People are not Easy to Love (no. 13)

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive” (Colossians (Col) 3:12-13 CJB). Compassion through kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness are the ways we are to act as God’s chosen people. If we are His followers, then we will act so that these traits are easily seen by others. People are not easy to love because they fail to follow Him.

I have not always been a good follower of God. I spent a long time away from church because I had a problem with church. And one main problem was that I didn’t see compassion in the church. I have read The Bible, I have listened to Him, and when I see Him I see His call for goodness, mercy, and compassion.

I never planned on being back in the church when my latest journey began three years ago. And now I am actively visiting a number of churches in various capacities as often as I can. And while I don’t know if church has changed, I know that my perspective on church has changed. I have to trust that God has a plan for me to walk because “A person may plan his path, but Adonai directs his steps” (Mishlei (Pro) 16:9 CJB). So a lot of my walk today is just trusting in the fact that He is still enthroned and that He always wins.

As I said yesterday and warrants repetition today, I commonly joke about things working out in life for His glory by saying, “It’s almost like He has a plan or something.” And when I place too much emphasis on my role in that plan, I take the emphasis off who’s plan it is and how important I really am to that plan. He is always in charge even when we don’t want to acknowledge that, “Here is the word of Adonai that came to me: ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I separated you for myself. I have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.’ I said, ‘Oh, Adonai Elohim , I don’t even know how to speak! I’m just a child!’ But Adonai said to me, ‘Don’t say, ‘I’m just a child.’ For you will go to whomever I send you, and you will speak whatever I order you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you, says Adonai , to rescue you'” (Yirmeyahu (Jer) 1:4-8 CJB). And if I spend a little more time trying to act like Him rather than trying to figure out His plan, I find it has made life so much simpler. I am no longer looking to be enthroned because I know I will never sit there. I will be on the exact same side as everyone else when judgment comes. And that is because it isn’t my plan and I am not in charge of it. What I am in charge of doing is being an Ambassador for His Kingdom. And that looks like compassion through kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. If I am His follower, then I will act so that these traits are easily seen by others. I am not easy to love when I fail to follow Him.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

People are not Easy to Love (no. 12)

“This Good News was entrusted to me; and I thank the one who has given me strength, the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord, that he considered me trustworthy enough to put me in his service, even though I used to be a man who blasphemed and persecuted and was arrogant! But I received mercy because I had acted in unbelief, not understanding what I was doing. Our Lord’s grace overflowed to me with trust and love that come through the Messiah Yeshua. So here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted: the Messiah came into the world to save sinners, and I’m the number one sinner! But this is precisely why I received mercy — so that in me, as the number one sinner, Yeshua the Messiah might demonstrate how very patient he is, as an example to those who would later come to trust in him and thereby have eternal life” (1 Timothy (1 Ti) 1:11-16). There are no lines with which I identify more than when scripture discusses how horrible I used to behave. I spent a great deal of my life in rebellion. BUT I knew exactly what I was doing back then. People are not easy to love because they don’t deserve grace.

I do not deserve grace. I don’t deserve mercy. I don’t deserve salvation. And neither do you. I did not earn the right to be His. There is nothing I did, nothing I can do, and nothing I will do that will ever make me deserving. And neither will you. I think that is a mental block that hinders many of us on our walk with Him. I wanted to somehow make it up to Him. I can’t. Nothing I do is ever going to make my life right. The only thing that makes my life righteous is Him.

And that isn’t only Good News, that is the best news. Once I came to terms with that concept, that there was nothing that made me worthy, then I could understand that not being special made me all the more special. It takes a lot of the ownership off of me to be perfect and do things right. And it places my trust in Him to make not only things right BUT to make me right too. And that is where my trust needs to lie. Not in what I can do BUT in what He does.

I commonly make the joke about things working out in life for His glory by saying, “It’s almost like He has a plan or something.” And when I place too much emphasis on my role in that plan, I take the emphasis off who’s plan it is and how important I really am to that plan. And the simple truth is I am not at all important to His plan. I get to be included in the plan because He wants me there. I don’t get included for any other reason. He loves me regardless.

Sometimes folks want to downplay His love. Folks want to point their fingers at sins and sinners and forget that God loves them. Folks want to focus on punishment rather than restorative justice. Folks want to limit the truly awesome scope of His love. He loves us regardless. He made me. He knows everything about me. And He still loves me. You can’t get any more unconditional.

As a teacher, I love my students BUT not as much as God loves me. As a child, I love my parents BUT not as much as God loves me. As a parent, I love my children BUT not as much as God loves me. God truly loves me despite all I have done to make a mess of everything. And He is always there to brush me off, pick me up, and set me right even though I don’t deserve any of His love.

Don’t tell me what love can do. I know what His love can do in life because I have seen and experienced that love. Sometimes people are not easy to love because they don’t deserve grace and mercy BUT none of that matters in comparison to His love.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH