Random Thoughts on Random Subjects

I noticed I have a few unpublished posts in which I only got a paragraph or two written (and basically made my point in those small paragraphs). Therefore, I decided to combine them into one random thoughts posts...

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All I want for Christmas is... selfish stuff

Please know, I don't mean to offend anyone. But...

I have seen the above quote, or something similar, posted quite a bit lately. Many don't even say "I want".... they say "I pray".

To me, this is something so selfish.

Yes, I have lost people. And yes, I do talk to them. I do tell them I love them and miss them. But I add that I pray they are at peace. And to be honest, I am fairly certain they are at peace - they are with our Lord. They are loved in such a greater capacity than I could ever dare dream to love... in a way in which only God can love.

I don't want my loved ones to know how much I miss them. I want them embraced in the arms of God. I want them at peace and filled with such an endless love and warmth this world could never have provided. When I say I miss them....it's just me needing to voice my own earthly, human sorrow. It's me needing to feel closer to God and those who've left this earth.

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I saw this tonight... and my first thought was that sometimes it really isn't about putting them back together. Yes, that is the initial thought most of us have. But most often, it's about reaching through that brokenness... getting cut in the process... but still reaching, just to hold that person. Just to show that person some love and acceptance. 

You may not completely change a person that way, but you will make an impact. And to me, the cuts are worth it.

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"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

But what is love? What is the kind of love Jesus is talking about in these verses?

We tend to think of love as an emotion – it’s a feeling of affection for another person. And we tend to believe that if someone loves us, they are acting from this place of affection and should meet certain expectations.

The problem with this way of thinking is that when the affectionate feelings lessen, or when expectations aren’t met, the relationship dies. Couples break up, get separated, or get divorced. Don’t misunderstand me – there are circumstances where this is a necessary occurrence. I am in no way stating that there aren’t good reasons for a couple to separate. But a simple loss of affectionate feeling is generally not a good reason. Although, on the otherhand, a simple affectionate feeling isn’t a good reason to be a couple.

Even when it comes to our relationship with family members, or close friends, we still operate under the definition of love being a feeling of affection. We tend to believe that this is enough.

Again, the problem with this is that if something goes wrong to cause that feeling to lessen, we find ourselves at odds with our family or friends, distancing ourselves from them, causing rifts or broken relationships.

This is not what God wants. Love for and from God is not merely a feeling of affection. Love is an action. It is a commitment. It is not a commitment to always feel affection. It is a commitment to always be loving.

When we treat love as simply a feeling of affection, we lose the ability to show godly love towards everyone. We are told to love our enemies. If love is an affectionate emotion only, how can we possibly succeed in loving our enemies? When we remember love is an action, then and only then can we bring that Godly love to those enemies.

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Building Each Other Up

Some people are just such horrible sinners. It’s really easy to look upon some people and think about how lost they are. How they need Christ in their life. It’s so easy to tell this to our neighbors, friends, pastor, or, in rare cases, even the “sinners” themselves.

Even when we look upon the members of our own Church congregations, we find it easy wonder “What right do they have to be here?”… “How dare they step foot in the house of God when just last night they were sinning?”… “How can they even think they can teach, preach, or do anything of service for this church. Who are they trying to fool?”

Or we take the more “Christian-like” approach, and say “I know I’m a sinner… but I’m not as bad as that person.”

I’m not going to sit here and say that because I write sermons, because I sometimes preach and teach the Word of God, that I am less of a sinner than others. Or that I even think that. Even pastors – if they are honest – would not claim to be less of a sinner, or more saintly, than anyone within or outside the church they serve.

The truth is, we’re all equally sinners. We’re all equally saints. God does not differentiate one sin as more or less sinful. God does not hold anyone in higher favor or saintliness because of their good deeds. While our human minds tend to see these differences – God does not.

And those who do preach and teach, do not do so of their own accord. They do not do so because they feel they have the right to do so. They do so because they are led by God – by the Holy Spirit – to speak Truth. To spread the Gospel of Christ. To share the truth of God’s endless grace, mercy and forgiveness. To equip others in understanding this truth, and in sharing this truth.

This is what each of us are to do. In Ephesians chapter 4, we’re told: ¹¹ The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

God has given each of us a gift. We’ve all been blessed with the Holy Spirit, to speak God’s Truth to one another – both in and outside the Church. To both believers and non-believers. When Paul speaks of equipping the saints for the work of ministry – he’s speaking of equipping each of us, as we are both saint and sinner. We’re to use our gifts, through the guidance of the Spirit, to equip others in using their gifts, to build up the body of Christ.

When we sit in church, speaking or thinking ill of others – when we make those comments whether to ourselves or to others, about how some people do not have the right to be in the church, or do not have the right to preach or teach - we are not doing what God asks of us. We are not building up the church of Christ. We are not equipping each other for the work of ministry.  In verse 29, we’re told “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.”  This is also repeated in 1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.” How are we building one another up and giving grace when we choose to see others as less worthy?

The truth is, it is true – if you go by the sins I have committed in my life, and probably even today, I have no right to preach. If you go by the sins you have committed, you have no right to preach. Even our pastors, preachers, teachers, lay persons, have no right. No human does. Except for the simple fact that God gives us that right – that responsibility – and the faith and ability to do so. And he gives that to each of us. He wants that from each of us. He does not want us putting each other down, and talking badly about one another. He wants us building each other up. He wants us equipping one another for ministry, for unity in Christ.

When we cut each other down – even if we do not do so specifically to the other person – we are still tearing that person down. We are saying that we do not have faith in God’s choice to use that person. We are not building that person up as we are told to do.

So let us “³¹ Put away from [us] all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, ³² and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven [us].^”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

Romans 14:19 ESV

So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Proverbs 27:17 ESV

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.