Friday, February 28, 2020

Journey Continues January 2020

The Journey Continues… 

       You don’t have to be a follower of Jesus for long to realize how hard it is to live into Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors. It’s not that we are unloving people; we have lots of love to share with those who love us in return. But when it comes to our loving our enemies, then Jesus’ command seems to be impossible. But our Savior was clear: we are required to love our neighbors – friends and enemies alike – without condition and without reservation.

      Jesus showed us what loving our neighbor looks like when he washed the feet of the disciples  (including the feet of Judas) despite knowing Judas was going to betray him to the religious authorities (see the Gospel of John 13: 1 – 20). In another instance, Jesus showed us what loving our neighbor looks like when he pleaded for God to forgive those who were nailing him to the cross (see the Gospel of Luke 23: 32 – 34). That is our standard and what we are called to do as followers of Jesus. While we we have never faced betrayal like the betrayal Jesus faced, nor have we been nailed to a cross, the mandate and example set forth by our Savior still seems impossible for us to achieve. And there are good reasons why.
   
     Nearly every day we hear of another mass shooting or act of terrorism that causes us fear and concern. In addition, the deep divisions and polarization of ideologies has created a time of anxiety, tension and anger in our society. There is very little tolerance these days for opinions that are different from our own. On top of that, attendance in our churches has been declining for decades. With all of the challenges to overcome, it is harder than ever to love our neighbors. But I believe we can do better because we are called to be and do more as Christians than we are right now.

     While we can’t control the actions of others, we can work to improve our own actions, especially the reactions we have to the behavior of others. If you remember the lyrics to the song, “Let There Be Peace on Earth”, who does peace begin with? Peace begins with me, doesn’t it? The lyric isn’t “Let there be peace on earth after I get even”…the lyric is “Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.” In others words, peace will begin when we live and love the way Jesus lived and loved.

     But how do we do it? Is there is a way forward and a vision of behavior that we can follow? Well, yes there is. I saw a vision of the behavior we need to follow on Facebook a while ago. If we follow this formula, then we will take a huge step towards loving our neighbor, bringing peace to earth, and being the followers of Jesus we are called to be. So here is the plan: before we say something, before we forward an email, before we share something on social media, before we react to the behavior of someone else, let us see if the words or actions we want to use pass all five questions of the T.H.I.N.K. test:

       Is it True?
       Is it Helpful?
       Is it Inspiring?
       Is it Necessary?
       Is it Kind?

      If your answer is no to any of these five questions, then what you are about to say or do should be kept to yourself. On the other hand, if you answer yes to all five questions, then you can go ahead and say it or do it. That seems easy enough, right? Do you believe your relationships will be better (not to mention your outlook on the world) if you T.H.I.N.K. before you speak? I sure do. Consider the two examples of Jesus’ behavior I gave you above. Did Jesus’ actions pass the T.H.I.N.K. test? They sure did!

      Our role as Christians is to be a safe space where people experience the light of Christ emanating from our lives. If our goal is to T.H.I.N.K. before we do anything else, then we will be doing what Jesus has called us to do, we will grow in our relationship with our Creator, and we will experience far more peace in our lives than if we react in anger and revenge. So let us take the time to T.H.I.N.K. before we do anything else and may we all grow in love and peace in the New Year.

 The Journey Continues…

Pastor Dave

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