Meeting part 5
A meeting, realistically, is supposed to be a two way street. Give and take. Talking AND listening. We're not supposed to just berate people. We're not supposed to try to force people to be where we're at. We're supposed to meet people where they're at. Remember the woman caught in adultery? Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dirt. He didn't put His standards on anybody else. In fact, what He did was He put the accusers standards back on THEM. "Whoever is without sin throw the first stone." And, by the way, HE was without sin. If He wanted to, He could have met that standard. He could have thrown that stone. But He didn't want to. He wasn't interested in condemning anybody. In fact, He said, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:17). His meeting place with us was not one in which He slammed us. It was one in which He saved us. He met us where we were at--when we were dead in our trespasses and sins--and He brought us back to life. And not just any life, but HIS life. His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love. He stooped down to where we were at... and then He elevated us to where HE'S at. Look at Genesis 46:4, "I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes." Go down... and bring us back up. That's how God operates. He CALLS us up, yes. But with that call He LIFTS us up. Its not us trying (and failing) to follow in His foot steps. Its Him making His own foot steps in our feet. Its Him CARRYING us. So instead of just talking AT people, we need to learn to talk TO people. To listen. To hear. To stop trying to force ourselves (or our God) on people. Live and let live. Let people be who they are. And if you see a need that you can meet... do it. Offer it. Make it available. But if they're not picking up what you're laying down... that's ok. Don't worry about it. You can't reach everybody. And you don't have to. You're not expected to. The best kind of meeting is that love feast, right? Come hungry, leave happy. Give people a full belly and they'll be much more open to whatever else. Meet a natural need and you'll find out that that is, in fact, Spiritual. You don't need to make people jump through hoops. Freely you have received, freely give. Don't make people try to earn a gift. Gifts can't be earned. Don't put your standards on people. They haven't necessarily been through what you've been through. You can't expect them to be where you are. Expectations are the biggest, easiest way to set yourself up for disappointment. Because, bottom line, people are going to do what they're going to do. They're not always (or ever) going to do what you want them to do. But that doesn't mean you can't love them anyway. Meet them right where they're at. And don't expect anything from them. Just give them what you've got. And receive what they've got. I think I'm going to follow up on this starting tomorrow--but even if someone only has bitterness or hurt... you still need to acknowledge it. You need to meet them where they're at, even in the middle of their mess.