Show, Don't Tell part 3
"Preach the gospel always, and if necessary, use words," St. Francis. I think this quote is great. Because preaching the gospel is so much more than just hitting people over the head with "chapter and verse" from the Bible. I think people are turned off by religion. I know I am. And I'm a pastor. It seems like we, as a species, ruin things whenever we get our hands on them. We get lost. We lose sight of what's really important or what it's really supposed to be. Look at Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG), ""Are you tired? Owrn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."" Man, that's powerful! And did you notice that Jesus said "I'll show you"? He said, "Watch how I do it." Showing, not telling. Walk WITH Him. Work WITH Him. Learn by doing. There is a lot in this life that you can't learn from books. And I say that as an avid reader. Life, for the most part, has to be lived. And you learn more from "failures" than you do from successes. You can't learn from your mistakes if you never make any mistakes. More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. What I'm saying is... if you never try anything, you'll never do anything. And you can't show anybody anything unless you do it. You can't be a witness to the gospel--the Good News that God is love and He loves you--without receiving and releasing that love! This life is all about giving what you've got. Living from the inside out. Filling ourselves to overflowing with what God has filled us with. Letting your light shine. Not being just a hearer of the word, but a doer of the word! You know what, let's quote that verse. "For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk, away, and forget what you look like" (James 1:23-24 NLT). The next verse is really good though. Watch this: James 1:25 (NLT), "But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it." The perfect law of liberty. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Where LOVE is, there is liberty. Owe no man anything but love. Guys. Come on. It's all about love. So stop getting it twisted. Stop focusing on religion. Stop trying to get people to think and act just like you. Let people be who they are and love them anyway. Love them BECAUSE of who they are. Embrace people for their uniqueness. Don't just LET people be who they are, CELEBRATE people for who they are! Show them love. Instead of always being on a sin-hunt, try being on a righteousness-hunt. Instead of telling people what's wrong with them, tell people what's right with them. Train up a child in the way he SHOULD go. Edify people. Build them up. Show them what it means to be a disciple of Christ (a student of love) by showing them love! Show people who God is by showing them what love is! Love is giving. Gladly spending everything you have and everything you are without worrying about what people think. Giving what you've got because you know it's worth sharing. Seeing a need and meeting it. That, to me, is the simpliest and more powerful way to show someone that God loves them. And you don't even have to say the word "God." You can simply show people love!