Levels part 2
New levels, new devils... is NOT what I'm talking about in this Rant series. At all. What I'm talking about is how the human condition is completely universal--we all go through the same things--but also completely individual--we go through them at different times and in different ways. So in order to truly be Christ-like, what we need to do is go down to the level other people are at, instead of insisting they come up to our level. That's what we saw yesterday when Moses covered his face with a veil so that the people of Israel wouldn't fear him. And that was Moses. The mediator of the Old Covenant. You know the old saying, "The Law demands, but grace provides." But even the bringer of the Law was sensitive enough to give grace and mercy. That, unfortunately, is something we seem to have lost, for the most part. We seem--and by "we" I mean religious folk--to be some of the most hypocritical, judgmental people around. "Do as I say, not as I do." Well guess what, buddy, actions speak louder than words. In the five years my son has been alive he's copied me a lot more than he's listened to me. Which is why we made the deal, when he asked me what a four letter word meant, that he could say anything he heard me say. I'm comfortable in that position of role model for him. (Which is not to say that I never make a mistake. I just take my parental responsibility very seriously.) My point is... the way you treat people says more about YOU than it does about THEM. So, "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Colossians 4:6). Right? Keep your words soft and sweet, in case you have to eat them. My dad says it like this, "You can never be too nice to people." I've seen this quote about a million times: "Everybody is going through a battle you know nothing about. Be kind." And it really IS that simple. Just err on the side of kindness. Because if your stomach hurts... you don't punch it. You don't need to kick people when they're down. You don't need to pile on. You need to stoop down and help people up. Jesus, in a sense, modeled this in John 13:5, "After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them wit the towel wherewith he was girded." Jesus came down to where His disciples were at. He fed people, and healed people. He understood the human condition and He set to work IMPROVING it. He didn't expect, or even want, any special treatment. He didn't expect people to wash His feet. He simply did what was necessary to make people clean. He came down to OUR level. He wrapped Himself in human flesh. When man tried to build a tower up to the heavens and make a name for himself, God basically said: Pass. He didn't want us to make a name for OURSLEVES. He wantes to give us HIS name. Remember the white stone in Revelation that has a new name on it that nobody knows until they receive it? I believe that name is Jesus. One new name for one New Man. But until you receive it (by releasing it) it doesn't mean anything to you. Until the Word becomes flesh IN YOU (when love is put into action and becomes charity) you don't really understand who you are. Who you are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in you. You don't really understand love until you get down on someone else's level and simply love the love the hell out of them!