Loving God Wholeheartedly

First, it’s good to be back blogging on the Scriptures as we continue our journey through the Bible this year. We have been away these past couple of weeks ministering at Camp St. Christopher and simply had so much to do that there was no time to write.  We had a tremendous time as we saw many young people respond to God and offer their lives to him in love and surrender.  Thanks for your prayers!

Our return lands us knee-deep in the book of Jeremiah. Few people have ever had as difficult a call from God as Jeremiah did.  His was to call God’s people to repent and return to the Lord. When they continually refused, his call was to announce destruction and exile upon the nation. No one likes a nay-sayer.  Because of this Jeremiah was not popular.  Not with the priests, other “prophets”, the government officials, nor the king – no one escaped the Lord’s critique through Jeremiah’s prophecies. It must have been incredibly difficult for Jeremiah to continually bear bad news and to be ignored! He endured sorrow and heartbreak because of the people’s apathy toward God and their scorn and indifference toward his ministry.

God’s people had become rebellious, self centered and complacent. They believed that their identity as the chosen people of God meant they could behave carte-blanche. They believed that the prosperity they enjoyed because of their covenant relationship with God was actually something they had achieved by their own ingenuity and resourcefulness.  They didn’t see or believe how their behavior turned them away from God.  They couldn’t believe God would punish them, despite how they behaved.  They refused to listen to God’s warnings through Jeremiah. And while they continued to practice “religion” in an external way (what we would call going through the motions of faith), they had no real connection with the Living God. In short, they had the trappings of faith without actually believing and living by faith. The arrogance of their hearts was tremendous. They wanted God’s blessings but did not want God. They wanted the benefits of relationship with God, yet refused to live in accordance with the nature of God and in conformity to the ways of God.  Compounding their problem was that they had plenty of religious leaders telling them God was pleased with them; that no harm would befall them; and that peace and prosperity would remain.  But this was not God’s assessment.  God was not pleased.

In this, there is a warning for us.  We must see that there is the potential within every one of us to take the grace of God and make it an excuse for license.  We can take the wonder of God’s grace and make it an idol that hides and approves of the sin our own hearts. I don’t think this happens right away in anyone’s life. It creeps in gradually.  We begin well by rightly understanding there is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor.  There is nothing that we can do on our own to  be righteous. Salvation is the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ. And so we turn to God in faith by trusting that his grace alone will save us.  But unless we allow God to thoroughly restore our hearts and lives, unless we repent deeply and walk intimately with him each day, the sin that is so prevalent within us can easily cause us to take advantage of his good will toward us.  Soon, we like the Israelites, can begin to subtly expect God’s grace regardless of the sin in  our hearts. Perhaps we even begin to believe that because of his grace we need not live lives that are being reformed daily by his Spirit. On the one hand, it is right to rest in him knowing that we cannot achieve anything on our own. Yet on the other hand, we need to cling to him and be responsive to his ways and promptings. The key to living in this tension is staying in relationship to God.  It is key that in response to the revelation God has given us, we learn to love him wholeheartedly. We learn to yield to his promptings. We learn to walk in his ways. Otherwise, we may be in danger of enjoying the blessings of being his people while simultaneously forgetting to remain in relationship with him.  Do we love God for what he does for us and what he gives us? Or do we simply love God for who he is and all he has already done for us?

I pray that we will be like the good figs of Jeremiah 24.  God says of these people, “I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole hearts,” (Jeremiah 24:7).

 

The Real Jesus

If Jesus had a Facebook page, which picture would he use for his profile?  Would it be gentle Jesus, meek and mild with a baby lamb on his shoulders? Would it be Jesus laughing as the little children bounded into his arms? Would it be Jesus feeding the 5,000?  Would it be the righteously angry Jesus driving the moneychangers out of the temple? Would it be Jesus reclining at the Last Supper with his beloved disciple John resting against him?  I’m guessing, like us, he would change his profile picture from time to time to reflect the status of his life.

Today as we begin the book of Revelation, we see another picture of Jesus.  It’s actually the most detailed, physical description of him in the bible.  It’s a very symbolic picture that’s filled with meaning and designed to reveal him as he is now in his glory.  In this picture, he no longer suffers.  We see none of the lowliness that marked his life on the earth.  And while he is still humble of heart, this picture is of Jesus the strong, majestic, powerful, royal and exalted Lord of all.

The apostle John, while imprisoned on the island of Patmos, received this revelation of Jesus one Sunday while he was worshiping in the Spirit (Rev 1:10-17). John first heard a voice behind him that sounded like a trumpet blaring in power and declaration. As he turned to see who it was that was speaking to him, he saw the “Son of Man.”  This was the title Jesus had always given himself (taken from the prophet Daniel; see Daniel 7:13).  While John clearly saw a man, the man he saw was more than simply human. He was the Son of Man who is also the Son of God. Everything about him symbolized majesty and judgment.  And it is this reality about Jesus; that he is King and Judge, that fills the book of Revelation.  It’s this picture of him, who he is in his eternal glory, that closes out the bible.

As John looked, he saw Jesus dressed in a robe reaching down to  his feet — flowing robes symbolized dignity and honor. Across his chest was a golden sash.  The combination of these two items declares his high priestly duties before God on behalf of people.  His head and hair were white like wool — he is the the Ancient of Days completely pure and wise. His eyes were like blazing fire — he sees and knows all and brings hidden things to light. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace — brass symbolized judgment. His voice was like the sound of rushing waters — power and majesty are his and he speaks creation into being with the song he sings. What a juxtaposition.  Creation birthed through music.

In his right hand were seven stars — he holds the church, its people, and all of creation together and in his care. From his mouth came a sharp, double-edged sword — his word pierces, divides and separates all that it contacts. His face was like the sun shining in its brilliance– Oh the wonder of who he really is! He is the all-glorious God, the Living One, who overcame death and is alive forevermore!

When John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” saw Jesus in his majesty, “he fell at his feet as though dead,” (1:17). But the Lord touched him and said, “Don’t be afraid!”  John, who knew Jesus as intimately and closely as anyone on earth, was overwhelmed as if dead when he saw Jesus in his majesty.  And yet, Jesus in his kindness, did not want his beloved John to be afraid of him. The message is clear.  There’s so much more to Jesus than just one scene of his life. He is more than a wise teacher. He is more than a great prophet.  He is not one among many religious leaders.  He is God Almighty himself, the King and Judge, before whom everyone of us will stand in jaw-dropping awe and worship one day. And yet, he is kind and wonderful to all who come to him.  He doesn’t want us destroyed and overwhelmed by who he is. He is absolutely for us.

Have you experienced this Jesus?  Do you know him as he really is?

Into Promised Hope

 

I awoke this morning to small shadows on the periphery of my mind.  As I focused my thoughts, the shadows grew.  As I journeyed from the place of rest and sleep; I found myself in a valley where the mountains ahead of me multiplied.  As each one arose, I wondered how I would climb and cross it; I am not equipped.  I am a traveler with only the clothes I wear and some bread and water in my pack.  Each mountain I can name, each one is a place in the near future I must navigate.  As the sunlight crept into my bedroom, I wrestled with the feelings overwhelming me here at the start of the day.  My heart is anxious.

I have always wanted to have the personality of someone who sees the cup as half full (like my husband).  I recognize and appreciate that there is water in the cup, but I typically live in concern that the cup is emptying quickly and there are no refills offered.  I have also wished that I had the personality of someone who sees an untraveled road ahead and leaps at the possibilities of adventure and joy.  Instead, I try to look as far down the road as I can and predict worse case scenarios.  Just in case.  Even there, though, I lack good planning skills so instead of being able to envision the worst case scenario; I just have the vague angst in my gut that things could go very wrong.  The challenge with living with these two perspectives is that your focus becomes what you enjoy in life.  And neither of these views is enjoyable.

Isaiah 35 brought me great comfort today.  It beckoned me out of my valley of indecision and impossibility and back to the reality of God’s Kingdom and God’s promise that His Kingdom is coming.  Once evil has been wiped out; life in its fullest will return.

Isaiah writes: “They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart,  “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” (Isaiah 25:2b-4 ESV)

He will restore sight to those without vision (my indecision) and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped (my difficulty hearing his voice).   Out of the dryness of the wilderness, springs will come forth and refresh me.   And for the journey ahead that I cannot see clearly or plan for adequately: “There will be a highway called the Holy Road. No one rude or rebellious is permitted on this road. It’s for God’s people exclusively— impossible to get lost on this road.  Not even fools can get lost on it. No lions on this road, no dangerous wild animals— Nothing and no one dangerous or threatening. Only the redeemed will walk on it.”  (35:8-9 MSG)

What an assurance from God himself.  What a perfect place to park my mind today so that the shadows are dispersed by the light of his presence.  What a picture of hope amidst my angst and fears.  His love conquers fear and we will be set free. Be encouraged by these words: “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;  they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”  (35:10 ESV).

 

God Questions

God’s silence is deafening.  The struggle is immense.  It has gone on and on.  Back and forth.  We’ve endured the arguments between Job and his friends and Job to God.  We’ve gained insight into the shortcomings of human wisdom.  No one can adequately explain or make sense of the suffering Job has withstood.  And truthfully, none of us can wrap our minds around the mind of God.  Chapters 38 and 39 of Job are awe inspiring and reveal God’s majesty and how his very being is simply beyond our understanding.

Job’s friends have suggested suffering comes only to the evil as punishment from God.  Repent of your sin and the suffering will end.  But Job knows this is a false understanding of God.  We may find it easier to blame God for suffering, but that is to fall short of knowing the truth of his character.  The truth of his character reveals an abundance of righteousness.  God is right.  He is not evil nor does he ordain or cause evil in the world.  Adam and Eve’s choice to move away from God and to seek from understanding beyond what God had for them ushered in evil to the world.  Evil, at its core, is the absence of God.  Suffering is a direct result of evil.  Not God.

Reading Job today allows us to take a breath of ease if we have been suffering.  While God is silent for the major portion of the book he is hardly absent.  When he finally appears, it’s clear he has not been distracted or otherwise engaged.  He is fully aware of all that has transpired in Job’s life and the arguments between Job and his friends.  Rather than defend himself, God chooses to reveal himself.  His is a commanding presence that requires all of us watching and listening to stop in reverent awe.  Taking center stage, he ends the debate by asking some profound and revealing questions.

These questions open the door to consider him in the truth of his being beyond the scope of suffering.  His questions are a welcome relief from the arguments gone round and round trying to solve the dilemma of suffering with the human mind.  The truth is we simply cannot.  We cannot resolve God sized issues with the extraordinary limitations of our human minds.  The vastness of who God is and what He knows is only a pin drop in our consciousness.  We can’t know what we simply don’t know.  It is pride to think we can.

Each question God poses to Job and his friends sweeps back the curtain of his majesty and his strength.  There are hardly words to describe how inept and insignificant one feels to follow God’s queries and to recognize how close to simple dust we are.  God’s questions reveal the heart of who He is in the splendor of his glory.  And no one can remotely access it but by God’s permission himself.  In asking Job these questions, he simultaneously challenges Job to understand him while pointing out that there is no way to fully comprehend him.  Even partial comprehension seems an extraordinary leap of our limited minds.

God’s questions are worthy of a second read.  A third, fourth, fifth…well, they are worthy of pondering for the rest of our lives.  They offer us rest in the midst of our trial to let go of our control and slip into a place of yielded trust to Him.  He is so much greater.  He is so much wiser.  He has ideas and purposes we can’t begin to articulate in our minds.  So once you have wearied of the wrestling and struggle, walk into these questions with the space of being simply the created walking hand in hand with the Creator.  And the Creator is good.  In his immense proportion to ourselves, we can rest in the knowledge that out of His great love for us he created us.  He has plans and purposes beyond our skirmishes today.

God’s Love

“If you love me, why are you treating me this way?  Wouldn’t love treat me better than this?”

That was my heart’s cry to God in the middle of the night on a cold basement floor in Ambridge, Pennsylvania in 1997. I was in my first year of seminary and life looked bleak. My father had recently died. We had moved from the South to the North and were experiencing both culture shock and seasonal affective disorder.  We had to relocate 2 more times in a span of four months due to terrible and unsafe housing situations — and that with a 3 year old and a very pregnant wife. Our last move came as the result of a plumbing issue that caused our basement to back up with all the sanitation waste from the houses on the hill above us.  The wretched filth destroyed all of our family pictures and important mementos.   The timing of the last move came just days before Christmas – we could barely celebrate due to boxes and exhaustion.  By January it was utterly bleak.  We had 15 days straight of ice and snow; and not the pretty, serene kind you see on postcards and movies. This was infused with the pollution of steel country and had a greyish black look to it.   At three in the morning I was up and in my study in the dark, cold basement. My heart boiled over at that point.

I wept before the Lord. I was confused and disappointed.  I had left my lucrative and rising career to serve God with my life. I had removed my young family from all that was known and safe to us and jumped on what felt like “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” I was missing my father, whom I had led to faith in Christ not long before his death.  It seemed as though I had just gotten him back and he was taken away from me again. And perhaps the worst part of it, I was spiritually empty.  I had come to a community of faith where people were joyfully loving and serving God, yet to me, the experience was as dry as  dust in my mouth.

I cried out to God, “If you love me, why are you treating me this way?  Wouldn’t love treat me better than this?” As I lay on the floor splayed out before the Lord I had a vision.  It was of the cross of Jesus Christ.  It wasn’t the pretty bronze cross that we process behind as we enter church. It was the bloody, cruel instrument of torturing death.  I saw the body of the Lord in his brokenness and pain. I felt the loneliness of Jesus that came from his friends’ betrayal and abandonment. I sensed the derision and scorn of the religious elite. I saw the anguish on his face as His Father looked away from him as the sin of the world, as my sin, was placed upon him. It nearly broke me.  And then I heard the Lord speak to my heart. He said, “On that day in space and time my love for you was forever demonstrated and sealed.”

And I had the answer.  God’s love is not dependent upon anything but himself.  God’s love for us is not proved nor disproved by the outward circumstances in life.  God’s love is not conditioned by our behavior.  God loves because God loves us. As the Apostle John tells us, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins,” (1 John 4:9-10).

No matter what you are experiencing today, whether good times or hardship, know this: God loves you and has demonstrated his love decisively in the cross of Jesus Christ.  He has done absolutely everything necessary to bring you to himself.  Let the cross be your guide today.  Keep it before your eyes and close to your heart. Meditate on its beauty and power and embrace the love of God for you.

Who Do You Love the Most?

When I was in elementary school I had many notes passed to me by my fellow students.  These notes sought out crucial relational information. They said things like, “Do you like me? Check the box yes or no.”  “Who are the three cutest girls in the class. List in order below.”  Then there was the most serious kind of note — the love note questionnaire.  It invariably inquired: “Who do you love the most?”  There would either be a list of 3 or 4 names from which to select or there would be a blank line on which you could scribble the name of your choice. The greatest thing in the world was discovering (or being shown by an accomplice) that your name was selected at the top of the list. Likewise, there was nothing more crushing, no matter how much you denied it, than finding yourself rejected.

God asks each of us a variation of the same question. He doesn’t ask it in a juvenile or needy way.  But he does ask:  “Among all the options you have in this world for your affection and allegiance, who or what do you love the most?”

God’s great desire is that each one of us would live in an intimate love relationship with him. He longs that you would select him from the list of all the options that exist. He desires that you would write Jesus’ name on the blank line.  As Rick Warren says in his book What On Earth Am I Here For?, “God made you to love you, and he longs for you to love him back.”  But there are many other “lovers” in this world from which we can choose.  The Living God is only one among many options.  The world itself competes with God for your allegiance and alliance.  The apostle John warns, “Don’t love the world’s ways. don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father,” (1 John 2:15 The Message).

Today I pass a note to you in the form of this blog.  I urge you to make your choice. Choose to love the Lord above all other options.  And then make your selection known by living in such a way that your love for God is easy for everyone to see.

What’s the Point?

The past eight months have been a painful trial for me.  I have struggled through my first extended physical illness.  Despite the many healthy changes I’ve made to my diet in recent years, I had to completely overhaul my eating.   Food has been a source of comfort and joy to me over the years; particularly sugar.  The biggest challenge in changing my diet has been the stripping away of every comfort food I have enjoyed.  I really had no idea how much food meant to me until it was taken away.

In the midst of this personal health crisis, it feels as if all hell has broken loose in other areas of life also.  The medical challenges our family incurred over the past several years have led to extreme financial stress.  We’ve had family issues, sick dogs, dying computers (the children attend a school that requires working computers), broken old cars, isolation from others, minor depression, lack of vision, and to top it off, a month long case of severe poison ivy.   I have never experienced a season where the book of Job so resonated with me. 

Yet the most challenging aspect of this season has been my perception of God’s distance from me.  I know he has not moved because Christ lives in me.  But the normal, intimate relationship I have always shared with him has seemed increasingly quiet and almost dormant.   I have searched my life for sin that would rupture our relationship and that which I discovered I have repented of and changed.  But in general, there isn’t any major flaw in our relationship; except he seems distant.   A few times, when the pain was particularly bad, I have been tempted to throw up my hands and cry out, “What’s the point?” “Why is this happening?”

1 Peter 4:2 says, “Think of your suffering as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way,” (The Message). My own suffering appears to be accomplishing this.  If it doesn’t cause you to “curse God and die” as Job’s wife foolishly counseled, suffering is proficient at stripping you of “expecting to get your own way.” Peter tells us that as we faithfully endure this self-stripping, we become truly available to God’s purposes in our lives. “Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want,” (1Peter 4:3 Msg).

Continuing to discover that I am not in control (all life teaches us this!) gives me the opportunity to choose the freedom of resting in Him.  I can rest knowing that Christ already suffered through this and I am receiving the privilege of joining him in that.  Despite how I feel, I choose to trust his goodness and care for me. I choose to trust that He has a plan that He is busy working out in my life and the lives of those I love.  I know based on God’s Word that this time of trial is working good things for me.  I don’t write these things lightly… it hasn’t come easily. But I know it to be true.

Be encouraged today.  No matter what you are going through, God has you in his sight.  His love for you was demonstrated and forever declared in space and time through the suffering of his Son on the cross. As Peter writes, “When life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner,” (1 Peter 4:13).

Your Spiritual Job Description

“Bless– that’s your job, to bless,” (1Peter 3:9 Msg).

What if all Christians knew that blessing is what God wants us to do on this earth? The world would a completely different place– and I don’t mean in some naive way that evil would cease to exist and that everyone would just get along.  What I mean is that if we lived lives that bless in the biblical sense; if we saw blessing as our spiritual job description, then an incredible amount of good would occur in this world and God would be known and rightly exalted by even more people.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what the word bless actually means, and particularly here in the Southern part of the United States where I live.  People routinely bandy the word about in everyday conversation but it rarely seems positive.  You’ll often hear people say: “bless her/his heart” right before they begin to gossip about the person.  As in, “Bless her heart, she’s back on the booze again.”  “Bless his heart, he can’t hold down a job.”  It’s kind of a round about way of tearing someone down while at the same time sounding like you actually care about them.

The apostle Peter tells us that blessing is what God has given us to do as our calling. “Bless,” he says, ” for to this you were called,” (I Peter 3:9 ESV). You were called by God to bless and to be a blessing. But what does that mean?  First of all, to bless in scripture means to declare or extend through pronouncement or action, God’s favor and goodness upon others. In the case of speaking words of blessing, the significance comes not merely with the words themselves but also in the effect those words bring as the Holy Spirit fills them with power to bring them to pass. When it comes to actions, blessing means to enrich physically, materially or spiritually.  Blessing always brings forth life and goodness and that which is in accord with God’s character and his ways.

The words we speak to others hold great power.  Our words can bless and build others or they can tear down and destroy.  We often think that once something is out of our mouth, its evaporated into air.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Our words land places and affect people’s hearts and lives.  Our actions do the same.  Even the seemingly insignificant small things you do in order to bless and bring life to others count.  We don’t know and see all that God sees; we don’t even know and see all that people around us see.

Ultimately, blessing is God’s idea.  He is the one who gives us his favor and enrichment. It would be entirely  appropriate to say that all we have from God is part of his blessing to us.  He has given us this incredible, diverse, and beautiful world in which we live. He gives us life and fruitfulness. He blesses us by turning us away from evil and by forgiving our sins. He freely offers to all who come to Him his grace,  pardon and promise of eternal life. From start to finish, His words and his actions bring about life, healing, and growth.  He asks those of us who belong to Him to do the same for others. We are called to intentionally turn away from all that is evil and instead bring goodness — that is God-ness: God’s ways, God’s character, and God’s life  to all whom we encounter. When we do this, we ourselves receive God’s blessing.

“Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here’s what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he’s asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things,” (1Peter 3:10-12).

 

 

Have You Been Forgotten?

Sometimes in the midst of struggle, you might wonder if God has forgotten you.  The fact of the matter is that he hasn’t; despite how it may feel right now.  God cannot and will not forget you. When it comes to his people, no matter where you are or how you feel, no matter what chasm of loneliness, sin, hardship, or despair you find yourself in; in God’s eyes, “Not one (person) is missing, not one forgotten,” (1 Peter 1:2 Msg).

I have been tempted at times to believe that God has abandoned me.  But it’s just not true. Life is simply hard, especially when you look around and see everyone else apparently thriving and yet you feel as though life is withering.  Do you know what this is like? When your dreams have been crushed? When relationships turn out to be less than what you’d desired they would be?  When finances sink and you can’t figure out how to pay all the mounting bills?  Or when your health is gone and everything hurts?  Or when depression mounts and all is veiled so that your heart’s vision is lost?  There seems to be no end in sight. It’s in the crush of life that God often appears so far away. It’s the proverbial “curveballs” that leave your head spinning and your heart wondering, “Surely there’s more than this?”

The apostle Peter reminds us that, “God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all — life healed and whole,” (1Peter 1:5 Msg). There will be an end to the trial and the pain. And God assures us that there is a redemptive purpose in what you are going through. Your life is not a cosmic joke spun by a sadistic God. No, the struggle has purpose. We put up with aggravations in this life that strengthen our faith and cause us to live what we believe.

I was thinking about one of my grandmothers this morning. She had a difficult life. Her first born son died when he was just a toddler.  Her only other son, my father, was profoundly affected by his combat tour in Viet Nam.  He came back with PTSD and drug and alcohol problems that led to his leaving my mother and me.  My grandmother essentially lost my dad through  the war and me through the divorce and subsequent move across the country.  Imagine all the male sons of your family lost to you in one form or another.  And yet in the later years of her life, my grandmother had a joy about her that was tangible.  It wasn’t a situational based happiness, but a deep-seated confidence in Jesus Christ and a hope in his unfailing care for her.  She knew that things would eventually work out whether in this life or in the next.  Incidentally, she got her  sons back before she died — she got me back when I came to faith in Christ. She got my father back when I led him to the Lord just before his death.  She could have never predicted this outcome though she prayed for it fervently for years. God doesn’t let go of his own. He never forgets and he uses the trials and struggles in this life in ways that we cannot imagine in order to work his eternal purposes into  our lives.

“Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will  have on display as evidence of his victory….Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation,” (1 Peter 1:7, 9 Msg).

Outrageous Nonsense

For believers and non believers alike, James 2 hits us where it hurts.  James was the brother of Jesus and an influential leader in the early church.  He knew and understood his brother’s heart well.  He knew the battle that all of us face in walking out our faith.  He also knew that our battle in walking out our faith is one of the key stumbling blocks to people coming into the faith.  We say we believe in Jesus and that we’ve received his salvation but we sit still twiddling our thumbs in our Spirit life.  We receive the greatest gift there is of love and mercy but leave it barely opened on the table when it’s time to share it with others.  We acknowledge we have this new life of faith and call ourselves believers yet we return to life as if nothing has changed.  Do we really believe or not?

We cannot expect others around us to believe we’ve actually received this life giving gift of love and mercy if we cannot show evidence of it.  Its like telling your friends you just won the lottery but you continue to live in the ghetto and walk everywhere.  Who would believe you?  Wouldn’t you buy a home and a car and invite friends over to share your new fortune?  How can we tell people that we are owners of the greatest love that has ever been yet fail to love them with it?  As James asks,  “Isn’t it obvious that God-talk with out God-acts is outrageous nonsense?’ (James 2:17 the Message)

At the same time, showing evidence of the love without believing the One who loves us is equally absurd.  It is a waste of eternity.  Eternity starts this very minute.  We believe in our hearts and the love we’ve received overwhelms us to flow into the lives of others through our actions.  Our actions must be consistent.  James reminds us that treating society’s best differently from society’s outcasts is dangerous.  God’s love is for one and all.  Equal treatment.  If we love him, we love all equally.  Here is where it hurts.  Do I really believe Jesus died for every single person in order to reconcile us to God our Father and to enjoy the freedom and abundance of His love for us?  Or did he die for the ones with whom I’m comfortable and able to connect.  This is hard.  It is a pruning of sorts.  I must allow God to prune back all that blocks me from loving every person he allows on my path.  Some are easy, many simply are not.

Our culture and society tell us that who we interact with matters and we must connect with the right people.  This is true; we do need to connect with the right people. The “right people” in the world’s eyes aren’t necessarily the same as those God calls “right”.  To God, the right people are those who are hungry and needy and desperate for his kindness to reach them.  “God chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full right and privileges,” (James 2:6). These are often the difficult people in our lives; the ones who cut us off, who smell bad, who do not fit in.  If we’re a part of God’s kingdom and his culture, then we love everyone He loves regardless of how they look, smell or succeed in life.

The world doesn’t know Jesus Christ in large part because we don’t love others with the love we say we have from him.  We speak one thing and go and do something entirely different.  We stay in our small safe circles of friends, we walk on our narrow safe path through life, we avoid those who might challenge our routine.  We tell people we’re saved but we’re unwilling to extend salvation to those who most desperately need it.

Let’s live lives with integrity.  “Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.” (James 2:18).  Who is in your life that is desperate to know God’s love?  Who  do you need share His heart with? Sometimes the neediest can be the most offensive.  Loving them could be a gesture as small as a smile or as large as inviting them over to eat.  Who is God putting in your path that needs his peace and hope.  If you believe, then you are filled with his Spirit and He wants to pour out his love out through you.  How is he calling you to love others today?