Posted by
Virginia Daddy on Friday, May 16, 2008 7:57:35 PM
I have decided to post some on my thoughts as they relate directly to my faith. Some will be directly related to Christianity, and others will be about other faiths and faith in general.
So, in this edition, I am going to start by saying the cornerstone of my faith is Jesus Christ and his love. It all flows from that, really. Say what you will, but a Christian who does not show love is not a Christian. And to show love of this sort is not easy. It is sacrificial love, and humbling love, and a love that puts all others above yourself. This is perhaps the single most difficult thing for anyone to do, but to not do it is to miss the mark.
And none of us do it consistently. I know I fail miserably. Just ask my wife. Despite my best efforts (and sometimes there probably is little effort) I fail. And so do you. But this is OK, as perfection is not needed right now, or expected. We are human, and as humans, we are prone to fail. This does not mean we should not strive for it, for we should. It does mean that we are to strive to walk with Christ as our guide. When we walk with him, it is much easier. For we can do all things with him on our side, and without, we will always fall short.
This message is always difficult for most to hear, as the easiest person to love is ourselves. We need to satisfy our own needs first, at least by instinct. To think of others first goes against our very nature, and some would argue this is good. Looking out for yourself is the only way to ensure survival they say. While there is truth in this, and I know of no Christian who would advise to completely ignore our own needs, we must first give ourselves to Christ. See, not only can we do all things with him, but he will look out for our every need as well. He's much more concerned about our needs than that of the birds of the sky, yet he provides for them daily. When we first trust in Christ, we rest with comfort our needs will be met.
What then, does this comfort provide? It provides an opportunity to truly love others. We can risk our very lives for the betterment of other people. Our pride, our physical well being, our souls even, can be tested without breaking. We, if we remain steadfast in Christ, will stay strong. This is difficult, as I said earlier, and we will stumble. How much we stumble is dependent on so many things, but again, if we are strong in Christ, we will be strong in life.
But what does it mean to be strong in Christ and strong in life? Well, to be strong in Christ not only means to accept him as our savior, but it means to daily, hourly, without ceasing, give ourselves to him. We do this by studying his word, by fellowship with other believers, by praying, and not least important, by serving others.
The first three are for the purposes here, straight forward. The last, however, deserves some more attention. Serving others is perhaps one of the most uncomfortable things we can do. Who has ever felt uncomfortable when another was in some sort of pain or need? You know what I mean, then. But when we serve another, we tell that person that their needs are more important than our own. When we spend time with the sick, we tell that person that their time is more valuable than our own, when we could be doing anything we wanted. But instead of doing that, we are helping them. We show that person love, which is really the biggest commandment. And no matter how difficult, or humiliating, or uncomfortable, the ones we serve see what it is we do. And this is the best thing we can do in this world, and after all, the best possible example did exactly that.
One caveat exists, however, and that is that it indeed is possible to serve others without love. It is possible to perform charitably with the wrong heart. Pride can creep in at any time, and we must guard against this. When we become prideful, we will eventually be shown to be frauds, looking for our own glory, and consequences will follow. We can also serve angrilly and begrudgingly, wishing we were somewhere else. This is is pride just the same, as our own needs remain first. Again, consequences will follow.
This process is exceedingly difficult, and few do it well all the time. I constantly work at this, and hope this forum will allow me to share my thoughts on the humbling matter of faith. I encourage rigorous debate, as we never grow in our faith until challenged with new ideas or new directions to go. I encourage honest and cheerful feedback, though acknowledge there may be times when it is necessary to be more firm. But as long as all come here to serve, all are welcome.
I hope this forum will benefit all who come by, and look forward to where this goes.
Thanks!