Galatians 5:14 says," For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ' You shall love your neighbor as your self." And we also have the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-28. The lawyer questions Jesus about how to inherit eternal life. Jesus says to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it? And he answered,' You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength and with all of your mind, and your neighbor as your self. Jesus replies," You have answered correctly, do this, and you will live."
Then the lawyer asks another question," Who is my Neighbor?" I have read this parable time and time again. This is one of the parables that I remembered as a little girl in a Sunday School lesson and have never forgotten it. I always thought to my self," How could that priest,and Levite never stop to help the man that had been robbed, beaten, and half dead? I would never do that!" Of course, if I saw a man or someone who had any of those things happen to them I would call 911 and try to assist them in some way!
But seriously, think about that question," Who is my neighbor?" We have narrowed this answer down to fit our perspective and personal callings so comfortably. Our answers would say, " My neighbor is the person that lives next door to me"~"My neighbor is my close friends and family"~ "My neighbor is the people with in my church." I think that all of these would be correct answers but only in part. Could my neighbor be anyone I pass by? Could my neighbor be that homeless person I passed by while driving today? But these are the kind of people that haven't done anything for me, nor will they probably ever will. But I think that is the beauty of it. To love someone, or to show love to someone who hasn't nor may ever love you back. Isn't that what Jesus Christ did for us!?!
This answer makes it really uncomfortable doesn't it? It took the whole love thy neighbor as thyself equals easy out of the equation. It did for me. But I think that this is part of this whole dying to myself. Because to love someone as much as me means to love me less. It takes away from what is comfortable and convenient. Of course we have to use wisdom and discernment.But a lot of times we want to justify our selfishness and call it wisdom and discernment.Am I foolish to say that I can meet every need that I see? That's the beauty of it. It's not about me and what I can do. It is about Him, and what He wants to do through me. Listening to the Shepard's voice, and tending to His flock. To reach out to everyone may be out of the question, but so is not reaching out at all. The excuses of not having anything to give, are out the window. I carry bags of groceries in my car, and on a chilly night like tonight, I grab my warmest blanket out of my linen closet. Because I wouldn't want to be hungry and I surely wouldn't want to be cold.
Not matter what God has called us to do (teachers, worshipers, pastors, mothers, fathers,etc.) we are all called to love thy neighbor as thyself.
Father, forgive me for not loving my neighbor as myself. I have been completely selfish. Forgive me for loving You less and loving me more. Please open my eyes,and open my heart to truly love thy neighbor as thy self. No matter how uncomfortable or painful it might be.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me...
I have been contemplating this scripture verse (Matthew 16:24) a lot lately.
"Let him deny himself..." What does it mean to deny myself? To deny oneself means to refrain from one's desires or needs.
These were the very first words Jesus spoke to his disciples, after foretelling them about his death, and resurrection.Yet how much of our lives is spent in trying to obtain, work for, save or demand to have our own desires or needs met? But God will give us the desires of our hearts, right? I get so frustrated when people quote this scripture verse. Because when I hear this scripture verse quoted, it is stated with a very selfish desire. The whole thing is, when we delight ourselves in the Lord, our hearts will desire the right things, that which is according to his word,and He will give us exactly what is according to his word (Psalm 37:4). Jeremiah 17:9 says," The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" We are selfish, sinful, and deceitful in nature. That is why we have to deny ourselves.
The second part in the scripture states, " take up his cross..." We see the cross as a beautiful symbol. Something that is to be praised, as a symbol of life and resurrection. While this is true, it is only part truth. While the cross does represent life and resurrection, it also represents pain, torture, and death. But isn't it easier to focus on the life giving part, and to live according to that? We really don't want to focus on the pain, torture, and death. Especially if that means that taking up our own cross means pain, torture, and death. We will claim it when it comes to our attitudes and emotions. Knowing that we shouldn't act out in our anger, careless with our words, and should be forgiving toward others. That's hard enough for us, right? But taking up our cross means death to all areas of our lives?
The right to make my name known, to be successful in the world's eyes, to live my life in comfort, safety and security?
And to do all these things, deny myself, take up my cross, means that this is the way to follow Him. Yet the question has been in my life lately," What has following Jesus really cost me?" And when the answer is," Not really anything or not much." Than the real question remains, "Am I following Christ?"
The continuation of scripture states," For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done."(Matthew 16:25-27)
Father, forgive me for defining denying myself, and taking up my cross, on my own terms, and still thinking that I am following you. To follow you means to follow according to Your terms. Give me the grace and strength, to love You with all of my life and follow hard after You. May I not seek my own desires and needs to be fulfilled. May everything in my life count for Your glory and Your Kingdom!
"Let him deny himself..." What does it mean to deny myself? To deny oneself means to refrain from one's desires or needs.
These were the very first words Jesus spoke to his disciples, after foretelling them about his death, and resurrection.Yet how much of our lives is spent in trying to obtain, work for, save or demand to have our own desires or needs met? But God will give us the desires of our hearts, right? I get so frustrated when people quote this scripture verse. Because when I hear this scripture verse quoted, it is stated with a very selfish desire. The whole thing is, when we delight ourselves in the Lord, our hearts will desire the right things, that which is according to his word,and He will give us exactly what is according to his word (Psalm 37:4). Jeremiah 17:9 says," The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" We are selfish, sinful, and deceitful in nature. That is why we have to deny ourselves.
The second part in the scripture states, " take up his cross..." We see the cross as a beautiful symbol. Something that is to be praised, as a symbol of life and resurrection. While this is true, it is only part truth. While the cross does represent life and resurrection, it also represents pain, torture, and death. But isn't it easier to focus on the life giving part, and to live according to that? We really don't want to focus on the pain, torture, and death. Especially if that means that taking up our own cross means pain, torture, and death. We will claim it when it comes to our attitudes and emotions. Knowing that we shouldn't act out in our anger, careless with our words, and should be forgiving toward others. That's hard enough for us, right? But taking up our cross means death to all areas of our lives?
The right to make my name known, to be successful in the world's eyes, to live my life in comfort, safety and security?
And to do all these things, deny myself, take up my cross, means that this is the way to follow Him. Yet the question has been in my life lately," What has following Jesus really cost me?" And when the answer is," Not really anything or not much." Than the real question remains, "Am I following Christ?"
The continuation of scripture states," For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done."(Matthew 16:25-27)
Father, forgive me for defining denying myself, and taking up my cross, on my own terms, and still thinking that I am following you. To follow you means to follow according to Your terms. Give me the grace and strength, to love You with all of my life and follow hard after You. May I not seek my own desires and needs to be fulfilled. May everything in my life count for Your glory and Your Kingdom!
Dull of hearing?
I Corinthians 3:1-3
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk,not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
Hebrews 5:11-14
About this we have much to say,and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish between good and evil.
These are the two scripture verses that have begun a spiritual awakening, or growing up so to speak, with in me. I have been acting like a child, infant in Christ, too long. I have wanted things to be easy. I have wanted life to fit my desires and dreams. Yet God, in His infinite grace, is changing me to hear His voice more clearly.
What does dull mean?
~ a lack of keenness or sharpness
~ insensible: unfeeling
~ boredom; tedious: uninteresting
~ not bright, intense or clear
~ having very little depth of color; lacking in richness or intensity in color
~ slow in action or motion; sluggish
Apply this to our hearing...
Father, forgive me for my dull hearing. Please give me the grace to love Your Word and Your Truth even if it causes me to hear less of the ones I esteem and admire. Please help me to hold everything up to the light of Your Word. And please help me to not be just a hearer only, but a doer of Your Word. For to truly hear is to obey.
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk,not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
Hebrews 5:11-14
About this we have much to say,and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish between good and evil.
These are the two scripture verses that have begun a spiritual awakening, or growing up so to speak, with in me. I have been acting like a child, infant in Christ, too long. I have wanted things to be easy. I have wanted life to fit my desires and dreams. Yet God, in His infinite grace, is changing me to hear His voice more clearly.
What does dull mean?
~ a lack of keenness or sharpness
~ insensible: unfeeling
~ boredom; tedious: uninteresting
~ not bright, intense or clear
~ having very little depth of color; lacking in richness or intensity in color
~ slow in action or motion; sluggish
Apply this to our hearing...
Father, forgive me for my dull hearing. Please give me the grace to love Your Word and Your Truth even if it causes me to hear less of the ones I esteem and admire. Please help me to hold everything up to the light of Your Word. And please help me to not be just a hearer only, but a doer of Your Word. For to truly hear is to obey.
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