I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as a beautiful new day begins to dawn on the Texas Gulf Coast! I saw a quote this week that said something like, "You should send a person a sympathy card who is coming back to work from vacation." Having spent a blessed week with my precious family in Destin last week and coming back to work this week, I totally get it! :)
The last series our church did was titled, "Life Passage." The various Pastors would share a scripture that was particularly meaningful to them and then elaborate. Bruce Wesley preached a sermon on June 24th that was titled, "A Friend of Sinners" and it was based on Matthew 11:19 which says,
"The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."
You can see the full sermon if you would like by going to clearcreek.org and clicking on "Media." Though his sermon is not specifically what I want to talk about in this Happy Friday - a question he asked is - there were several nuggets I want to share with you before actually diving into this Happy Friday. Some things he said,
- It is not until we develop relationships with people not like us that we get rid of the lies in our minds.
- The sin of religious people - thinking they are righteous.
- When we pray for people we are conditioned to love them.
- When God blesses us, He blesses us to be a blessing
- And my favorite nugget was this...it's about developing relationships with people.
BLESS (Bless people)
Be prayerful
Listen - Joys, struggles, pain - Listening shows love
Eat - Share a meal, throw a party
Serve - Find a way to serve them
Story - When is the right time to share a story? When you have a relationship with them.
- Our greatest joys have names attached.
Now, as a favorite Pastor of mine used to say, "That part was free!" That isn't exactly what this Happy Friday is all about however it is a pretty good start, don't ya think?!?! :)
What I really want to talk about this Friday is a rhetorical question Bruce asked during the sermon. He was outlining how many in the church are self-righteous, telling others what they should or should not be doing, etc. And then he said, "What do they see when they see you?" Pierced my soul with a deep conviction...
When people look at the life you & I live, what do they see? First, are we actually taking the time to become friends with them, to do life with them, so they can actually see how we live? Or are we so busy trying to hang out with other self-righteous people that the lost, hurting & broken - you know, the one's JUST like you & I! :) - don't even get to know us, or us them? Remember, Jesus was criticized for being a friend of "tax collectors and sinners." Do you and I have the honor of being criticized for the same? I will just leave that one right there...
As I have thought about that question - "What do they see when they see me?" - I have wondered, do they see faith or fear? Do they see hope or despair? Do they see positive or negative? Do they see a friend or a foe? And I am very mindful of a couple of things...
1. It is in our actions, not our words. Faith, hope & friendship are verbs...they are things we do, not things we say.
2. We all - o.k., at least me! :) - try really hard to say & do the right things at the right time. You know, we try to put on the mask of what we want others to see. However, this is not really how this all works. You wanna know what they see...check the condition of your heart! Because as hard as we try to put on the spiritual & emotional make-up, it is who we really are, what we really believe that others see in our actions. You see Friends, it is incredibly difficult to separate who we really are from our actions. Oh sure, we can fool some people some of the time but over time our true selves will be revealed. It is then, in those critical moments, that we find out what our lives our really based on, what they see.
There are several quotes, excerpts & lyrics I want to share with you, to let you ponder what they see when they see you and me.
1. In his blog titled, "Preach the Gospel at All Times?", written on 7/1/12, Jamie Arpin-Ricci says this in conclusion:
"In the face of our increasingly post-Christian context, we must resist the temptation to fight to sustain our place of power and privilege. In truth, such a position has largely compromised our authority and credibility before a watching world. Instead, let us rediscover the radical life of peace, grace and love that was characterized by Christ and seek to live it. Perhaps then, in the light of a community of believers known for humility and love (rather than self-righteousness and bigotry), the words we proclaim will carry the credibility and authority worthy of the Christ we follow."
2. "I exist not to be loved and admired, but to love and act. It is not the duty of those around me to love me. Rather, it is my duty to be concerned about the world, about man." - Janusz Korczak
3. "Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words." - Unknown
4. Lyrics from "Let Them See You" by Colton Dixon
"Let them see You
in me
Let them hear You
When I speak
Let them feel You
When I sing
Let them see You
Let them see You in me"
5. And these, quotes about children and parenting...well, as a man who views being a Dad as my second highest calling, after being a husband, they convict and inspire me greatly!
"Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you." - H. Jackson Brown
"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you. - Robert Fulghum
"Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be." - David Bly
"To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while." - Josh Billings
"When you teach your son, you teach your son's son." - The Talmud
So Friends, the rhetorical question for all of us this week is this, "What do they see when they see us?"
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families!
Kev
No comments:
Post a Comment