Trust Issue part 1
There's an old saying that goes like this, "If you attend church on a regular basis, and haven't been offended by somebody... just wait." Because people are people. Even "church folk." Especially church folk. My point is--and the point of this Rant series is--we've all been burned by somebody at some point in our lives. And that hurt can very easily make us gun shy. If you touch the stove, and it's hot, chances are you aren't gonna touch it again. Which seems smart, right? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Right? But here's the thing. If you're afraid of the stove you can't cook anything on it. So you'll miss out on some good meals. By "protecting yourself" what you're really doing is hurting yourself. Instead of avoiding the stove altogether, what you need to do is learn to use it properly. Don't burn yourself on it, but don't give up on cooking on it. And believe me, I get it. That can be just about the hardest thing in the world to do. It's hard to trust when you've been let down. But it's also vitally important. Because we're all in this together. If we cut ourselves off then we miss out on what's available. Relationships. Connection. Love. The best things in life are "free" because they don't cost any money. But they still have a cost attached. They still require us to walk in faith. So let's talk about faith. The most commonly used definition of faith comes from Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." And that's an ok defintion. It makes some good points. Like how if it's not now it's not faith. Faith isn't about what might happen. That's hope. Faith is the EVIDENCE of things not seen. Faith is about what what has already happened. Faith is believing that the Word of God is true. Faith is believing that the work is finished. And watch this, "...faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Faith doesn't come from what we hope for. It comes from hearing about God's love. Which is what the cross was. The cross was the greatest expression of God's love. The cross was where Jesus put His money where His mouth was. First Jesus told us what love is. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Then He went to the cross and literally laid His life down for us. He gave us something--someONE, Himself, love--to believe in. Romans 12:3 says it like this, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith." THE measure of faith. Which God has dealt to every man. He gave us ALL something to believe in. And that's why we have faith in God: because He proved Himself faithful. That's why we can trust God: because He has proven Himself trustworthy. One more snippet of one more verse for today. "...let God be true, but every man a liar..." (Romans 3:4). People may burn you, but God never will. And He lives IN people. So instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater (to REALLY mix my metaphors) what we need to do is learn to eat the watermelon and spit out the seeds. Be wise about how you interact with people, but don't completely cut yourself off from them. Don't put yourself in a bad situation by blindly trusting people, but don't get to the point where you refuse to believe that you are loved. Loved by God. Who works through people. Loved by PEOPLE... believe it or not!