Value part 4
It's so important to meet people where THEY are at. When we put our own expectations on them we will almost certainly lose them. At the very least we are starting out on rocky footing. When we ought to be starting out on the unshakeable foundation of love. My favorite example of this idea is in Genesis 46:3-4, "And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will surely bring thee up again..." God didn't say, "Get yourself out of Egypt and then I'll take care of the rest." He didn't say, "Clean up your act and then go to church." He said, "I'll go down WITH you, and I'll bring you up again." We have to let people be who they are. If all you ever do is tell someone how bad they are and how much they need to change, well, you're not exactly building a relationship there. At least not a loving relationship that will reveal Jesus to them. I think, for the most part, people know what they're about. Sure, we can have blindspots, and we can do things without realizing, but I don't think it helps to point out what's WRONG with people. That's what the Law did. In fact, that's ALL the Law could do. It demanded perfection without being able to produce it. It condemned people for messing up but couldn't do anything to help them NOT mess up. That's why Jesus nailed the Law to the cross; because it was contrary to us. Against us. And the Law was never given with the expectation that it could be kept anyway. It was given as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. To show us that even thought we can't... He can. And He did. 2,000 years ago. He already came down to where we were--the Word (Jesus, love) wrapped Himself in human flesh--and He already brought us up to where He is. We are seated in the heavenly Christ as we speak. As He IS so are we in this world. And as He is, is seated on the right hand of the Father. So when we're dealing with people we can't expect them to be robots that will do what we want, when we want, because we say so. If that's our expectation then we're setting ourselves up for failure. Setting ourselves up for frustration. Because I'm telling you right now, people do what they want. It's kind of what Jesus was talking about in Mark 7:21-22, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness." And I say, "kind of" because that's all the stuff that came out of the heart of MEN. The Old Man who was crucified on the cross. The point I'M trying to make is... what's in your heart comes out. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. And with the circumcision that was made without hands, the cutting away of the flesh of human effort, what is revealed is GOD'S heart beating with love in our chests. So instead of condemning people for looking for love in all the wrong places, we need to understand that they ARE looking for love! We need to understand that even though it doesn't always look the way we want it to, it's all part of the journey. And if we can go down to where someone is at--I'm not saying do something you shouldn't I'm saying let people be who they are--then we actually have a chance of bringing them up to where Jesus is by SHOWING them who they REALLY are. By understanding the value in their actions--even if we don't agree with them--and understanding the value of the people involved!