I am certain that some of those
reading the articles, short stories, book, or whatever I write think that I am
a self-righteous old fool or maybe a person that thinks I am a prodigious
Christian academic, in other words full of himself. The truth is this; I direct
my writing at myself as well as others. I spent a large amount of my life being
a not-good influence on others and, surprisingly, God points out to me that
those days of bad influence gave me a lot of training in forgiveness and
empathy for others and yes, for myself as well. You must first learn to love, forgive, and
like yourself before you can truly do the same with other people. So have
empathy for yourself, first. I think a lot of people that are down on
themselves and seeing their lives as hopelessly mired in the trash heap of
their own making are in need of hearing it is never too late and they are loved
unconditionally throughout in God's eyes. God brings us to our knees by his
love.
God tells me that if I influence or open
the eyes and heart of even one person encouraging them to look to him for
rescue then it is worthwhile. What I must have forgotten was that he was the
one who sent me on this mission, and when God sets a task for you, you will not
fail for lack of resources or strength if you just keep your focus on him and
his purpose.
So, my friends, I am no better nor greater
than you. I am not a perfect and righteous person that sees himself above or
better than you or any other person living now or in the past. Neither am I
more loved by God - now or prior to my giving him my all. We are all equal in
the eyes of God. I am certain that you have a talent, something to offer to
God. I promise you that, if you do not already know, working for, serving our
Lord is the most exciting and intoxicating thing you or anyone else can
possibly do. I am not going to spend hours here relating the mountains my Lord has
moved to help me accomplish the tasks he has set before me. There have been
many times when I have just stopped in my tracks and said, Wow, that was the coolest, most astounding thing I have ever witnessed!
And each time he does it, it is better than the first time. I cannot
overstate this point because mankind has no words capable of completely stating
much less overstating God's powerful loving will when you behold it moving
mountains right before your eyes. Until you give yourself fully to him in faith
and lay your talents at his feet. Yes we all have talents that God will use,
called spiritual gifts: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit
distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is
the same God at work." So wrote Paul in Corinthians 12:4-6.
Paul gives us examples of these spiritual
gifts in Corinthians 12:7-11: "Now to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a
message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to
another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one
Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another
distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of
tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the
work of one and the same spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as
he determines."
What may not be evident to you as a
Spiritual gift, will probably be evident to others - ask other brothers and
sisters in Christ what they see in you.
Some feel and some definitely are and some
are afraid of being persecuted for their Christian faith, a faith that
transforms one causing them to put on a new set of clothing before the world.
Don't be afraid of the persecution and do not seek revenge or be hateful to
your persecutors, but get excited from that persecution. Matthew 5:10,
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven." It gets better and more empowering when in Matthew
5:11-12 Jesus says, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be
glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you."
If you think you are not worthy due to the
horrible things you have done in life before having faith as so many are,
forget those things - God has. People have a tendency to think, why would God
want me after all that I have done? Read what Jesus said about this in Matthew
18:12-14. "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of
them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go look
for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is
happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander
off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these
little ones should perish." And that means you and I. How great is our
Lord!
The best description is that serving our
Lord is just simply exciting. Love yourself. You are a creation of God, and
that fact makes you special from the start. Forgive yourself, God did. Have
empathy for yourself for it is good for your spirit and gives you practice so
that you can empathize with others. Compassion for those less fortunate, the
poor, the rich. Yes, the rich. Just because you are materially wealthy doesn't
mean that you are a bad person, you may be giving huge sums quietly and humbly,
as Christian giving should be, to help those in need. The rich are some of the
most spiritually needy of us all. Include them in your daily prayers. As Philo
of Alexandria, an ancient Jewish philosopher, said, "Be kind to everyone
you meet for everyone is fighting a great battle on the inside." Extend
that to prayer and include everyone in your prayers and let God be the judge of
good or bad - just love everyone as our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us. Contrary
to the old saying, "you can't live on love," you can - so says our Lord
and so commands our Lord. And lastly, find your Spiritual gifts, and do not put
them on a shelf and let them grow dusty from lack of use.
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