As a follower of Jesus I am grateful for the Bible. But there are a multitude of voices seeking to interpret the Bible for me and everyone has different ideas. This is understandable because none of us speak God and God has to communicate with us in our own limited language and within the limitations of our human brains to even begin to understand God. So, just as a loving father adjusts his vocabulary to help his beloved child learn at the level he can understand while adding bits and pieces so that his child can grow in understanding and thinking skills, so our Creator Father encourages our understanding today and grows our understanding throughout our tomorrows. But none of us can fully understand God perfectly...because we are not God.
When we realize this it can help us be more gentle and humble in sharing our understanding and perspective within the community of believers and also to those who are living without understanding how much God loves them.
Because God is God and knows everything, I believe God knows exactly where we are, what we are, what we think, our deepest longings, and most private fears and loves us exactly like we are, today, without us doing anything even before we begin a conversation, begin being willing to listen for God's voice, see God at work, recognize God's emissaries, realize we are experiencing God's love in action in our lives.
And those of us who experience the hope of all that, the peace of all that, have a primary responsibility to share all that. I don't mean by going door-to-door to tell people what we believe they are doing wrong. But rather by listening and serving them and being along side of them so that we may be, as servants of the Most High God, safe places for people to be transparent and vulnerable, and loved without barriers or conditions, just as God has done for us through the blood of Jesus.
If you are thinking: "That does not sound like the Christians I have encountered!" I can understand that. But here is the thing: we are all a work in progress and we cannot ever replace God in the LOVING department, but we are learning and some are better at that than others. Don't let the rookies distract you from the journey, but rather keep seeking people who are genuinely loving in their relationships, because they are closest to God.
Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
- John 10:27-28 (NIV)
When we realize this it can help us be more gentle and humble in sharing our understanding and perspective within the community of believers and also to those who are living without understanding how much God loves them.
Because God is God and knows everything, I believe God knows exactly where we are, what we are, what we think, our deepest longings, and most private fears and loves us exactly like we are, today, without us doing anything even before we begin a conversation, begin being willing to listen for God's voice, see God at work, recognize God's emissaries, realize we are experiencing God's love in action in our lives.
And those of us who experience the hope of all that, the peace of all that, have a primary responsibility to share all that. I don't mean by going door-to-door to tell people what we believe they are doing wrong. But rather by listening and serving them and being along side of them so that we may be, as servants of the Most High God, safe places for people to be transparent and vulnerable, and loved without barriers or conditions, just as God has done for us through the blood of Jesus.
If you are thinking: "That does not sound like the Christians I have encountered!" I can understand that. But here is the thing: we are all a work in progress and we cannot ever replace God in the LOVING department, but we are learning and some are better at that than others. Don't let the rookies distract you from the journey, but rather keep seeking people who are genuinely loving in their relationships, because they are closest to God.
Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
- John 10:27-28 (NIV)
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