Becoming who we are...in Christ
Preparing for a message I'll be giving Sunday, I came across the following words from Jesus:
Man has always had a desire to become "great". This is not a contemporary phenomenon. Just take a look back through the ages and you will find example after example of how man (or woman) has done everything they can...everything...to be seen as "great". We have got to learn to be different, though.
In I Peter 2, followers of Christ are referred to as "alien and strangers" (or "temporary residents" in the NLT) in this world. Think of that. We're really from elsewhere, just passing through. What this world calls its norms, its standard operating procedures differ from ours...or they should anyway. Where we're from everything gets turned upside down. Instead of fighting for acclaim and notoriety we work quietly and contently to lift up and encourage others. While in this world money and celebrity are frantically sought after, we are called to seek a life replete with the fruits of the Spirit.
All of these thoughts stem from what happened yesterday. I was laying in bed last night thinking about it again and remembered a crucial piece that I left out of my post. After the ambulance crew left, Vicki heard Waldemar say, "this is a picture of Poland". And he was absolutely right. This is a place where people are instructed in Catholicism (and to a much lessor extent Christianity) from preschool, yet even professional caregivers wouldn't do more than verify life. Show me the heart of the Gospel...show me Jesus in that.
We have got to be different. We have got to reflect the values given to us by our Savior and Master. If we don't, then we need to question what is happening at the core of our beings, if we are truly followers of Christ or not. This is a call to every single one of us, this writer included. Let us ingrain it in our hearts that only by putting others before us will we ever become anything.
"Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty."We find this thought everywhere in God's Word...blessing through service. I'll be speaking about it Sunday from the passage I talked about yesterday, Mt. 25:31-46 (the "least of these" passage). But the message here is the same: we can't go through lives focused only on ourselves.
(Mt. 23:11-12 ~ MSG)
Man has always had a desire to become "great". This is not a contemporary phenomenon. Just take a look back through the ages and you will find example after example of how man (or woman) has done everything they can...everything...to be seen as "great". We have got to learn to be different, though.
In I Peter 2, followers of Christ are referred to as "alien and strangers" (or "temporary residents" in the NLT) in this world. Think of that. We're really from elsewhere, just passing through. What this world calls its norms, its standard operating procedures differ from ours...or they should anyway. Where we're from everything gets turned upside down. Instead of fighting for acclaim and notoriety we work quietly and contently to lift up and encourage others. While in this world money and celebrity are frantically sought after, we are called to seek a life replete with the fruits of the Spirit.
All of these thoughts stem from what happened yesterday. I was laying in bed last night thinking about it again and remembered a crucial piece that I left out of my post. After the ambulance crew left, Vicki heard Waldemar say, "this is a picture of Poland". And he was absolutely right. This is a place where people are instructed in Catholicism (and to a much lessor extent Christianity) from preschool, yet even professional caregivers wouldn't do more than verify life. Show me the heart of the Gospel...show me Jesus in that.
We have got to be different. We have got to reflect the values given to us by our Savior and Master. If we don't, then we need to question what is happening at the core of our beings, if we are truly followers of Christ or not. This is a call to every single one of us, this writer included. Let us ingrain it in our hearts that only by putting others before us will we ever become anything.
posted by Michael Shattuck at
1:56 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home