Everyone?
January 27, 2021
January 27, 2021
When thinking about life lately, I am struck by how many times God wants us to show, love, kindness and compassion to others. I am not just talking about loved ones, but EVERYONE! I know that some of you are about to stop reading or maybe already have, however, I challenge you to stay with me.
We all try to demonstrate love and compassion to those we love and care about, but it is when we think of everyone else that it really stretches us. The person who cut us off in traffic, or the person in front of you in the 12 or less line that has at least 20 items, or maybe it is the neighbour whose dog barks into the early hours of the morning. You know those people in your life who are particularly difficult to show care or compassion towards, yet God's call echoes through the walls of our hearts... EVERYONE!
Titus 3:2 is another one of these calls, "They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone." This is a huge challenge, being gentle towards others requires a soft heart, a level of compassion for that person. True humility requires us to lay down our pride, lay down our rights, lay down our entitlements, lay down our agenda and allow their needs to take precedence. I am not saying that you need to neglect your own needs, we are no good to anyone else if we do not properly care for ourselves. What I am saying is when a need presents itself, we need to be there, with gentle care and ensuring it is about that person and not us.
For example, there is a lot of controversy over wearing masks right now. I am not going to debate whether they work, or whether they are helpful. I will say this, if you follow Christ, wouldn't wearing the mask be an act of compassion towards others? People believe you wearing a mask will help them be safe. To quote and old 90's saying what would Jesus do? I think he would wear it, not out of fear or obligation, but purely because of his compassion for others. This gentle act of compassion requires one to humble themselves, and put their rights down to ensure that someone else feels safe.
I know I may have just made a few people angry, but I challenge you to ask God what His heart is on the matter. What God directs you to do is between you and God! I am challenging all of us to really think of the ways we can in our current world demonstrate God's love to others and this simple act is a great place to start. There may be other things that you can think of to show others gentleness and compassion in this time, let's all take the time to put them into action. If we want to see true and lasting change in our world, it starts with God's people demonstrating his love to EVERYONE!
Personal Note: If you are struggling with what I said today, please take some time away from everything else and sit down with God. Ask Him what His heart is for those you know and maybe those that are in your world, but you have not forged a friendship with. Ask Him what you can do to show them your love for them in a practical way in the next week. Lastly, let Him pour His love over you. It is much easier to give love when we are full of love ourselves.
We all try to demonstrate love and compassion to those we love and care about, but it is when we think of everyone else that it really stretches us. The person who cut us off in traffic, or the person in front of you in the 12 or less line that has at least 20 items, or maybe it is the neighbour whose dog barks into the early hours of the morning. You know those people in your life who are particularly difficult to show care or compassion towards, yet God's call echoes through the walls of our hearts... EVERYONE!
Titus 3:2 is another one of these calls, "They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone." This is a huge challenge, being gentle towards others requires a soft heart, a level of compassion for that person. True humility requires us to lay down our pride, lay down our rights, lay down our entitlements, lay down our agenda and allow their needs to take precedence. I am not saying that you need to neglect your own needs, we are no good to anyone else if we do not properly care for ourselves. What I am saying is when a need presents itself, we need to be there, with gentle care and ensuring it is about that person and not us.
For example, there is a lot of controversy over wearing masks right now. I am not going to debate whether they work, or whether they are helpful. I will say this, if you follow Christ, wouldn't wearing the mask be an act of compassion towards others? People believe you wearing a mask will help them be safe. To quote and old 90's saying what would Jesus do? I think he would wear it, not out of fear or obligation, but purely because of his compassion for others. This gentle act of compassion requires one to humble themselves, and put their rights down to ensure that someone else feels safe.
I know I may have just made a few people angry, but I challenge you to ask God what His heart is on the matter. What God directs you to do is between you and God! I am challenging all of us to really think of the ways we can in our current world demonstrate God's love to others and this simple act is a great place to start. There may be other things that you can think of to show others gentleness and compassion in this time, let's all take the time to put them into action. If we want to see true and lasting change in our world, it starts with God's people demonstrating his love to EVERYONE!
Personal Note: If you are struggling with what I said today, please take some time away from everything else and sit down with God. Ask Him what His heart is for those you know and maybe those that are in your world, but you have not forged a friendship with. Ask Him what you can do to show them your love for them in a practical way in the next week. Lastly, let Him pour His love over you. It is much easier to give love when we are full of love ourselves.