Tonight, I posted the following on my facebook status:
wonders why we've developed into such a society with all of our "self-help" and
"support systems," but we still focus on what looks best on the outside, rather than what's going on inside.... Point to ponder.
Alrighty. So, that got me thinking a bit about God and how He works to change us. He doesn't ask us to go buy some fancy clothes, get our hair all fixed up, make sure we're all clean looking and THEN go do what He wants us to do.
He takes us EXACTLY where we are and simply asks us to trust Him and the work He's about to do. If we buy in, He begins to change us, from the inside out.
I found this verse:
39Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?" Luke 11:39-40
I don't want to be a Pharisee. Jesus was always irritated with them. They were very, very focused on the external view and not their internal motives. All throughout the Gospel you see parables from Christ using them as examples of what not to do. He allowed His actions to speak for themselves and asked many to follow Him.
We live in a broken world. It's been that way since the fall of man, and it will stay that way until Jesus returns. We will constantly be in a battle of the wills - Our Will vs. God's Will. The thing is our will is very pushy, very arrogant, very selfish and can be very cruel. God's will is peaceful, passive, righteous, loving, forgiving, merciful, full of grace.
Our will is ugly. God's will is beautiful.
There are so many things that are so confusing in life. And I find that I can spend hours upon hours analyzing motives and creating scenarios and reasons within my mind to explain many, many things. However, I am not God. So when do I know I've uncovered the right one?
I'm learning - the hard way - that while someone may do something - whatever it is: an action, words spoken, love withheld - that I don't understand, the mere fact that I don't understand it should be enough for me to realize I'm not meant to understand it. My role in that situation isn't to "figure it out" but to pray for the one who committed the act, spoke the words, etc.
People sometimes feel far from our reach. But they are never too far from God.
I imagine it this way. No matter where I am in this life, no matter the road - whether it's paved or dirt - God is sitting beside me. He knows the way. He designed it. But He's not going to drive or even share directions if I don't ask. Some people might say, "What kind of God is that??" And I say, "Not a pushy one."
With God, free will is truly that: Free. So many things in our lives are choices and we don't even realize it. We've bought the enemy's lie that situations and circumstances are out of our control and we're just "here" to bounce around from this bad thing to the next.
One of my favorite quotes from High School:
"I may not be able to control what happens to me, but I can control what I do about it."
I wish I remembered who said it. And I may have butchered it, so forgive me if I did. But you get the point. Circumstances are going to occur. We're bouncing around this life with every other person who also has a free will. They choose to respect ours or not.
But for me, in my world, I can control how I react. And I've chosen my teacher to be Christ. And if I am to follow His example, I cannot make a snap decision about someone based upon an action or a decision necessarily without understanding what's inside.
If I take the time to get to know "what's inside" I'm quite likely to find whatever they did is a defensive posture to protect their brokenness. It doesn't necessarily mean I have to condone the behavior, or agree with the decision. But I should be at least willing to put on the love of Christ and at a minimum pray them. Pray for God to restore their brokenness, and pray for God to direct my steps with regard to them. Maybe I'm to take some sort of action to help them heal. Maybe I am to do nothing more than allow their consequences to come to them. And maybe all I'm asked to do is pray in petition and stand in the gap for them.
If I respond in love and seek God for direction, I won't fail. They will still have their free will. They will be able to reject me or accept me. But at least I will know I was obedient and did as God asked. And who knows? Perhaps my act of love will sow the see and some time down the line they will open themselves to God's healing love and accept Christ for Who He really is; not who Satan as convinced them He is.
"Don't judge a book by it's cover."
Sounds pretty good to me.
Be blessed!
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