When ones come to us in need of Gods unconditional love and acceptance....do we exalt ourselves over them in their brokenness and make them feel more inadequate and shamed? Or do we humble ourselves and bring ourselves down from our pedestals to exalt them and have compassion on their failings and weaknesses....lifting them up?..... How far are we to go in loving others?...Whoever asks you to go one mile, go with him two.(Matt. 5:41).....Are we not called to love others into a place of healing and wholeness?.....Is that not how God loves us?.... Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Bear one anothers burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially those who are of His household of faith.” (Gal. 6:10) If we as the church do not stick by people in their mess and brokenness, then how are they suppose to feel Gods Love?....how are they to heal without us loving and serving them with the gifts that we have within us...that were given to us by God in order to serve and worship Him (Romans 12:6; 1 Peter 4:10)?.....do we not have responsibilities to other Body members?....or do we leave that out of our everyday lives and just keep walking (like the law keepers) when we see a brother or sister wounded and in pain?..... If someone is coming from a life of total depravity before their salvation....do we expect perfection from them before they are healed and transformed by the renewing of their minds?..... is healing not a process?....He sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted... (Isaiah 61:1)....binding up is a process...and sometimes it is messy...and a heart is hemorrhaging from the wounds and in extreme pain.....as the Body of Christ......do we notice?...do we care?..... Jesus said that, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32) “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Tim. 1:15) ..... For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.That no flesh should glory in his presence. (1 Cor. 1:26-29) When others open up to us and share their struggles...do we cover them in love so that they do not feel shamed every time that they are in our presence?....do we use what they have shared with us as a tool of power and control over them?....or do we shower them in love that covers all sin guilt and shame?.....(James 5:19-20; 1 Peter 4:8) The Lord says to His people that they are “His witnesses” (Isa. 43:10), “His salt and His light” (Matt. 5:13-14) Do we really believe that God doesnt see this or notice what we are failing to do as His Body?..... Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin... (James 4:17).....read Isaiah 58..... We are failing the broken and wounded of this world....they cant turn to us as the Body of Christ and receive Gods unconditional love?....oh I know we are setting boundaries with them ......boundaries is the new word for plain selfishness.....In Luke 6 Jesus said this about boundaries, But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you..... Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! (Phil. 2) Our churches and church people too often are a source of pain rather than being a safe place for people to heal and to find wholeness in Christ. Sometimes believers have wounds and pain that they have hidden for years. They may be a devout believer but that part of their life cannot be touched and healed because there are no safe relationships within their family, church or community environment in which they can be real and own up to their struggle. Too often when they reach out for help they end up excluded from their church family rather than held close in committed relationships. The relationships that should be safe and supportive for them many times are not. Pastors and church leaders are not always sensitive to the needs of wounded people who are seeking a safe place to heal. And church members as well as pastors are not always discreet or self-controlled when handling people’s private information, concerns and struggles. Many times a person finally comes up with the courage to be transparent only to find themselves the topic of church gossip or receiving church discipline and/or expulsion from the church. Sometimes people quit attending church due to a personal event such as losing a loved one because doing so is easier and less painful than having to deal with the unkind, thoughtless remarks they know they will receive if they go to church. In all these cases the Body of Christ is not ministering the grace of God appropriately to those who are in need and are hurting. Love is the most important and number one gift (1 Cor. 13). The Corinthian believers had made the showy gifts the most important and put so much emphasis on themselves and worried so much about how they looked to others. They elevated themselves one over another and compared themselves with themselves to show themselves as being more important. Paul wanted them to understand that without love the gifts mean nothing, and without love you can have all the knowledge in the world and it too means nothing. Love trumps everything and love is the only thing that will edify the Body and cause its members to work properly and cause the gifts to be administered to other hurting Body members. If I do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.....
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 11:21:58 +0000
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