Monthly Archives: August 2014

Faith, General

Open Hands

Psalm 24:1-2 tells us, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.”

Have you ever really stopped to think about that? The earth and everything in it and everyone on it ultimately belongs to God.

Yet, we walk around like it belongs to us. The world belongs to us. Everything in it and on it belongs to us. We even think that we belong to us.

I think that is why Jesus said in Luke 14:33, “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” To be a disciple – a student, learner, follower of Christ, you have to make Him the most important thing in your life. You have to choose Him over anything and everything. You have to quit trying to own everything.

In a famous story dubbed “The Rich Young Ruler,” Jesus told this wealthy man that he had to be willing to sell all his possessions to follow him. It is said that the young man walked away dejected because he was very wealthy and he wasn’t willing to make Jesus more important than his wealth.

Now, does this really mean that Jesus literally wants us all to have nothing? No. It is both rabbinic hyperbole and a challenge to adopt a certain mindset. You see, rabbis often used hyperbole, speaking in extremes, to make a point. What was Jesus’ point in saying this? First, He wants to be number one in your life. Second, He wants us to adopt the mindset that we don’t own anything; to recognize that everything really belongs to God.

God owns the world. It is all His. We are merely stewards, caretakers, borrowers. We have to remember that and hold onto everything and everyone with open hands. We need to stop grasping and holding tightly to anything of this world.

In the story of Job, he declares that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. He says this after he has just lost everything – his family, his wealth, his health. Yet, he still acknowledged that it all belonged to God and just as God had chosen to give it to him, God had also chosen to take it away. In the midst of his grief, he still maintained a heavenly mindset.

I used to hate the idea that God gives and takes away. Probably because I didn’t like the idea of losing anything. But, I finally realized something and it clicked for me.

God gives us abilities, people, prosperity, resources, talents, time, and on and on, in order to bless us and benefit us as we become who He wants us to be, and progress down His path, and further His kingdom, and point the way to Him, and bring Him glory.

It is a circular, mutual benefit. When it stops benefitting us or when it stops benefitting Him, He takes it away.

That’s another reason we need to hold everything with open hands. As soon as it becomes more important than God, as soon as it becomes a distraction away from what God wants, as soon as it becomes an idol of any sort, then it needs to go away. And, often, the one thing that you hold onto tightest, the one thing that you aren’t willing to give up, is going to be the one thing you need to loosen your grasp, and, probably, the one thing that you will be called to give up.

That’s a harsh thought, isn’t it? But, the reality is that living with open hands enables us to live with an open heart and a fearless faith. Fearless, because it takes away our worry. It keeps things really simple. It narrows everything down to living for Jesus.

In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us not to worry about anything, not even our most basic needs. God made us. He knows what we need. He wants to take care of us, but only if we look to Him. In verse 33, Jesus says that we must seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and then He will give us everything that we need.

Are you seeking Him first? Are you pursuing Him? Are you desiring Him?

Look for His will, purpose, and plan. Submit yourself to His authority. Enter into relationship with Him and be open to transformation. Then He will take care of everything else.

Open hands doesn’t mean we reject everything or we don’t care about anything. It doesn’t mean we don’t want, wish, desire, or dream. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have nice things or enjoy the bonuses in life.

Living with open hands simply means we hold it all with the understanding that it’s not really ours; with the attitude and willingness to let it all go, if called upon.

Be willing to give up everything.

Desire God more than anything else.

Remember why He gave you all that you have and hold it all with open hands.

It doesn’t really belong to you anyway.

Faith, Family

Radiant Love

We have heard people talk about letting your light shine. I mean, there’s even a song that Sunday school children learn, “This Little Light of Mine,” that comes complete with hand movements.

I was thinking the other day about what that light really is. Some Bible verses describe it as the gospel or as truth. Other verses use it to describe holiness, purity, or just exposure of anything currently hidden in the dark. The more that I thought about it, though, I came to realize that, ultimately, it describes the presence of God. God is truth and holiness and purity. God is light.

Letting our light shine is letting God’s presence shine through, to radiate from us.

That made me think of Moses. In Exodus 34:29, it says, “When Moses came down from Mt Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.”

His face was radiant. Being in God’s presence made Moses’ face radiate light.

In our own way, we can do the same. We can allow the presence of God to shine from within. We can radiate any number of God’s qualities, be it truth or holiness or joy. But, I think the most important thing we can radiate is love.

1 Corinthians 13 culminates in verse 13: “So now these three remain – faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.” Love is the greatest. It is what we are supposed to do. It is what we are supposed to be.

The Greatest Commandment is about love. The second greatest commandment is about love. The new commandment that Jesus gave before His death is about love.

Why? Why this fixation with love?

Because God so loved the world.

Because God is love.

Because love is greater than even faith and hope.

It seems pretty obvious that God cares a whole lot about love. Him loving us. Us loving Him. Us loving each other. It is His defining trait. It should be our defining trait, too.

1 John 4:12 tells us that no one has ever seen God, but that if we love one another, then He abides in us. They can’t see Him, but they can see Him in us. They can catch a glimpse of God when they see us radiate love.

But, that only happens if God abides in us. We have to allow Him to fill us and shine through us. Can you do that? Can you let God in to the point that you are filled with His love? What about letting it shine out of you? Moses covered his face when it was radiant because it made others uncomfortable. Can you keep the veil off and expose your radiance?

Both acts require vulnerability. It is not easy to let God in. It is not easy to let His presence be exposed in you.

Both acts require trust. If you are going to let God come in and fill you up with His presence, you have to trust Him. You also have to trust Him to carry you through when you step forth with your light fully shining.

Both acts require someone to get uncomfortable. It can make you uncomfortable to let God be such a dominant presence within you. It can make you uncomfortable to feel exposed without a veil. It can definitely make other people uncomfortable when they experience this kind of radiant love coming from you.

But, despite those challenges, we have to remember that both acts also result in something better than we currently have. They lead you to a better you. They lead you to better relationships. They lead you to a better future.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

I love that verse. God is inviting us into relationship with Him. He is saying, just turn and take off that veil, and let me in. As we do that, we are being transformed into the very image upon which we gaze. But, it is a steady transformation. It isn’t done in one shot. It is done from one degree to the next.

I just picture myself standing there fully exposed as I bask in God’s presence, totally unaware that the longer I remain there, that I am becoming the very thing upon which I gaze. In His presence, we are not left unchanged.

He is filling us and making us radiant.

We have to remember, though, that this light isn’t something we generate on our own. It is the presence of God abiding within us. It is a chance for us to be radiant – and not just any kind of radiance, we get to be radiant love.

Imagine what you could be like if you let God in and became radiant love.

Imagine what your relationships would be like.

Imagine what your life would be like.

Make that your intention this week – embracing radiant love that comes from letting God in and taking your veil off.

Faith

Empathetic Joy

Romans 12:15 tells us to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

That makes me wonder how many of us can genuinely celebrate when others succeed? Are we truly able to join in their joy? Or, do we feel envy or indifference instead?

I think rejoicing when others rejoice sounds easier to do than it really is. There are so many things that we allow to interfere with authentically connecting with others like that.

One thing that interferes is how we see people. Do we really see them as people or do we see them as objects? More often than we would probably like to admit, people become vehicles to get us what we want, obstacles that sit in our way, or they are totally irrelevant to us. So, when the vehicle succeeds, we are selfishly happy because it helps us in some way. If the obstacle succeeds, then we are agitated or annoyed because it will only reinforce their obstacle-ness. If they are irrelevant, then we are indifferent to their success.

What if we were able to see each other as people instead of objects? More so, what if we were able to see each other as an extension of ourselves? I mean, we are all members of one body.

1 Corinthians 12:25-26 says, “There may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

Really? If one member is honored, all rejoice together?

Most of us do not see others in this way, so we rarely rejoice with them when they are honored instead of us. We end up comparing ourselves with them so that their success makes us feel like failures. Even if their success has nothing to do with us!

We need to break out of the mindset that there are finite successes. That being honored or celebrated is a limited resource that has to be fought over.

I think that another thing that interferes with our ability to experience empathetic joy is how we see ourselves. If we don’t feel joy in ourselves, we can envy the joy we see in others.

We covet and crave instead of join in and share.

We feel threatened instead of empathetic.

Have you ever had someone see you do something well or be blessed in some way and try to jokingly say that they hate you? Yeah. It doesn’t feel good. Not even when they are clearly joking. Yet, we have that reaction when we see others succeed or celebrate or feel joyous.

What is wrong with us?

Well, perhaps the real culprit is that we don’t see the good in ourselves or in our lives, so we end up feeling diminished by the good we see happen to others.

Since we don’t see the source of joy in ourselves, then we end up feeling worse about ourselves when others find it for themselves.

Or, maybe we feel convicted by seeing others get blessed. We fixate on what we lack or what we have failed to do. Somehow, we end up discouraged.

What I find fascinating is that Romans 12:15 (my opening verse) is found under the heading, “Marks of a True Christian.” Empathetic joy is a mark of a true Christian. It is a sign of being a part of the body of Christ.

Can we learn to see others that way? Can we learn to connect with them – authentically?

Can we see their joys, blessings, successes, and good and be inspired instead of threatened? Join in their joy instead of envy or feel bothered by it?

Can we support, encourage, praise and celebrate others?

Can we rejoice together even if it has nothing to do with us?

What about when we think the person doesn’t deserve the good or the blessings they are receiving?

Ouch. Right?

Admittedly, that would be a really hard thing to do. But, the problem with this is that we may be comparing or judging the person, using our own standard or definition as if it is accurate. To us, according to us, they are not good enough or deserving enough to have this good thing happen to them.

Really?

I think this just exposes our lack of trust in God.

We may also be misinterpreting something as good or as a blessing, when maybe it isn’t. Maybe it is a test or even a curse. Maybe we should just let God do his thing and stay out of it.

He tells us to rejoice when others rejoice. He tells us to rejoice together when someone is honored. He tells us that experiencing empathetic joy is a mark of a true Christian.

Can we start to get over ourselves and join in the joy?

I know for me, I sure hope so.