1 John
4:12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one
another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
Did you read the paper today?
Maybe you listened to the radio on the way in, or you caught the news on the
T.V. before you started your day. Pretty amazing stuff. We have people rallying
against people who make too much money, we have people going to individuals
houses, and calling them out. We have Politicians picking the personal life of
their opponents apart, trying everything, and every angle to tear down the
person. It is a pretty amazing sight. I am sure with a little thought you can
come up with countless other instances in the news….maybe in your own life,
where you see one person attacking another. What does any of that have to do
with this scripture? Well first many of these people will be found in a Church
this Sunday, and second I have yet to see an act of love generated from any of
the actions listed above.
You see, if we are to make a
difference in this world, if we are to “fix” things, if we are going to spread
the love and light of the Lord……We are going to have to understand the
difference between the issues, and the person. We are going to have to
understand that tough love is not the same as defamation, and assault (and no
that does not just mean physical assault). When did it become OK to go out of
our way to hurt someone “just to prove a point” when did there become an
acceptable amount of pain that we are allowed to inflict? We are allowing our
world to turn into a cesspool, and I say we are allowing, because even if you
sit back and say “well I am not doing any of that” Just what exactly are we
doing (myself included) to stop it?
It hit me like a ton of
bricks this morning. You see, I am part of the problem, I don’t want to be, and
honestly I am not sure how I became involved, but looking back, I am fairly
sure it had to do with me wanting to fit it. SO what do I mean? Well we did not
just wake up and say “hey, starting today it is going to be OK to hurt people,
or attack them” No, it started much more innocently than that. The devil is not
one just to bang in the door, he is much better at just creeping in. Looking
back, I see that I am not much different that a lot of people. It used to be
that I had a lot for problems with many issues, but then the problem quit being
with the issues, and became more about the person. It is a theme that I hear
repeated often. Oh, so and so is for this, and did you know that they filed for
bankruptcy, and they cheated on their spouse, and they lied on their taxes, and
they…….wow! Now it seems like we are less interested in showing what is wrong
with the issue, and a lot more interested in tearing the other person down.
Worse yet, I don’t hear much about trying to help fix any of the problems that
I have just been so eager to share with whoever will listen. How about
you? Are you guilty of the same thing? Do you see any love in any of that
statement? DO you find a shimmer of the love that God holds for that person in
my wonderful assessment? Sadly, neither do I. It brings me to the very
upsetting revelation that I am missing the mark. To use my favorite archery
term….I am sinning.
We have got to
make it a point to start leading with love, even when we are encountered with
people who lead with hate. Even when we find it so easy to drill down on the
short comings of the person, instead of sticking with the issue, or trying to
find a way to help instead of just continuing the process of degradation. It is
up to each one of us to re direct the conversation, to stand up for the person,
while point out the shortcomings of the issue. We must act in love, and we must
start today. We live in a world where many people would love to see the name of
God removed, and eradicated. Looking at the way I have behaved in a few
instances….who can blame them? No one has seen God, and if people cannot see
Him, and His Son in us then what are we doing here? Were we not called to
spread the good news? Looking at the news, I don’t see much good news being
professed. Listening to the water cooler talk I hear little good news, and more
talk of isolation, despair, and struggle. How can God work to produce a perfect
work in us, if we are working hard to go in the opposite direction? How can God
light the world, if we refuse to light our hearts? Jesus hung on a cross, and
his last act was to show love those that killed Him, He met hatred with
forgiveness. Yet I have a hard time forgiving my neighbor? I have a hard time
not talking negative about them? It would seem that I have some work to do, and
I don’t believe I am alone on this. Hopefully, I can work to get my heart to
look like Christ’s
God
Bless,
Brian
Thetford
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About Brian Thetford
I am merely what God has created, a person who is here to help with his plan, a cog in the wheel of life. That is where I find my worth, not in what I do for a living, or what I have accomplished in life, but what I have done that extends the Lord’s plan and expands his will, that being said, this is a little about me.I am a husband to a wonderful wife for the last 17 years. I have two outstanding daughters who help keep my heart soft, and young. For a living I am the Logistics Director for a foodservice company. For my love, I write about and minister on behalf of the Lord. It is here that I find my peace, purpose, and balance. I spend a lot of my free time, writing, reading, studying, or talking about the Lord and his teachings. I am working on starting a church in Leander, TX and if the Lord is willing it will be the beginning of a great journey. The rest of the free time goes to my family. As a result, I do not know what the score was for the latest game, no matter the sport, and I really do not care what Brittany Spears did yesterday. Some call me boring. I like to think of it as focused on what is important, my God, and my family.I believe that the Lord has intertwined all of the above into the perfect life for me, a balance of reality, fun, sorrow, and spiritual awakening. I find that for me, the journey is not about going up the road and trying to find the end; it is more about heading back down and helping others get past the same obstacles that I had to get around. I spent the first thirty years of my life on the run, usually in the wrong direction; I will spend the balance on my journey home, picking up as many as I can that are as lost as I was, doubling back when I hear a cry for help.
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