We give up something in this world, and we receive more of the next world into our lives. We forfeit what is imperfect and gain what is perfect. Where then is our sacrifice? To lose all is to gain Christ. This is not sacrifice; this is reason to celebrate. When we let go of selfishness, greed and pride, we receive back selflessness, generosity and humility. In other words, when we let go of what this world tells us we need, we receive the character of Christ in return.

Our sufferings pale in comparison to what is experienced elsewhere in this world. Every day unspeakable acts of torture are manifested upon believers of Jesus. These are our brothers and sisters that accept this for the love of Jesus. They endure these atrocities while we sit comfortably on our couches in our air conditioned homes. Most of us will never have any idea what it means to truly suffer. We cannot ignore those in chains, those who are being tortured, sold into slavery and killed. This is not someone else’s problem to confront. This is a battle for the saints of Jesus Christ. We all have a responsibility to become aware of what is happening to Christians around the world, and to innocent people of all faiths and nations. Seek out stories each day and pray for those in need. Feed the poor, care for the orphans and widows, and seek justice for those who are persecuted. Think not of what this will cost you, but rather what you will gain. The person you will become as you live out these God-given commands will be worth far more than anything you might lose. Don’t turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to what is happening in the world today. Become aware of the needs of our world and work to bring to fruition the Kingdom of justice and love.

Time is of the Essence

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Even though we have no guarantee of even our next breath, we tend to lead our lives as if we will live for years to come. Most people lack the sense of urgency in their lives that we should all have as followers of Christ. We do not know how much longer we will have to further His kingdom on earth. The homeless person you walked by today might be the last chance you will ever have to help someone. The new outfit or video game you purchased today might be the last dollar you ever have the opportunity to spend. The time you spent mindlessly staring at the television might just be the last chance you ever have to be with your family. The lack of urgency with which we live our lives now will most certainly lead to regret later. I don’t want to live a life marked by regrets.

It is made clear in Scripture that no man knows the span of his days. We lack the ability to see the big picture of life unfolding around us and therefore have no idea when our earthly life will be taken away. That is a fact we cannot alter. What we can affect, however, is what we do with every second we remain in our earthly clothes. This is why it is vital that we live our lives with absolute urgency. Every encounter and conversation is vitally important. Each activity becomes one of great importance. Until we start recognizing every second as an opportunity to be the Kingdom here on earth, we will not be living out our mission to its fullest extent. It is hard work to remain so focused, but this is how Jesus lived His life, and so we must strive to live our own lives in this manner as well.

Whenever possible we should remove useless motion. Many confuse being busy with being effective. Our urgency must be interlaced with purposeful intention. It is not enough to be doing something; we must be doing the things that matter, the things that will make the most impact for Jesus. By being mindful of the mission we have been given, we can plan our days around doing those activities which please Him and allow us to reflect His love onto our world. We must live our lives in a manner that keeps us free from the trappings of this world so that we will be free to spend all of our efforts on doing those activities that will glorify Him.

Make time to pray for those around you, to ask for wisdom to discern the things you should do and how you should go about them, and also pray for the courage to follow through. The best way to live a life of urgency is to simply begin doing something. Look for opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Instead of being judgmental of others because of their appearance, seek to come up with ways that you might be of service to them. Pray for each person you encounter and be sensitive to what the Lord puts on your heart to do for that person. If you are standing in line at the grocery store and you feel a strong pull to pay for the groceries of someone else in line, do it! If you see a child with little money longing for a toy he can’t afford, buy it for him. If you see homeless people milling about, go grab some food and hand it out. Do the things Jesus told us to do. Don’t hesitate.

We have our marching orders. Move out, and do so with urgency. Make the most of your time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). We have no guarantee of tomorrow, we have only today. In fact we have only this moment. How are you choosing to spend it?

Cultural Silos

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I have recently had the opportunity to attend a couple of events that cut across a wide swath of cultures. I have long been a vocal proponent of reaching across societal boundaries and have lamented the lack of diversity in most of our churches. For me, being at these events was especially rewarding and brought great joy to my heart. To be around people whose upbringing and entire culture has been vastly different from my own was encouraging and eye opening. The food, music, dance and style of worship all differed from that to which I am accustomed. While I found it both exciting and energizing, I could not help but wonder why these types of events are the exception rather than the rule.

Why is there such distrust among the family of God when it comes to cultural differences? One culture does not have all of the answers. We all grow in our walk with Jesus when we invest in the lives of others, regardless of their ethnicity or standing in society. We are all members of one another (Ephesians 4:25), so we should live in unity. There is a great passage in the book of Ephesians that tells us how we are to live with each other: we are to be honest, to only use words that will build up one another, and not be angry (see Ephesians 4:25-29). We often struggle to live this way among our own inner circle, much less when we reach out to those who we deem different from ourselves.

When Jesus came into contact with people, He didn’t consider where a person was from, how wealthy they were, or what their political affiliation may have been, He simply loved them and gave them His full attention. As the Creator of all things, He easily understood that every human soul is the same and He considered each one worthy of His love. Is this the way you and I look at people, or are we more likely to make a snap judgment of them based on hairstyle, clothing or the shade of pigment in their skin? The truth is we tend to huddle together with those who dress, act and look like us, affectively creating cultural silos across the Christian landscape. This is not what Jesus intended for His people; we were called to be one, not many.

We are the children of those who have gone before us, and we bear the scars of prejudice and genocide. Let us not be the ones who carry on the activities and perpetuate the mindsets that lead to division among people in general and the church at large. We are called to a higher standard; we are called to be more than this. We must rise above the fray and diligently do the work that leads to unity among all people. We are followers of Jesus and it is incumbent upon us to begin to live as if that were true.

I certainly have not yet figured all of this out, and I am definitely not above reproach in this area. Like everyone else, I carry the baggage of my generation and upbringing. I am learning though, and I encourage you to do the same. Don’t lock yourself into a cultural silo where everyone looks and acts the same. Branch out and discover what those who are different from you have to offer to your life and your faith. Jesus loves each of us the same, there is no favored class in Heaven. We need to rid ourselves of traditional stereotyping and begin to see the wonder in the great variety that is the human race. Our Creator is creative indeed; may we learn to dance in the beauty of our diversity.

Finding God’s Will for Your Life

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Determining what God wants you to do with your life is a very Western question. God made his will for us very plain in the Scriptures. Jesus told us to love God with all of our strength, all of our heart and all of our minds. He told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. He told us to give the hungry something to eat, the thirsty something to drink and to clothe those who were poor. He told us to visit the sick and those who are in prison. The apostles continued the mission of Christ and told us to care for the widows and the orphans, to look after those in need and to keep ourselves free from the trappings of the world. All of the above is the will of God for your life. You can stop trying to find your specific calling, because that’s it! There is not a specific call for your life other than to be part of the corporate call that He has given to all of us.

The implementation of the call of Jesus is where we start to get into specifics. God has uniquely gifted each one of us so that we might manifest His calling in our lives. The way we express the mission of Jesus to the world is distinct to each of us. However, we shouldn’t get caught up and stress over whether we should be an entertainer, a plumber, a pilot or a biologist. Those are details on the periphery. No matter what we choose to do in life, as long as we are doing the things Christ commanded us to do, we are living out our calling. There’s no secret formula to determining your place in the world. Simply use what God has given you to reach out in love to the world around you. Finding God’s will for your life is as simple as studying the Scriptures and learning to live a life that reflects and radiates Jesus.

Followers of Jesus in countries outside of the West, particularly the more poor or war ravaged regions, do not waken each day trying to determine what God wants them to be when they grow up. Rather they are simply thankful for their meager provisions and for living through another night so that they might have the opportunity to tell someone else about Jesus. They understand what the will of God is for their lives. They get the fact that the entire reason they are alive is to teach others about Jesus and to come alongside those who are hurting. I don’t believe a Christian genocide survivor in a refugee camp laments over whether they should be a doctor or a lawyer. They simply want to share Jesus with someone and invest in the lives of others. Our Western preoccupation with trying to determine our exact fit into the Kingdom has caused our true mission to be pushed aside. We are no longer solely focused on bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to those who desperately need Him; instead we are focused on what career path would bring us the most comfort while “serving” God.

God is a relational God, and relationships are never an exact science. Relationships are grown and nourished through constant communication and striving together toward a common goal. Relationships are messy and hard to define. There are a few guidelines but not a lot of rules. He clearly defined our mission. He has left the details of how that mission gets carried out in the hands of the free agents He created to go into the entire world displaying His light and glory. It’s time we stop seeking the perfect place in the Kingdom for ourselves or landing on the exact spot God created for us. The only spot created specifically for us is the one on which we now stand. Serve Jesus right where you are. Look around you; in what way could you carry out the mission of Christ right now?

Finding the will of God for your life is a very easy task. He has clearly revealed to us through Scripture everything He wants us to do. It’s time to throw off the excuse of “I’m trying to determine God’s will for my life”. You already know it. Now we must move forward in faith, fully trusting that He will take our imperfect efforts of living out our calling and turn them into something Beautiful for Him.