Living With Grace

As the title of this post suggests, I’ve decided to pontificate a little about Living With Grace. I suppose more specifically I will focus on living with God’s grace in your life. It may sound silly to you at first, but this is something I’ve struggled with in my life a lot. I mean, only I know how many times I fall, just like only you know how many times you’ve fallen. So, sometimes it’s hard for me to accept God’s grace, but more about that later.

So, when I talk about living with God’s grace, what do I mean? Well, in order to get to that, let’s first look at what grace means. I like to go to the simple definition first, so I looked it up online at Dictionary.com and here are some of the definitions:

6. favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.
7. an allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against him or her or a penalty applied
8. Theology.
a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
b.the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.

Apparently grace has quite a few definitions, but these stood out to me as the most relevant to this message, so they will be the ones on which I’ll spend my focus.

When we talk about grace from a spiritual standpoint, it comes from God. The theological definition is “the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.” Did you catch that? It said FREELY GIVEN and UNMERITED. Grace cannot be earned. Grace is a gift from God for us. In the book of Romans Paul talks about God saving himself for a remnant chosen by grace.
Romans 11:6 says:
6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

I love the wording there. If by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. In other words, if we could do it on our own, we wouldn’t need grace. If we could “get on God’s good side” by doing good works, we would not need grace. When I say need grace, you may be wondering who needs grace? Why is grace necessary?
Romans 3:23 says:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

All of us. So, we ALL need God’s grace. We have all sinned, and we have all fallen short. Sin is the gap that keeps us from God. It’s a gap that we cannot cross on our own. The only bridge over that gap is God’s grace. I like Acts 15:7-11 where Peter, in addressing a statement by the pharisees regarding gentile circumcision said “7 … Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

Basically Peter said “none of us have ever been good enough and never will be good enough. However, with grace through faith, God has accepted all of us.” How powerful is that? God says that He is willing to accept you and me simply by our faith in Him.

This all sounds pretty good, right? I mean I said I was going to discuss something I struggle with, and something I feel many others struggle with, and here I am telling you about this wonderful gift of grace that God freely gives, and none of us can earn. All we have to do is accept it. So why is this something anyone struggles with?

Well, first of all, God’s grace is freely given to us, but we are called to return that same grace to others. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Those are some pretty harsh words from Jesus. Forgive to be forgiven. Have ever been wronged by someone? Okay, so you know how hard it is to forgive that person. It’s hard to forgive a thief who steals from you. It’s hard to forgive a girlfriend, boyfriend, or spouse who breaks your heart. It’s hard to forgive a boss who makes you work overtime for no pay. It’s hard for us to forgive in general. Humans are selfish. We want what we want when we want it. We want to be vindicated. Jesus said to turn the other cheek, but we’re still looking for an eye for an eye.

Living with grace means not only accepting the free gift of God’s grace, but also dispensing that grace to those around you. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all gave grace to those around us? Traffic would be more comfortable, waiting on a table in a restaurant would be less stressful, hurtful words would be spoken less often, and when they are forgiveness would follow. Wow, that is hard. I cannot say that I’m good at that. If I’m driving to work, and I’m in the fast lane, I just wish I could run over the car going 10 – 20 mph under the speed limit! Don’t they know about the zero under five mile per hour over rule? Grace sees it differently. Grace allows me to sympathize with the slow car in the fast lane, to not hold it against the wait staff when my food takes forever to arrive, or is cold, to forgive when I’m crushed by someone. It allows me to, but it’s still hard.

So, accepting grace is easy. Giving it out is hard. However, there’s another aspect of living with grace that I believe just as many people struggle with, accepting that grace, and what it means in your life. See, God’s grace is so powerful that He is willing to give it to you and cover any number of sins you’ve committed. We all fall, we all fail. God says, “Accept me, repent, turn away, you’re free from that.” We seem to say “yeah, God that sounds nice, but I keep falling, so surely Your grace hasn’t extended to me.” It’s too easy. We like to complicate things. We like to do works, and feel like we’ve earned something. It’s in our nature to feel like we have to please. I know that days when I’m at work and it’s slow, they pay me the same thing as they do on busy days, but I feel like I’ve earned it more on days that I contribute. We feel like we have to earn God’s grace.

So what happens? Well, typically we fall, some sin pops up in our lives, and we pray to God to forgive us. His forgiveness is instant, and permanent. However, it seems too easy, and the enemy gets in our heads and tells us that no way were we really forgiven. He tells us that we’re going to slip again, and God is going to be mad at us. Our own human nature gets in the way and we feel like God is going to take his grace away. Let’s take another look at the definitions that were given before the “theology” section I read earlier…

“favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity

an allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against him or her or a penalty applied”

Notice how both of those definitions indicate that the length of time is finite? One says temporary immunity, and the other says an allowance of time. Those are the earthly definitions of grace. We put limits on our grace, but God doesn’t. However, we try to keep God in our human box, when He is greater than we!

Now, don’t get me wrong, God’s grace is not a free ticket to sin. Often we think of grace as an allowance to do something that we otherwise would not do. For instance if you have a grace period on your loan payment, you may be inclined to use that period instead of paying your loan on the day it is due. God’s grace is not designed to give us a ticket to sin because He loves us enough to forgive. As a matter of fact, Paul speaks of this exact thing in Romans

Romans 6:1-4
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Romans 6:14-15
14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

We will slip. We will fall. If anyone tells you he or she does not sin, there is a good chance he or she is lying and therefore sinning right before your eyes! God’s grace covers us when we fall. We should strive to not fail, but know that when we do, God’s grace is enough.

The hardest thing for me to do is to forgive myself when I fail. Can you relate to that? I’m sure I’m not alone in that feeling. Thankfully though, we serve a God forgives, and forgets our sins.

Psalm 103:12 says
12 as far as the east is from the west, 
so far has he removed our transgressions from us

He is able to put out of His mind our transgressions, but we are not. So when I fail, there is a voice inside me that keeps reminding me what I’ve done wrong. It’s like as soon as I realize I’ve sinned, and repent, ask for forgiveness and begin to turn away, a voice tells me “You’ve fallen in this same sin so many times, you’ll never be free.” It’s a lie from the enemy, but it’s inside my head! I’m sure some of you reading this have dealt with this same issue. You fail, repent, begin to walk away, and inside your head you just can’t seem to let go of the guilt. You carry a burden of shame. You need to know that God does not want you living in shame. God does not want you carrying burdens that he has already lifted!

Sometimes I feel like Paul. Now, Paul was a great man of God after his conversion on the road to Damascus, but I don’t feel like that man. I feel like the broken man. I feel like the side of Paul that struggled with pride, boastfulness, and sin. I relate well to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I’ve heard many thoughts on what Paul’s ailment was. I believe it was a sin issue in his life. Something that he knew he needed to deal with, and would, but continued to struggle with. He says a messenger of Satan. He said it was a thorn in his flesh. He even said in Romans 7:15 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. God said, however, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses! How wonderful to know that when he shows us grace, he’s really showing his perfect power! God does not want us to live a life in which we constantly feel beat down. So many people believe God is just here to condemn us! If God wanted you and I to live lives of condemnation He would have never sent His son to die for us! How wonderful is it to know that God’s grace is so powerful?

So maybe you’ve been dealing with some issue of sin in your life. Maybe it’s the same issue over and over. You give it to God, but the enemy beats you down with it again. Know that His grace is sufficient. Maybe you’ve given your struggles to God, but have failed to let them go. Maybe you just need to let God know that you trust Him to deal with your issues. Can I let you in on a secret? You can’t do it on your own. If you ever want to be free, live a life free from guilt and shame, you have to turn it over to God. Maybe somehow while reading this post you realize that you don’t know Jesus. Maybe you’ve been going through the motions, and you go to church, but something is missing. Listen, people get all the way through seminary school without knowing Christ. Believing in Him as God is only half the battle. My favorite Bible verse is James 2:19 19You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder. So belief in Jesus basically rings you to the same level as demons who also believe Jesus is the son of God and that he died for your sins. You have to turn your life over to Him. Say to Him that you believe, and are willing to follow. Invite Him into your life to lead you where you cannot lead yourself. If any of these apply to you, and you want to know Christ, please feel free to email me. I’ll be sure to get back to you, and guide you in the right direction.

Childlike Faith

A few weeks ago I was in a store and saw a father and son playing. The father would pick up his son, toss him up just above his hands and catch him mid-air with the child laughing with delight at each toss. This scene gave me two thoughts: my first thought was a memory of doing the same thing with my nephew, who loves being tossed around. The second was “If someone were to do that to me now, I think I’d wet myself!”

Aside from the fact that anyone who would be able to toss my over 6’1″, over 200 lb body in the air like that would be terrifyingly large, why is it that would scare me so? I mean, surely I enjoyed the same thing at that age, and I also enjoyed ice cream then, so why did my love for one not fade while my love for the other cannot even be remembered? As I walked around the store pondering questions such as these, it hit me, I would be scared now because I know the consequences. I know what could happen if i was dropped. I know what if feels like to be let down.

Small children have no concept of the danger they are in, why should they? I mean, my nephew likes for me to toss him around because I’ve never dropped him. He has no reason to believe I’ll drop him now. As adults, however, we’ve all been dropped by people. We may not have physically been dropped, but we have definitely been emotionally dropped. People always let us down, so we constantly keep our guards up. If you’ve ever had someone whom you put 100% trust in hurt you, then you know how hard that is to overcome.

The good news for us is that we have a God who is wholly faithful and never lets us down, even though we may not see it immediately. Matthew 18:2-5 says:

2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

What I read into what Jesus is saying is that essentially adults muck things up and children are able to see clearly. We always see things through our own experiences, and children typically don’t have enough experience to be concerned about anything. Often we try to look at God through the filter we’ve built during our lives, with fear He is going to fail us. We live in fear of letting go and following Him completely because we fear he will drop us.

Have you ever felt that way? I know I have. Often I feel so terrible about something I’ve done that I just know God won’t be faithful to me. My pastor recently pointed out that we aren’t saved by our works and we don’t lose salvation through works. I like that because it points out that God is perfectly faithful even when we aren’t. He wants us to have that childlike faith to trust Him to catch us when we are falling. We learn a lot about ourselves when we feel powerless and become even more comfortable when we realize how powerful He is. What better way to experience that than to let God “toss” us and have faith that no matter how far away from Him we fly, he will always catch us? God is faithful and when we really believe that, then we will have the power to overcome anything.

Change

Some people say that they would not change anything in their lives if given the opportunity.  I don’t think I’m one of those people.  See, I’ve done plenty that I regret.  When I look back over my life, I think of periods that I wish I could remove.  Periods when I was away from God, when I did things I’d rather not speak of, much less remember.  Periods when I’ve lost my temper and did or said things that I immediately regretted.  Why wouldn’t I want to change those things?  Wouldn’t you?  Is there some reason that I would want to keep those bad things in my life?

Well, as I write this I am reminded that God uses everything to His glory. That means he uses both good and bad in our lives.  So I suppose the question is: “When I look back over my life, can I see where he did that for me?”  Well, in 2001 I found myself in a situation where I was barely in church and not living for God.  I started hanging out with people who were also not in church and who had absolutely no desire to live for God.   My foundation was weak, and they tore me down.  I found myself, a “Christian” mind you, in seedy places.  I saw things that I never should have seen, and went places I never should have been.  I know that God did not put me on this earth to hang around places like that.  So, if I could take back that time in my life I’m pretty sure I should, and would.

However, nothing with God is ever as cut and dry as that.  You see, three years later I had begun fully living for God.  I was involved in my church, worked in the college ministry, and really had a desire to see people come to know the love of Christ.  One night, I was involved in a very sincere and heartfelt conversation with a friend.  My friend was misunderstood about me and my life.  He had this big idea that I had never struggled with sin.  He had not met the older me, and just knew the man he saw before him.  As our conversation continued, the opportunity came for me to share with him my previous struggles.  When I opened up to him, he told me that he had been dealing with the same issues.  I didn’t know that, but God did.  I suppose it was that conversation that allowed my friend to see what God could do in someone when allowed to work, and it was only a few nights later that my friend gave his life to Christ.  God used my sin to His glory!

What about other sins?  I mean my struggles didn’t stop in 2001, they still haven’t stopped.  I struggle daily with battles from the enemy.  Some days I feel like I’m the victor and sometimes I feel utterly defeated.  You see, it’s been a long time since I updated this site.  In that time, I’ve had a lot of things happen in my life.  My marriage of nearly five years crumbled and ended, I changed jobs, moved to a new city, and am literally starting over fresh in almost every human aspect of my life.  In my spiritual journey, I’ve found myself in the driest of times, and I’ve found times when I just cry because of God’s presence.  I yearn for where I used to be with Him.  Surely, God would want me to go back and change things so that I never feel defeated, right?  Actually, as I think about it, maybe he wouldn’t.

I believe God revealed to me that the past is just that, in the past.  I know that doesn’t sound profound, but realizing it can really make you feel better.  See, I messed up and did not always follow His will, but now is not the time to dwell on it.  God wants me to move on.  He wants me to realize that no one in this world is perfect, not me, not my family, not my friends, and not even my pastor.  God is the only perfection, and we are all going to mess up.  I think God just wants us to lay aside all the imperfections in our lives, and start fresh with Him.  I believe it’s time to move forward in life with our lord, our shield, our strength, and our refuge with us.

So, looking back I suppose that if given the opportunity I would not change a single thing.  I may not be proud of some of the things that I’ve done.  I may not be happy with some of the periods in my life, but I know that it’s too late to worry about them now.  God will be glorified through them, and in spite of them, and that gives me comfort.

Image Credit: http://scienceblogs.com

Fallen Heroes

In this world there are many heroes.  People idolize sports figures, actors, singers, and even pastors.  However, everyone in this world falls.  The higher the pedestal a person is put on, the further from grace that person falls when he or she fails.  It’s human nature to place certain people with talents above others in our minds.

News broke recently that Michael Phelps was caught smoking marijuana.  Pictures surfaced of Phelps using a bong in order to use the drug.  Michael Phelps is a 23 year old person, who is flawed, and many other 23 year old people do the same thing, but when Phelps did it, it became news.  It’s news because Michael Phelps was recently given the “crown” of “America’s Greatest Athlete”.   His performance in the 2008 Olympics was a feat that no person had ever matched before.  It gained international recognition for him, sent sponsors sprinting his way, and made millions of people admire him.  Michael Phelps was on a pedestal, and he fell, he fell far.

However, we should not pass judgment on Michael.  It is not for us to condemn him for his actions.  See, we all fall.  Phelps’ actions are saddening, but each of us struggle each day and we fall into sin. In Luke 6:42 Jesus said “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  (NIV)

What’s dangerous for us is placing all of these people on a platform is that we place our faith in them instead of God.  We place faith in something doomed to fail when there’s only one person who doesn’t fail, God.  When we look at these people, it’s easy to see all of their faults.  As a matter of fact, every fault is sought out by a hungry media, and exploited for money.  However, what we do is ignore our own faults, focus on theirs, and then we feel better about ourselves.  That’s not healthy, and it’s not how we are commanded to live in scripture.  I pray that I’ll be able to find my own faults and deal with them more effectively rather than look for solace in the imperfections of others.  How about you?

Growth

Growth, this is what most churches talk about.  How many people can they get into the door?  Ministry only grows during this time of year, and during that time you can expect to have low numbers is what they say.  Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of status quo.  I’m tired of doing what other people say we are supposed to be doing.  It’s time to buck the trend!

Growth in numbers is great.  It’s wonderful to have more people in your ministry, and I’m excited every time I hear what God is doing in His church.  True ministry is not about numbers, however.  The growth we should desire is spiritual.  I desire, and I believe God desires to see change in the hearts of the His people.  When I was a youth pastor I saw some amazing things.  I saw students come to know Christ when they didn’t before.  I saw the broken put back on the path to healing.  I saw the timid become bold.  God is still doing great things in His people!

Does this mean we should become complacent and not invite others into church?  Absolutely not!  We are called to make disciples of all nations.  So, for our mission to be fulfilled, we have to be willing to stand for Christ!  We have to be that voice in the wilderness trying to show a hurt and dying world the way to an amazing savior.  When we do that, the church will grow in numbers, but those numbers will not be superficial, they’ll be people looking for true change in their lives!

Heart

You know, many people in the sports world are talented, but not all have heart.  See, those with heart are the ones who inspire.  They are the ones who no matter the situation are doing all they can to be the best at what they do.  Olympic athletes have heart.  They sacrifice time and money to pursue their dreams of an Olympic Gold.  They have a passion for what they do that cannot be taken away easily.  Just this year the U. S. team had a 41 year old swimmer who in between Olympics had a baby.  She asked the doctor the day her daughter was born when she could swim again, and was in the pool that same day!  She trained hard, and went to Beijing to win gold.  She missed the gold medal by 0.01 seconds, losing to a 16 year old girl.  Dara Torres has heart.  She walked immediately off the medal stand to help her team attempt to win a gold medal.  Even though she out swam her opponent in her heat, the U. S. team was too far behind, and they won silver again.

Dara was able to do what she did at the Olympics because her heart was in it.  She has a love for swimming, and an ability that few in the world, much less her age, have.  Having the ability would not have been enough, however.  We all have the ability to impact others for Jesus positively.  Where is your heart?  Is your heart in it?  Are you willing to sacrifice for God?  Many times we know we can do it, but we feel the costs are too high.  We are comfortable in our lives and it is too much work to prepare and train for God.  If your heart is in it, you can do amazing things for God.  What is your heart yearning for today?  Do you want to help people see who Jesus really is, or are you content watching others do it?

New Year, New Opportunity

Well, it’s a new year, and everyone knows what that means, it’s time to break your resolutions!  I love the beginning of each new year.  It is a chance for a new start, an opportunity for change, another year for things to be different, goals to be met, and our lives to change.  Even though technically January 1 is no different than any other day, it feels fresh.

One thing I like to do each year is reflect on the past year.  I guess it gives me some grounding to see what God’s done, where He’s taken me, and look at where I may be headed.  For me, 2008 was a rocky year.  I saw some of the highest times in my life, and went through one of the hardest.  I started out the year in a church where I fully expected to become a full time staff member and ended it looking for a new place to worship.  I saw a youth ministry grow to approximately double its original size with many teenagers coming to know Christ, and I’ve seen some of those same teenagers push me away.  God has never taken me down a straight and easy path, so I don’t know why I expected this to be any different.

The fact that my path hasn’t been straight is not an indication that I’ve been forgotten, however.  See, I know that no matter what happens in my life, God is in control.  He never fails, and his plan is flawless.  So, even though I look forward to 2009 as a year that can bring great change in my life, I know that God already has it planned for me, and it’s even better than I could have imagined.

I’m excited for this year.  I know that God is planning something big for me.  I know that He will not leave me in the cold, and even if my path is not what I will it to be, God’s plan is better and I’d rather follow it.  How about you?  How will you face 2009?  Will you continue to fight to get your own way, or stive to follow God’s?  His path may not be what you would choose, and it may not always be easy, but if you are willing to follow it, you’ll find that the result will be much greater!

Entertainment

We all love entertainment.  Who doesn’t love a good movie?  I love the movies.  I like movies so much that this past summer I saw every blockbuster in the theater.  I saw the epic “Dark Knight” 4 times!  Man, thinking back on it, I may have given cinema a bit too much money!  That notwithstanding, entertainment can be a good thing.

We’ve become an entertainment society.  We look for entertainment everywhere, including our churches.  However, is that a good place to look to be entertained?  Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a great worship band and neat graphics as much as the next guy, but those things are nothing without God. Church isn’t a place to just be entertained.  It’s a place to be challenged to live for Jesus.  It’s a place to learn about God’s love a grace.  Church is where the spiritually hungry come to learn where the food is located.

Let’s get hungry for God.  Let’s not go to church just to see what the band will sing, or the cool videos used by the pastor.  Isn’t it time to make sure we are coming to church to hear a word from the Lord?  Isn’t it time we are here on Sundays and Wednesdays to hear from God?  I think so.  If you are missing out on God on Sunday or Wednesday, what happens when you need him the rest of the week?

Christmas

I love Christmas!  Always have.  I’m one of those people who can listen to Christmas music in June.  It doesn’t matter to me that it’s 100 degrees outside, if I’m in the A/C and listening to Jingle Bells, somehow I imagine that it’s 40 degrees outside and I’m about to spread some holiday cheer.  I know it’s weird, but hey, it’s been 70 most of December in Alabama this year anyway.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about Christmas, and what it means.  Of course, to talk about Christmas, we should read about the first Christmas.

Luke 2

¹And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

⁴Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵to be registered with Mary, his betrothed ^£wife, who was with child. ⁶So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

That’s what this season is all about right there.  The birth of our Savior, our heavenly father, John 3:16 says:

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God gave us all a gift on that day in Bethlehem.  You know, not everyone knew that Jesus was special at his birth.  Remember the innkeepers?  They saw no more than a young couple wanting a room, and with nothing special to offer, turned them away.  I see a lot of parallels between the innkeepers and many of us today.  You see, to the innkeeper, Joseph and Mary were just two people and their baby would be no more than another citizen; nothing special.  They turned them away and never thought twice.  Why would they?  Chances are they had turned away a hundred others before them.

You see, many people today do the same thing.  They celebrate this season, with no thought of why it’s special.  Many know that the season of Christmas is to celebrate Christ’s birth, but have no frame of reference for what that means.  I’ve seen so many shows and movies that talk about “Christmas Spirit” and how to get it, and almost every one of them talks about giving.  “The season of giving.”

Boy do we give.  We give and we give and we give.  Buy, buy, buy.  That’s what Christmas has become.  Every store knows it.  They put out the displays before October is over.  It was the strangest sensation this year to go to Sam’s Club in October and see the Halloween costumes on one side of an aisle, and Christmas decorations being put out on the other.  They don’t do it to be Politically Correct, but because they know that they will make money off Christmas!  We as Christians fall into the trap as badly as anyone.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love giving gifts.  I like to see people light up when I’ve picked the right present.  However, without the right focus, we may as well be just wasting money.  When we lose sight of the real reason for the season, Jesus’ birth, we fall into the trap of consumerism.

Matthew 6:19

¹⁹“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

When we simply exchange gifts just for the sake of gifts… we fall into a trap of storing up goods for ourselves.  If not for ourselves, we fall into helping others into a trap of storing up goods.  How many times have you seen people not be satisfied with their Christmas because they didn’t get something they wanted?  We should focus on Jesus.  We should place our emphasis on glorifying Him.

Don’t get me wrong.  Presents, and food, and everything are great, but the real reason we celebrate is that God gave us the ultimate gift, His son.  We celebrate because we have been given the ultimate gift.  We have been given the greatest opportunity of all time, a chance to live life eternally with our father in heaven, a gift we didn’t deserve!

Typical

I don’t know about you, but I hate stereotypes.  You simply cannot group people together accurately by using broad generalizations.  The problem, however, is a stereotype is grown out of many people acting the same way over a long time.  Christianity has become stereotyped in this day and age.  Listen to some with an opposing view, and you’ll hear some very negative things about those of our faith.

How did those views form?  Why is it that Christians are labeled as bigots, closed minded, or full of hate?  Why do non-Christians get heated when Christians stand for what they believe in?  Did they just make up accusations?  Of course not, they have seen people act in these ways over the years.  For all too long Christians have, in the name of Christ, discriminated against people who did not match what they viewed as “good Christians.”

Jesus did not call us to discriminate.  He did not ever say we are allowed to judge others.  He never said that it was okay for us to leave those in a hurt and dying world in the state that they are currently in.  By contrast, we are commanded to spread His gospel to and create disciples in the entire world.

So, how do you change the way Christians are viewed?  Simple, live like Christ.  Live oppositely from how Christians have been viewed over the years.  Change minds by showing that you are different.  It’s time for Christianity to come back to Christ!  It starts with us.  We are the future and present of the church.  It will take many of us a long time to create a new stereotype for Christians, one which is more like Christ, but it’s worth it!