Over the last couple of years, as I share my life with others and they share their lives with me, I am struck over and over again as to how we, as Christians, see things upside down! What I mean by that is, the more I get to know God and His Kingdom principles, the more I am seeing that the things I have believed most of my Christian walk are not at all what God is asking of me and they are actually backwards and/or UPSIDE DOWN from what He desires from me.
About 3 or 4 years ago, our friends Al and Cindy, introduced us to a Derek Webb song called “What is not Love”, or “I see things upside down”. I have pasted the lyrics below for you.
What looks like failure is success
And what looks like poverty is riches
When what is true looks more like a knife
It looks like you’re killing me
But you’re saving my life[Chorus]
But I give myself to what looks like love
And I sell myself for what feels like love
And I pay to get what is not love
And all just because I see things upside down
What looks like weakness can do anything
And what looks like foolishness is understanding
When what is powerful has not come to fight
It looks like you’re going to war
But you lay down your life
What looks like torture is a time to rejoice
What sounds like thunder is a comforting voice
When what is beautiful looks broken and crushed
And I say I don’t know you
But you say it’s finished
(I have tried to find the song to attach for you but could only find the lyrics. If you ever get a chance, I would strongly encourage you to listen to it, it is very powerful!)
So, with this intro, I will start off with the first of a series on this topic. Recently I was talking with a friend and she was sharing with me that she sometimes has conversations in her mind about what she would say to non believers if she ever had an opportunity to talk with them about the Lord and the truth of the Bible. Basically, she is mentally preparing herself for a verbal debate that may or may not ever happen. Can you relate with that? I certainly can! I remember having those same “mental” conversations myself! Usually after I had an unexpected conversation with a skeptic and then afterwards, thought of all the things I WISH I had said and rehashing in my mind over and over again how it should have gone! I always felt so LAME in my responses and wished I had better answers and comebacks so that they could “see the light” and be convinced of the truth of the Bible and of Jesus by my words (insert “angelic” “ah-ha” music here). I think the “key” aspect here is that these were “my” words… And as I am thinking about this now, it sort of resembles the same trap I keep falling into in my marriage, with ME trying to FIX my husband! I am continually trying to get him to “see the light” with my convincing words and see that “I” am right and he is wrong… which, for some reason, NEVER seems to work out the same way in reality as it does in my mind… (What’s up with THAT anyway :)
So, back to my point, why do we feel like it is “our” responsibility to “save” people and what does the Bible say about these things? The following are some scriptures the Lord has brought to mind regarding this:
“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). Not through “Linda”, Tom, Bob, Sue, Jane or Mary… but through Jesus. And again, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” (John 6:44). This says that unless the Father draws them, there is NOTHING we can say, or do, that will convince people of the truth of God. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict them of their sin, drawing them to God with the revelation of their need for Him in their life. This next scripture has become one of my life verses: “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” (1 Peter 3:1-2). This scripture always convicts me! The “without words” part is SO hard (especially in marriages)! Not to mention how FAR I am from the “purity and reverence” part in my life! This scripture pulls out and emphasizes the key aspect which is, that we need to LIVE the life OURSELVES, loving those around us as Jesus loves us (“Love each other as I have loved you” John 15:12), and then letting God do the rest. Don’t get me wrong here, I am not saying that God will never use us to speak words of truth into the lives of others, but I think that we tend to lean very heavily in the “words” department and not the “behavior” department.
Ah, but do I hear you saying, what about Matthew 28?!: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20). Did you catch that?! How many times have we been taught that we are to make “converts” of all nations? Why are we taught that it is our job to “save” people…?? It so clearly says to make “disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey”. The way I now see this scripture is that God draws people to Jesus and we are to disciple them. And, so now you may be asking “how do we do that?” I would offer up at this point, drawing from the 1Peter 3 scripture, that it is our LIVES and relationships with others that reveal God’s power. It is HIS faithfulness and love being revealed to those who are watching and seeing the transforming work of God in our lives. One of my favorite sayings is; “Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words”! I love it! We have it backwards when we try to convince others, with “words” to have faith and to live a Godly, Christian life when we don’t/can’t/are not able to “live” it ourselves…
If the truth be told, I think we would rather spend our time "arguing and debating" with people about the Bible than learning to love them and build relationships with them, which is so much harder to do and requires a whole different skill set! The scripture that comes to mind now is: "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone..." (2 Timothy 2:23-24). I think it is also because it is so much easier to see other people’s “sins” and issues than our own! And, let’s face it; it is also easier to try to fix other people instead of working on fixing ourselves.
Our lives should be such an example of Christ’s love, compassion, kindness, mercy and grace (just like HIM) that it draws people to us and makes them want to know what we have that they don't.... so they will come to us and say, "what must I do to be saved!" (Acts 16:30). But, it takes a LOT of work, pain and humility to yield and surrender our “stuff” to God and allow Him to remove the things that keep us from Him, and allowing Him to transform us. When we are able to do this, this next scripture applies very nicely: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1Peter 3:15). Did you pick up the “everyone who asks” part here? When God is drawing people through us, they will be compelled to ask us so we don’t have to go to THEM but they will come to us.
What did Jesus say would be the way people would know we were his disciples? "…Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35). A very important thing to note at this point is; we can’t give what we don’t have. Until we allow Jesus to transform our hearts, minds and our lives, with His love, compassion and grace, we won’t have it to give to others… “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33). If we keep our eyes on Jesus and allow Him to make the needed changes in our hearts and lives He will do the rest through us.
I will leave you with one last, but very familiar scripture:
Lord, help me to focus on YOU and what You have asked me to do and not take upon myself the things that are not my job. Help me to just be the BRANCH and not try to do Your job. Please give me Your perspective and help me to see through Your eyes. Most of all Lord, help me to keep my eyes on You, the author and perfecter of my faith, and allow you to transform me and fill me with your love, grace, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control so that it will overflow onto those You put before me. In Jesus name, amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment