Can People see Your Love

While attending a university in London years ago, one young man became interested in the Christian faith.  Upon his graduation, he was almost convinced but was still seeking evidence that this faith was practical and true.  He accepted employment in East Africa and for seven months lived in the home of a Christian family.  As soon as he discovered they were followers of Christ, he decided their home would be the ideal testing ground for the evidence he sought.  Unfortunately, as the months passed, he saw nothing that attracted him.  The family was apathetic toward him and their faith.  They didn’t reach out to him or to others, and they were casual about their commitments in general.  In fact, they complained about any sacrifices they had to make on behalf of others.  They never connected with him.  Consequently, this student’s interest in God turned to disappointment.  He left his pursuit of Christ and went a different direction, moving back home to India.  He eventually led a revolution.  This young man’s name was Mahatma Gandhi. 

The Art of Connecting with Others ~Dr. Tim Elmore  

Wow, so how do you feel about that?  I know many people don’t remember all that Gandhi was involved in, but in his lifetime he was a very influential person.  He was a part of a revolution in India to alleviate poverty, liberate woman, and join together religions and ethnicities.  He believed in the self-sufficiency of a nation, but believed mainly in the independence of India from foreign domination.  In religious aspects, he followed the Hindu philosophy.  He believed all religions to be equal, which was essentially his downfall.  In believing in the equality of religions, it prevented any conversion to another faith.  In the end, he claimed that he was Hindu, yet Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and a Jew.  If none could offer perfection, then what made one the inspired word of God and not the other? 

Man, to think of what he could have done through Christ…His passion, charisma, leadership abilities…all lost in a cause for truth, evidence, equality and social reform.   To think that you could have been that family that initiated the mindset of disappointment, because you lived your life in such a way that others could not see God in you…or could not feel God from you.  It’s essentially not about you being perfect or you always doing the right thing, but rather about the way you make people feel and the way you represent our God.  Gandhi said one thing that has stuck with me for a while; he said “At the core of every religion is truth and love.”

Can people see your love?

In Him

Do you ever sit in an experience and as you listen to the message your mind wonders?  Not necessarily away from the topic, but to what God wants you to see and learn.  You hear one word and all of a sudden a light bulb goes off in your head and your very own personal series plays out in your mind.  You sit there in a very humbling state. 

This was me …. 

So there I was, sitting before this amazing God crying for help as He whispered inside my heart, trying to teach me commitment…true love…passion for His work and not my own.  I couldn’t help but wonder why I thought I deserved love or a family…these desires I had since what seems like birth…when I sometimes choose them over Him.  And more than that, how do I give up love to find Him at all times?  So, I sat there…with Him.  Trusting His plan is greater than my own.  Trusting that what He wanted to give me was greater than what I could ever have or want for myself.  It was at that moment that I decided I was done.  I’ve been hurt…I’ve been alone…and now…I’m broken for His love.  I want to be ENTIRELY His, with no distractions.  Stretch me…Heal me…Ruin me…but find me in Him.

Fasting

“The circumstances you complain about become chains that imprison you!  And worship is the way out.  It reframes our problems and refocuses our lives.  It reminds us of how good God is and changes lives.  One way or the other, your focus determines your reality.” ~Dr. Tim Elmore

      

It’s very true that hindsight is so much clearer, but as you are in the midst of the situation it’s not always easy to see the blessings God is bringing you to.  I fasted a little while ago, it’s the first time in a while.  It was initially for a friend, for clarity and guidance.  But, as I fasted, I found myself.  God broke me, through this friend. 

I think the very moment God asked me to fast and I obeyed, Satan attacked my entire day.  I sat on my bed that night seeking God, so confused at the situation.  I didn’t feel clarity at all.  I felt destruction and uncertainty.  I felt like my reality was being attacked. 

As I sat there, complaining, God realigned my focus and brought it back to Him.  I stayed up reading His word and He showed me the story of Paul and Silas.  As they were preaching God’s word, they were arrested and taken to prison.  As I was reading this, I thought to myself…what would my reaction be in this situation?  Would I praise God or would I be frustrated because of the circumstances I was experiencing when all I was trying to do was obey God?  And then I saw Paul and Silas’ reaction.  As they were imprisoned… chained, beaten, and bloody…they began to worship God.  The chains were released, the doors opened and the guard who was on the verge of suicide, came to know Christ.  He and his entire family got baptized in the middle of the night.  Amazing! 

So, I sat there and wondered…am I a worshipper or a complainer? 

You can only imagine the lesson I learned as I sat complaining about my day.  It is so true that our focus determines our reality.  If Paul and Silas had complained about their circumstances, the guard and his family could have missed seeing God in the situation.  So, what was someone missing in me?  I finally went to sleep and woke up to the most amazing feeling.  All of my chains were released, it was beautiful outside, and God spoke, saying “I told you it would be worth it, that I would honor your fasting.”  He taught me exactly what I needed to know at exactly the moment I needed to learn it.  The very circumstances that I was frustrated with brought me to this amazing point of freedom and release.  God was so faithful, loving and ever strong in me.

Crossing the Line

I was listening to Craig Groeschel the other day at our all staff meeting.  He made a comment that the very thing that so many of us pursue is the very thing that kills us.  

Man, that statement really hit me.  It seems that even if our desires aren’t necessarily harmful, if they aren’t God’s will they can still be destructive.  When we become completely sold out to Christ, where we are crucified to Him, we experience His love, joy and peace in the purest form.  I think for me it’s hard to realize that giving up what I currently have, is worth the gain I will receive in Him.  It’s not that I don’t sacrifice for Him, but do you ever notice that our sacrifices still generally fall within a certain comfort level?  It’s that moment that God asks us to sacrifice something huge, that we start to become reluctant…or begin to wonder if that was really God that asked us to do that.   Can we cross the line of pain…or comfort…to live for the cause?  Or do we have to get to the point where we have nothing left, to realize the lesson He’s been trying to teach us all along? 

For me, I could easily give all of my belongings if God asked me to.  I would give up so many things that probably don’t matter much to me, but the moment I have to sacrifice a loved one or lose a friend…I break.  I don’t understand it and I fight to keep them without considering the ultimate purpose.  But, at the same time, God knows that and until I give that up…I will keep suffering from that.  But, in that, I pray that God keeps me in pain so that I eventually learn to find Him completely and crucify myself.   

I truly think that it’s a daily mindset to crucify yourself to Christ…to realize that it’s not about you; it’s about His purpose for you.  Can you, or I, be that person that steps over the line…completely sold out…trusting completely in His words…living only for His cause?  People need to see Christ’s love through us!  They need to see God in our actions, our words, and our heart…MORE than they see the Lifechurch logo on our shirts. 

DL Moody once said, “God willing I will be that Man.” 

That is my goal…God willing…I will cross that point of no return, where I honestly sacrifice my life…my desires…and ultimately live for Him.

Being Vulnerable

I’m now sitting here…vulnerable and wide-eyed…staring at the sky hoping that HE directs me.  Praying for my eyes to be blind and my heart to be tuned to His word, while I seek the kind of love that is measureless, vast, unconditional, tender, deep, strong, joyful, and clear.  The kind of love that I get lost in…or found.  The kind of love that captures the essence of Christ and His love for us.  For only then can I fully trust in and fall deeply into its longings.  For to love at all is to be vulnerable.  Yet, being vulnerable to something that God gives you, places your heart in the palms of hands that never fail you.

His Infinite Beauty

“There is only one explanation for God’s sacrifice for us. It is not us. It is the riches of his grace (Eph. 1:7). It is all free. It is not a response to our worth. It is the overflow of his infinite worth. In fact, that is what divine love is in the end: a passion to enthrall undeserving sinners, at great cost, with what will make us supremely happy forever, namely, his infinite beauty.” — John Piper