We just celebrated the Easter Season and for me each Easter Season is a
chance for me to review Christ's life on this earth and see the reason
that I chose this life. When I look at Christ's life I see three things
and for this post we will look at those things, because at least to me
these three things are why this page exists and why I chose to live this
life.
1st thing I see is Christ's way of looking at people:
Most everyone looked at Christ as someone who could provide something for them, or who could take something away from them. The ones who wanted something from Him would crowd Him with their requests and pressure Him to give them what they desired, never relenting, never giving Him any peace. The one's who thought He would take away their power and influence, they consistently pressured Him with questions and tried to trick Him all the time into saying or doing something that they could arrest Him or Kill Him for. However, whenever Christ looked at people, He saw people who just needed something that they didn't even know they needed. He always looked past the questions, past the motives and into the heart of the person and always tried to give them the answers and things that they really needed. He never tired of teaching, giving and answering the people who came to Him. Not to say He didn't get frustrated at times, but His frustration was not at the people themselves really, it was because He wanted so badly to give them a peace and an understanding that they were just not ready to or willing to understand at the time. It's so easy for us to get frustrated with people who are always asking for things from us, or people who always seem to try and get us into trouble. However, do we ever really look at these people and try to find out what they really are needing? Do we ever wonder why they keep coming to us? Do we ever look at them as opportunities, rather than nuisances.
2nd thing I see is Christ's impartiality:
One of the things that really attracted me to Christ was His impartiality when it came to picking His disciples and with who He helped. So many of us stick to the people who are just like us. We feel more comfortable only with like minded and socially equal people. Since I have always been on the fringe of normal and a little odd, the people who chose to befriend me had to learn to accept me for my oddness and normal side. When I saw how Christ accepted all people, even those who were at first strongly against Him, it made me feel like Christianity was exactly what I was looking for. It was a religion that accepted all people and weren't just looking for those who were "just" like themselves. I found a place to finally fit in, even with all my flaws and oddities. It's a great feeling to find people who are willing to just like you, for who you are. To be able to be yourself and know that you will be accepted. Jesus always let his disciples be themselves and accepted them for who they were. It didn't mean that they didn't have disagreements or conflicts, what it meant was that even when there were disagreements or conflicts, they were never in danger of losing His Love, Friendship or Commitment. Are we willing to do this with our friends. Do we seek out only people who are like us or who are on equal social standing? Or do we give everyone a chance to get into our inner circle and accept those who are different from us?
The 3rd thing I see in Christ:
This last thing I see hit me hard between the eyes and that is His unfailing Love for all people. A lot of bad things have happened in my life, I have met a lot of pretty bad people. However, to read and truly try and understand what Jesus went through just prior to the Cross and then the actual Cross itself, the weight of His few last words on earth cut me to the core of my being. He could have easily been angry, He could have cursed all those who were there, but the three things He did would show Love on a totally different level then I had ever seen or understood to be possible. The first thing was He ministered to a criminal and promised that criminal, that He would join Jesus in Paradise. This criminal admitted that what he had done and the reason he was there on the cross was deserved, but Jesus saw his change of heart, he saw the truth of repentance in his words and instead of worrying about His own problems, His own pain, He chose to give peace to a repentant soul. The next thing He did was to ask that God forgive all the people who had beaten Jesus, spit on Him, pulled out His beard, hurled curses at Him, nailed Him to a Cross, cast lot's for His clothing and humiliated Him with a crown of thorns. How could He find the depth of Love it would take at such a time, near death, in pain and agony that can't be explained, to yell out for God to forgive them!!! The third thing was, He was committed to finishing the plan that God had for Him and that was a plan of redemption for us all. He willingly gave His life for us all. He endured all this pain, torture and humiliation for us. This was the ultimate act of Love. No greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. The only greater love I've seen, is the Cross, where Christ laid down His life not only for His friends, but also for those who hated Him. Do we find this kind of depth of Love for people. Do we love those people who frustrate us, hurt us, get on our last nerve? What I loved about Christ and Christianity that came through Christ, is that it gives that kind of love to it's followers and it's followers are called to give it back as well!!!
So why did I call this post Broken Love? The reason is because after reviewing Christ's love this Easter Season, I find myself asking all those questions at the end of each of those sections and finding myself lacking. I read article after article from churches that seem to have lost their connection to the three things above. They choose to pick out certain people, like Homosexuals, women who have abortions, drug dealers, prostitutes and they attack them, they call them names and they resist allowing them into their churches. They call them abominations and it breaks my heart!!! If you look up the word abomination in the bible, you will see that all sin is called abomination. It says in the bible that no liar will enter into the kingdom of God. We the Church however, choose to ignore the places in the bible that relate to us. We choose to ignore those sin's that we commit to easily, like lying, sex, anger, using God's name in vain. We miss the point totally when it comes to sin. Jesus understood that to Make the Change in a person's life, to give them peace, to capture the heart of anyone, you must be willing to do all of the three above things. Anyone who has chosen to walk the path of Christianity, must also walk the path of unconditional love. A depth of love that seems to be broken in many places today.
So are we ready to "Make the Change" in our little part of the world? If we want to have any chance, we must not start with a broken love, filled with our past's, our conditions, our bias. We must be willing to have a complete love, one that is open to differences, inconveniences and one that is open to understanding and to look through the outward and into the heart of a person!!! I love my choice to follow Christ and my choice to try and spread His love into my little part of the world. Whatever your reason for reading my posts, or being a part of this page, take at least this away, people need more love!!!
1st thing I see is Christ's way of looking at people:
Most everyone looked at Christ as someone who could provide something for them, or who could take something away from them. The ones who wanted something from Him would crowd Him with their requests and pressure Him to give them what they desired, never relenting, never giving Him any peace. The one's who thought He would take away their power and influence, they consistently pressured Him with questions and tried to trick Him all the time into saying or doing something that they could arrest Him or Kill Him for. However, whenever Christ looked at people, He saw people who just needed something that they didn't even know they needed. He always looked past the questions, past the motives and into the heart of the person and always tried to give them the answers and things that they really needed. He never tired of teaching, giving and answering the people who came to Him. Not to say He didn't get frustrated at times, but His frustration was not at the people themselves really, it was because He wanted so badly to give them a peace and an understanding that they were just not ready to or willing to understand at the time. It's so easy for us to get frustrated with people who are always asking for things from us, or people who always seem to try and get us into trouble. However, do we ever really look at these people and try to find out what they really are needing? Do we ever wonder why they keep coming to us? Do we ever look at them as opportunities, rather than nuisances.
2nd thing I see is Christ's impartiality:
One of the things that really attracted me to Christ was His impartiality when it came to picking His disciples and with who He helped. So many of us stick to the people who are just like us. We feel more comfortable only with like minded and socially equal people. Since I have always been on the fringe of normal and a little odd, the people who chose to befriend me had to learn to accept me for my oddness and normal side. When I saw how Christ accepted all people, even those who were at first strongly against Him, it made me feel like Christianity was exactly what I was looking for. It was a religion that accepted all people and weren't just looking for those who were "just" like themselves. I found a place to finally fit in, even with all my flaws and oddities. It's a great feeling to find people who are willing to just like you, for who you are. To be able to be yourself and know that you will be accepted. Jesus always let his disciples be themselves and accepted them for who they were. It didn't mean that they didn't have disagreements or conflicts, what it meant was that even when there were disagreements or conflicts, they were never in danger of losing His Love, Friendship or Commitment. Are we willing to do this with our friends. Do we seek out only people who are like us or who are on equal social standing? Or do we give everyone a chance to get into our inner circle and accept those who are different from us?
The 3rd thing I see in Christ:
This last thing I see hit me hard between the eyes and that is His unfailing Love for all people. A lot of bad things have happened in my life, I have met a lot of pretty bad people. However, to read and truly try and understand what Jesus went through just prior to the Cross and then the actual Cross itself, the weight of His few last words on earth cut me to the core of my being. He could have easily been angry, He could have cursed all those who were there, but the three things He did would show Love on a totally different level then I had ever seen or understood to be possible. The first thing was He ministered to a criminal and promised that criminal, that He would join Jesus in Paradise. This criminal admitted that what he had done and the reason he was there on the cross was deserved, but Jesus saw his change of heart, he saw the truth of repentance in his words and instead of worrying about His own problems, His own pain, He chose to give peace to a repentant soul. The next thing He did was to ask that God forgive all the people who had beaten Jesus, spit on Him, pulled out His beard, hurled curses at Him, nailed Him to a Cross, cast lot's for His clothing and humiliated Him with a crown of thorns. How could He find the depth of Love it would take at such a time, near death, in pain and agony that can't be explained, to yell out for God to forgive them!!! The third thing was, He was committed to finishing the plan that God had for Him and that was a plan of redemption for us all. He willingly gave His life for us all. He endured all this pain, torture and humiliation for us. This was the ultimate act of Love. No greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. The only greater love I've seen, is the Cross, where Christ laid down His life not only for His friends, but also for those who hated Him. Do we find this kind of depth of Love for people. Do we love those people who frustrate us, hurt us, get on our last nerve? What I loved about Christ and Christianity that came through Christ, is that it gives that kind of love to it's followers and it's followers are called to give it back as well!!!
So why did I call this post Broken Love? The reason is because after reviewing Christ's love this Easter Season, I find myself asking all those questions at the end of each of those sections and finding myself lacking. I read article after article from churches that seem to have lost their connection to the three things above. They choose to pick out certain people, like Homosexuals, women who have abortions, drug dealers, prostitutes and they attack them, they call them names and they resist allowing them into their churches. They call them abominations and it breaks my heart!!! If you look up the word abomination in the bible, you will see that all sin is called abomination. It says in the bible that no liar will enter into the kingdom of God. We the Church however, choose to ignore the places in the bible that relate to us. We choose to ignore those sin's that we commit to easily, like lying, sex, anger, using God's name in vain. We miss the point totally when it comes to sin. Jesus understood that to Make the Change in a person's life, to give them peace, to capture the heart of anyone, you must be willing to do all of the three above things. Anyone who has chosen to walk the path of Christianity, must also walk the path of unconditional love. A depth of love that seems to be broken in many places today.
So are we ready to "Make the Change" in our little part of the world? If we want to have any chance, we must not start with a broken love, filled with our past's, our conditions, our bias. We must be willing to have a complete love, one that is open to differences, inconveniences and one that is open to understanding and to look through the outward and into the heart of a person!!! I love my choice to follow Christ and my choice to try and spread His love into my little part of the world. Whatever your reason for reading my posts, or being a part of this page, take at least this away, people need more love!!!
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