Who decided Christ needs to be comfortable?
Honestly, I have many times - and probably will many times more. Especially when I work with teenagers(which is most of the time - ha). I constantly refer to Matthew 22:36-39
Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.
It's so easy for me to give permission to throw everything else out the window as long as you try to do these two things. I can get real comfortable with this. I am supposed to love God and love others...check.
Ummmm...except when I don't. I make them sound so easy, so simple. No effort involved...no mystery in the fact that we are living examples of Christ.
But why? Why does it matter? What if I am selfish today? Rob Bell speaks to this in his second book "Sex God" - that if I disrespect God's creation then I am disrespecting the creator. Yikes. I so often forget that every single human being is made in God's image. Because then I can forget to love them(as my neighbor, as image bearer's of God).
I do ask forgiveness from those of you that I have tried to convince that being a Christian is as simple as loving God and loving each other. Cause it isn't that simple. It IS that amazing. There IS mystery. None of it makes any sense.
There is a God. There is a creation. There is a savior. He died on a cross. AND he rose from the dead. And now I am living here on earth - trying to be a living example of God's heart.
I ask forgiveness from those of you that I haven't loved - truly loved as image bearers of the Creator.
"How you treat the creation reflects how you feel about the creator...
When a human being is mistreated, objectified, or neglected, when they are treated as less than human, these actions are actions against God..
When I respect the image of God in others, I protect the image of God in me." - Rob Bell
No comments:
Post a Comment