So the other day I wrote a blog title "what is it going to take"
I have a real passion for the American Church
I go to church on Sundays and teach Sunday School and help lead worship and work with Youth and I see empty faith. I see empty religion.... It breaks my heart. It makes my soul cry. I have spent many hours thinking and praying and talking to friends about what to do to change the spiritual walks of our churches... It is something that I am passionate about. I am currently reading thru the gospel of John. As I was sitting in my house last night reading and pouring over the pages of Jesus' ministry; a thought hit me.
I love people .... In all of the personality tests, I am always classified as a classic textbook extrovert. I get my energy from spending time around others. I am the type of person who likes to be in a house full of people. Even if we aren't socializing or talking, I find an energy and a happiness about my chores and tasks. Things seem so much easier when others are around. Because I love people so much and I absolutely treasure the time that I get to spend with them, I sometimes allow my love for them to get in the way of the "hard talks." I shy away from confrontation. I want to smooth things over and allow things to just roll off my back. I typically don't make a big deal out of things that really bother me and upset me. When I do chose to confront someone about an issue, my throad gets dry, my hands get clammy and my stomach does butterflies. I am an independent person and I take criticizm well but I do not like to argue. I do not like to call people out.... It is something that I have been working on for the last year or so. Thanks to some amazing and awesome friends in my life, I see the importance of doing that.
I realize now from talking and praying and reading thru Jesus' ministry that people need someone to tell-them-like-it-is. The reason that so many people are not growing and not getting real with God, is because no one confronts them about that. No one looks at them and says, "How is your relationship with God?" So many people, myself included, treasure the relationship with the person and look to love them more then look to challenge them.
Look at Jesus' ministry. He was able to tell-them-like-it-is... but with Love and with Grace. He was able to have the difficult discussions and didn't back down from the confrontation, but he approached it with love. I know that there is a balance. I know that there is a way to do both. I know that I air on loving more then on challenging. I know that I need to step up to the plate. I need to be more like Jesus. It is ok to challenge someone and take them out of their comfort zone.
I think about the relationships that I have with my family and my friends. The ones that are the closest to me are the ones that challenge me. They are the ones where I know I am going to get the truth always...even at the expense of some hurt feelings. I admire the truth and honesty of those people.
I look at Jesus' ministry and I see times where he got upset and toppled tables in the temple, I read about a miracle He did for a father whose son was dying, I picture the scene of him telling the paralyzed man at the fountain to get up and walk. I imagine myself there with the disciples as Jesus talks and preaches. His message was always the same. His purpose was clear. His missiong concrete. Everything that he did, came back to one thing always! He challenged the disciples to grow and understand. He called out the Pharisees when they tried to trick him. He constantly went to his knees in prayer to the Father for guidance and thanksgiving.
He had the balance... He loved people SO much that He couldn't let them continue to be ignorant or apathetic. He loved the Father more then ANYTHING and so speaking the truth and making sure people understood the message was more important then anything. He approached those difficult situations with love for the Father and then love for the person. He wanted them to grow and be challenged. He wanted their walk to be strengthened and their lives to be changed!
The answer.... to be more like Jesus.
To be brutally honest but with love for the Father and love for the person.
What would our world look like if we had more people striving to be like Jesus?
How much stronger would the body of Christ be?
How much more effective would our wittnessing and preaching become?
How many more souls would we be able to save?
Love is important! Love is essential!
I don't plan to change that about myself.
I want to love the way Jesus loved....
But Honesty is SO important!
Brutal Honesty that tells people the truth!
I need to challenge. I need to speak up and confront the situation.
We need to challenge them to go deeper then the surface.
They are capable of so much more!
No more sleeping.... no more surface answers that "sound" good.
Lets get to the depths of understanding.
Lets tell it like it is.... with honesty and with love.
Lets be more like Him.
The result....
People are physically and emotionally healed ... not just part of them but ALL of them.
Their hearts and their souls are different .... because of Him.
Lives are challenged.
Souls are saved.
God is glorified!
Lets be more like Him.
That is what it is going to take ....
