Levels part 4
I happen to believe that we are all in Christ. I believe that when Jesus was lifted up from the earth He drew us all unto Himself. And from that moment on humanity was no longer in Adam. But that is NOT to say that we all know this glorious truth called the Gospel. That is NOT to say that even those who DO know it always ACT like it. Because in this never-ending life-long journey into the heart of the matter called life... we are all at different levels. We ARE complete in Him. But we are also learning what it MEANS to be complete in Him. We are going through a maturation process. And the important thing to remember is: People learn at different paces. People learn in different ways. My dad always talks about how he has made a lot of mistakes in his life... but never the same one twice. While I, on the other hand, like to make the same mistake seven or eight hundred times. Just to be sure. Different strokes for different folks. But the point is, you can't learn from your mistakes if you never make any mistakes. And more is learned from "failure" than from success. (I put failure in quotation marks because the only REAL way to fail is to fail to keep trying.) So if someone is struggling with something that you find easy, you really shouldn't condemn them for it. You really should stoop down to their level and help them out. That's why we quoted 1 Corinthians 8:13, "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend." I think that's what it means to deny yourself. I mentioned a few Rants ago that you can swear and still love people. But I want to add that you should be careful about what you say and do. Not because you will make God mad, but because you might make people mad. If it offends someone... don't do it around them. That's called esteeming others higher than yourself. That's called putting others first. That's called... love. Understanding that even though, "I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean" (Romans 14:15). Basically, while the truth IS the truth, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. The truth HAS set us free. But in practicality it is the truth YOU KNOW AND BELIEVE that sets you free and makes you free. So if someone is not "on your level," be sensitive. If someone doesn't know who they really are, don't condemn them. Show them who they really are. By showing them who YOU really are. Because who you really are, and who they really are, is Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. Remember, there were only ever two "levels." Two men who ever lived. And they both died on the cross. But only one of them rose again to live in us, and through us, and as us. So, really, we're all on the same level. All on the same journey. And it's ok to be at different points of the journey. It's ok to take your time and learn at your own speed. We have to give people room to be who they are. When we expect them to be someone they're not (or someone they ARE, but don't KNOW yet), we are setting THEM up for failure and we are setting OURSELVES us for frustration. So let people learn and grow. Even as you learn and grow. With the assurance that, because we are all aready there--we ARE complete in Him--we'll all get there. And we'll get there even better if we get there together. Helping each other instead of hurting each other. Loving each other.