All Men are Brothers!

            We rally the cry within our country, “All men are brothers!” If all men are brothers, then why are so many of our fellow men in need or ignored? Why are so many of the downtrodden stuck there?

            Oftentimes, society believes that it is not necessarily the churches’ duty to take care of those that are in need. However, God’s design is for the church to be the church, to take care of one another and provide for each other’s needs. I think of Acts 4, “³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” The needs talked about in these verses are physical needs, but amidst meeting the physical/material needs of people, it says that the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. They were also meeting the spiritual needs of the people. Sometimes, meeting the physical and material needs of the people is a way to reach them spiritually, whether inadvertently or intentionally over time. The government does provide services for those in need, but the Truth of the matter is that if the Church was truly being the Church, they wouldn’t have to! It is our job to serve just as Jesus came to serve, to be good stewards of our resources (which is not always money, but everything we have including knowledge, resources, etc.), and to lovingly come along beside these families to love and encourage and support them because in doing so, we are bringing glory to God. The government cannot give those in need the peace, the freedom, and the joy that comes from walking with Christ and the support and love that comes from walking with fellow believers through a strong ministry at local churches.

            Secondly, there are those that question the motives of those asking for resources or ‘handouts.’ One should view those in need the way that God views them and recognize that their physical/material state is the reality of the state of our hearts before we came to a saving faith in Christ. The beggar on the side of the road may not be Jesus in the flesh, but he is a creation of God, knit together just like those who have plenty. We must view people, all people, as those created by God for a purpose. As mentioned previously, sometimes meeting physical needs allows one to meet spiritual needs in the process, whether simply through the witness and love as a result of his actions or through a relationship forged with those in need and a gradual opportunity for verbally sharing his faith. The key factor is listening to the Holy Spirit's prompting in helping those that are in need. One must recognize that ‘helping’ can be just as self-righteous as ‘walking by’ if the state of our heart is not pure and genuine. One may not have an obligation to help everyone, but he does have an obligation to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit even if he thinks that the motives behind the need are not God-honoring. If one is prompted, he must obey.

            “We must and will find Christ in each and every man, when we look on them as brothers.”- Doris Day, The Lost Loneliness

The Reductionist View

 In a reductionist view, a religion is created in which we are the most important stars of the show and others tend to not be as important in our self-absorbed screenplay. We are also the directors of our play, deeming what is important and who should go where or say what according to what we believe the Producer may want; we don’t bother asking the Producer as He has so much to worry about that we are sure pertains strictly to ourselves. We provide answers and directions to all involved whenever we deem appropriate or if they ask, but, after all, we know what’s going on and that’s all that matters; why share the answers with those around us? Why put all the pieces together and show them the bigger picture that leads to the Final Act? We know what happens. We will be there; isn’t that all that matters?

No. It’s not all that matters. God created a world of unique and individual stars. He is the producer, the Director, the stage-hand, etc. He fulfills all roles that direct and guide and lead to the Final Act that glorifies Him. Each unique and individual star is as important to Him as the one before and the one that will come next. If one missing, the stage-lights dim more and more with each passing act. Nothing goes unnoticed or is lost on Him, and those He directs may stumble and fall, but all that He has created is purposed to work together. We must be vigilant to know our part within the play, but seek to find and support all of those around us should something go wrong or should the lights suddenly go out. When the curtain falls, we all will be either in an eternal round of applause for the Creator or in the alternative pit of despair and isolation from Him. He has provided us with the answers to all of our questions in His Word, and it is our job to know it, to digest it, and to share it. It’s the greatest story ever told, and He has chosen each one of us to be a part of it!

I got a little carried away, but my point is that the reductionist view reduces Christianity to a religion about ourselves and not about others. It sadly says that God’s concern is purely with ourselves. If we are to truly internalize the Scripture and seek the ‘why’ instead of the ‘what’ then we would see even more how truly unworthy we are and would not see ourselves above those around us and would want to share the news of salvation, redemption, and freedom in Jesus Christ. It has been my experience that we’re being taught a whole lot of ‘what’ to believe, but not ‘why’ and not only does our walk suffer, but our witness does as well. We must answer life’s questions within our own hearts in order to be able to convey the changing and saving power of Christ to others.

"The Lost Mandate" Reflection

This is my journal response to an article I read entitled, "The Lost Mandate." I have attached the article in case you would like to read it.

My response to this journal article is, “Wow and Amen!” I have recognized the importance of reaching out to those with special needs, but I have never likened this population to an unreached people group. I think it is accurate and sadly, this analogy may spring people into action. I say “sadly” because ‘unreached people-group’ tends to warrant a more drastic and urgent response than simply, a ‘lost’ person; I find that sad. My favorite excerpt from this reading is as follows:

“Aside from death, perhaps humans fear nothing more than being confronted with  disabilities—God’s living physical object lessons of who we really are without Him (ill, weakened, wounded, unsure, feeling incomplete, disabled).  We fear that this could happen to us or our loved ones.  I am told that the first thing most mothers do with their newborn babies, once alone with their little ones, is to check to make sure all the parts are there, that their baby is complete.  Our world, especially western culture, wants life to be in a tidy, cute bundle of love and perfection.  We are an analgesic-driven culture, a beauty-is-skin-deep people, reaching for the nearest pill or cosmetic surgeon to minister to our slightest fears of pain or imperfection.  And if we can’t do that, we pump up our Facebook profile, put others down, or watch a reality show that makes us seem better than ―that person.‖  

Let’s just face up to it.  All of us as humans are broken.  Apart from Christ we are simply not whole.  All our parts are not present.  Even as Christ’s redeemed, we Christians are still under reconstruction by the Lord Jesus.  Being confronted with such visible object lessons of brokenness, weakness, and vulnerability causes us to marginalize such people, for we are prone to marginalize our own brokenness and sin.  The only remedy for sin is receiving the Good News of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23-26) in word and deed.  The ensuing redemption (repair work) that follows is in a lifelong commitment to Christ.”

I love that the author recognizes our habit of marginalizing our own brokenness and sin. I think what is most threatening and unnerving to people about those with special needs is that it’s raw. The emotions are raw, the physical ailments/impairments are raw, and the reality and honesty of the individual and the situation is raw; it’s not packaged, cannot be ignored or contained, and there is no bow on top nor a way to fake one. I believe that coming in contact with those with special needs shows us our own brokenness, our imperfections, our selfish desires and pride, etc. For example, how do I complain about my weight and how I look when I’m face to face with someone whose external body is so badly deformed? How do I groan about my job as a mother when I’m faced with someone who cannot have kids or has them, but cannot play with them in the same manner because they’re confined to a wheelchair or not who they used to be after a traumatic brain injury? How do I struggle to find an emotional connection with a child who has autism and then complain that my teenager won’t “talk” to me? The reality is that we are uncomfortable with the imperfect and someone else’s more visible cognitive or physical imperfections make us come face to face with our internal ones. We become uncomfortable because we cannot fake compassion, we cannot fake the current priorities of our life, and we cannot fake a close walk with God. We want to see people as Jesus sees them, but either we fail to be able to see them this way or we do not know how, and either of those two responses shows us the reality of the depth of our walk.

 

http://www.joniandfriends.org/static/uploads/downloads/CR-Lost-Mandate-Luke-14.pdf 

Miscarriage

Miscarriage?
I was sitting here thinking of this word today. What exactly does it mean? The term has bothered my heart, made me nauseous, and resulted in convulsions of tears. I know what the medical definition of a miscarriage is; I’m familiar with the common view of what a woman means when she says, “I had a miscarriage.” I know all too well. I know what it feels like to know that you carried a life within you…and then, in an instant, before your arms were able to hold that sweet life…it was no more. I know what it’s like to have flashes of memories never made….to look at your precious children and think, “One’s missing…”I know.

But, I didn’t have a miscarriage. I simply did not have a miscarriage. The definition of the prefix mis-
mis-
1 a prefix applied to various parts of speech, meaning “ill,” “mistaken,” “wrong,” “wrongly,” “incorrectly,” or simply negating: mistrial;

Mistakenly carried? No.
Wrongly carried? No.
Incorrectly carried? No.
Negating? Absolutely not.

I carried a child. My Savior knit that child together in my womb. Can my mind comprehend why I am not anxiously awaiting the arrival of my 3rd baby in July? Why I’m not reading to my children about how to take care of a baby and what is in mommy’s belly? Can my mind comprehend why I had to go through this…haven’t I been a faithful servant? Why will I never hold my child? Why I won’t ever know what he/she looked like? The answer is…I can’t truly comprehend it. I can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t understand, and He knows I don’t understand. The fact of the matter though, is that there was nothing ‘mis-‘ about how I carried my child or the perfect creation my sweet baby was. I serve a sovereign God…He is the same today as He was before I lost my precious baby….I may not always ‘feel’ that, but I know it. I know that His plans are not my plans and His ways are not my ways. I also know that every life is fearfully and wonderfully made, a creation of His hands. I never got to ‘see’ the life that I carried, but I know that my precious baby was fearfully and wonderfully made….and fearfully and wonderfully loved. I did not have a miscarriage…I carried my baby perfectly, the way that God intended for my life. It may not be what I would have chosen; I may not fully understand why He chose to never let me touch, see, smell, hold….sing to…read to…my child; but my precious baby was carried…carried as God intended for our lives…carried correctly…carried perfectly. Carried…straight from my womb to my Father’s hands…never knowing sorrow or hurt…always knowing peace. There’s not really much more perfect that going from one who would love you to the moon and back into the arms of the One who created the moon.

My sweet baby is no longer here, but I did not have a miscarriage. My Savior knows the answers to my questions; all I need to know is that He’s sovereign and that all of His creations are fearfully and wonderfully made, hand-crafted and formed to bring glory to Him. I shall praise Him…choose to praise Him…forever grateful for a blessing…a blessing…a perfect, sweet blessing.

Transformational vs. Transactional

Is it true that to be a transformational leader you have built in personality and emotional traits that lend you to leading in such a way? I do believe that certain people are gifted in areas of personality and emotions that lend them to naturally be transformational leaders. However, I do believe that leadership is simply a call to stand up when God calls you to something. I do not think that all cases of leadership are planned or a choice, but I do believe that is most cases, they are a choice of obedience to God. I also believe that God equips those that He calls to fulfill the purposes that He has for them at certain times throughout their life. I’m not sure I’ve come to a strong conclusion as to whether transformational leadership is born or made, but I do believe that leadership is a gift given by God for specific times within someone’s life and that God will equip those He calls.
That conclusion brought me to my second and third questions. To be transformational while leading in ministry, does that mean you must be transformed yourself and allow God to daily transform your heart to what His would want versus what is so inherently human-natured, the transactional approach? Is the transactional approach easiest to our built-in human nature? I believe the answer to these questions is yes. I do believe that God equips those that He calls, but I also believe that transformational leadership is a result of a transformed heart that is no longer focused on self. Our human nature lends us to be focused on self and lead in a transactional style which often benefits self. So, as leaders within ministry, we must remember Romans 12:2 which says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” In my opinion, transformational leadership is a daily choice to transform and new our minds to follow God and lead as He would have us to. Transformational leadership is a result of a moment by moment following of God and a deep rooted relationship to do His will.

"I Will Carry You"

Beth Moore - God's Purpose For You