Love is... Patient Among the Impatient

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.   See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

We live in a society of impatience.  It's a fact.  Once upon a time there were simply sporadic impatient people in one's life, but now... now it seems, everywhere we turn, impatience rules the roost.  It is shamelessly dealt with in often hurtful and remorseful blows as if impatience is the current "trend" and everyone has to jump on the bandwagon.

Last year, as the kids and I studied art appreciation together, something struck me: certain genre of art were birthed out of a longing to return to a simpler time, this was especially true during the industrial revolution.  And now, every where I turn in the world of decorating and leisure: simple living, country farmhouse style, hammocking, and nostalgia.  Coinkydink?  I think not.  Our society is desperately longing for a reprieve from the bustle of living and the rude world bearing down right outside our front door.

How do we negotiate the turns of a life spiraling in directions farther and farther from truth and hope and peace?  Where do we stand when impatience tears at friendships once held dear or family relationships are strained over the differences un-bridgable by human strength?  When the world spins and the t.v. set blares... where is our peace?  How do we keep our patience?

Studying 1 Thessalonians 5:14 I find seeds of hope which, well planted, I believe deeply, can spring forth endless possibilities....

Admonish, or, caution, advise and counsel those who are undisciplined or not forward moving in their faith (idle).  When necessary, yes, mildly scold (an extreme attribute of "admonish") but first strive to constructively help them focus.

Encourage those who are lacking courage (the fainthearted).  Help them to rediscover the Source of courage so they might persevere.

Help the weak when they don't have the strength to help themselves.

Above all, scripture commands us: be patient... with some? ...with those who follow our advice?... with those we favor? ...no, with ALL.  ALWAYS seek to do good.

Life is messy.  It is a bustle of whirling conundrums.  People are difficult, relationships are hard and faith and perseverance in the midst of it all is often the biggest challenge a Christian faces.  However, God doesn't leave us on our own.  He sends His Spirit for strength and guidance and He has gifted us His Word to help light the way.  1 Thessalonians doesn't just tell us to be patient, it continues to equip us as to HOW...

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

- Thessalonians 5:16-22

Rejoice always... not just in good times, but even in bad, even when facing impatient people.  Let your patience come from the joy of Jesus and God's power to prevail in all.  Celebrate that God gives you challenges to make you stronger or that He remains with you to give you strength along the way.

Pray NONSTOP.  Every time worry or frustration with someone pops into mind (or in the middle of an encounter) pray.  Pray for wisdom as to what to say.  Pray for them and their struggles.  Pray for peace in the process.

Give thanks, for the good AND the bad.  Even in the worst of moments and interactions, thank God that He is God and believe in Him for what He will do.  Thank Him for it all.  He is working ALL things to a greater good we ought to be honored to be counted in as part of.

Hold FAST to what is good.... hold tight.  If you are clenching the good, however small a glimmer it is in a moment, it is difficult to hold onto surliness.  Light and dark cannot coexist and I propose; neither can true good and patience coexist with impatience and all that is unsavory.

Be patient with them all.  Such a small statement with such HUGE implications.  Less a request and more a command.  Not circumstantially but rather sweeping the spectrum of human kind.

The thing is, we are a society of "ME".  We often miss the grander scope... each Christian is part of a society of HE.  How we allow Christ to reflect through us to the world around is paramount in countering a culture of impatient, NOW, just gimme mindsets.  Light CAN overcome the darkness, but first, we must be ready and willing to reflect it.  We must become a new culture of patient among the impatient.

Love is patient... Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)..... Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8)....By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35)

In all of the LOVE commands of the Bible, if we insert "patience" as just one of it's many attributes we begin to see how we can make a difference.  Not for ourselves... but for the Kingdom of God come here and now.

I pray you are able to find the strength in Christ each day to blanket patience in love to ALL as you advise those needing help moving forward, encourage them who feel discouraged and help all those who have lost their strength to find help themselves.

Blessings,

This "Love is..." devo is inspired by my new Bible Study out this month where we take a unique approach of correlating the whole of scripture to the tenets of 1 Corinthians 13.  Have you been longing to learn how to love as Christ calls us to?  You may want to check this study out.  You can find a FREE link on my Instagram profile OR you can subscribe to my newsletter (it is FREE) and receive February's issue with the "Love Is" Bible study and more.  Details are below:

 

You can click here to see some of the great blogs I am linking up today ...

*Are you subscribed to my newsletter?  You might want to be.  Why?  Well, the newsletter contains bonus material you won't find on the website... not to mention, in those busy months when I can't get regular blog articles up, you can count on this periodical popping up in your email in-box each last Thursday with all new content!  What exactly does the newsletter contain?

• Encouraging articles on Faith, Home(making), and Homeschool
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I look forward to sharing Faith and Home Times with you!!


 

Scripture Reflections: Desiring a Better Country

Five and a half years ago our wheels touched down in Montana's largest city.  We had spent three years in full-time missions work in our "home" town and then traveling around the country to serve in various communities, large and small.  It had been exciting, eye-opening and breath-taking.  But now, God had called us out of full-time ministry and into a city we did not choose.

City is probably a fluid concept here.  I grew up in the Chicago area so the concept of "city" to me is a sprawling metropolis loaded with opportunity as well as the stark results of missed opportunity.  However, after 25 years in the west, most of it in a rural section of northwest Montana, moving on-purpose to the largest and arguably roughest "city" in Montana wasn't as easy as one might think.  Compounded further by constant hurt and occasional betrayals from the day we touched down.

It lacked the safety of lower crime and drug use.
It lacked the so-close-you-can-touch-them mountains opting instead for the distant ones which disappear on a severely overcast day.
It lacked the beautifully clear glacier-fed waters.
It lacked fresh air.
It lacked the plethora of personable puristic people I had become use to, it tucked them in corners and opted to draw out the gray-area crowd
It didn't lack snakes, my biggest fear.

All of this probably sounds snide and even a bit presumptuous.  Please forgive me.  That is NOT my intent. I do have a better point!

The thing is, I had been comfortable and, honestly, spoiled in our old 'home town'.  In our travels, we arrived in different locations to do work... the Lord's work... the state of the cities didn't affect me because I was there to serve them inside of that context.

After arriving here and changing the context of our living, it took a solid year of deep-heart prayer and literal crying out to God before my attitude about our little big town began to change... my eye-site for what surrounded me changed.  And just as I thought I had squashed the beast of selfish desire to be anywhere but here, little beast babies were sneaking in the back door!

Then, an eye-opening opportunity arrived from God.  Perhaps a last-ditch effort to get me out of my mind and into His heart.  In a blase` mood I sat through a church sermon on Hebrews 11:8-22 and by the end, I squirmed in one of those deep-soul discomforts which couldn't be ignored.  The next morning, I penned the following:

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, 

but having seen them and greeted them from afar, 

and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 

If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, 

they would have had opportunity to return.  

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. 

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, 

for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11:13-16 

Point 1: Faith obeys the promise.   It isn't just sit and receive... it is actively responding.

Point 2: Faith lives out the promise without looking back or having all the details!  

... as I thought on my complaining about where I live and missing the beauty of where I was before we went into the field... I was reminded how wrong my protesting is.

I may not see, right now, why God wants us here, in this city.  I may seem to loose almost as much as I gain here.  BUT

#1 - It isn't about what we loose here.  I need to regularly acknowledge that I am an exile and stranger here -- someone with that status expects nothing of the place they are in!

#2 - If I am focused on desiring a better country in heaven vs. a better one here...than I will be looking to live more righteously here which ultimately equals NO complaining or lamenting, rather, contentment with God's plan!

It is interesting to me that verse 15 says God would have given them opportunity to go back if they wanted... but something tells me that is not a good thing... like free will and the choice to follow and obey with ALL mind and heart or be divided in mind, lacking full obedience, and God surrenders you to your broken ways....

I do NOT want that to be me! I want God to be proud to be called my God!


Lord, please forgive me for constantly stumbling in to the same trap.  Help me to keep heavenly focus, not an earthly one.  Help me to trust, as Abraham did, even when I can't see or make sense of your plan, to simply remember how BIG and trustworthy You are and that is more than enough!

*** 

Since penning those reflections God has given me drive and opportunity to rectify my groaning ways.  I was reminded of how, just because we are not in full-time missions work doesn't mean we stop being missional... we continue to serve our community and neighbors.  We are called to be missional, I knew this, but I had somehow lost site of it for a time, perhaps as a result of various hurts we experienced over the last few years.  But now, we are serving our community again, as if sojourners determined to do it all before the path carries us on.  It has re-opened my heart and even helped me to grow in love and compassion for my city and the array of people here; from those all in with their faith, to those fumbling around in the gray areas of understanding and application.  

Also, we may not be as close to the mountain get-aways as we were in our last 'home', but we aren't far either.  I've learned to see the surrounding topography as God's handy work and have even been able to enjoy new and different adventures which I love just as much as the old ones!  (minus the snakes of course!)


I've also learned how to manage the hurts of the past.  To be cautious but not overly guarded.  I forgave when they happened.  And in the last year, I got better at moving forward in healthier ways.  God can use personal set-backs and tragedies to teach us, grow us, and even further His best plans to use us for His glory.  

I don't regret anymore, though I do still miss the crystal-clear waters, fresh air and soaring mountains, it is more of a wistful reminiscent than an un-Godly rolling resentment!

What literal or proverbial "land" are you longing for right now?  

I pray, whatever your life challenges are today, that you are able to get a hold of God's greater plan.  Even if you can't see it, may you have confidence to walk by faith and not by site as Abraham did.

Blessings,

You can click here to see some of the great blogs I am linking up today ...

By the way.....

*Are you subscribed to my newsletter?  You might want to be.  Why?  Well, the newsletter contains bonus material you won't find on the website... not to mention, in those busy months when I can't get regular blog articles up, you can count on this periodical popping up in your email in-box each last Thursday with all new content!  What exactly does the newsletter contain?

• Encouraging articles on Faith, Home(making), and Homeschool
• Free printables under different themes each month
• Early Childhood Education bonus-packet with activities and articles on teaching littles at home
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Also, with your new subscription, you will be entered into my latest drawing!  I'm still working on the details for the new one, but I'm certain you will like whatever I concoct this time!!  

Scripture Reflections: Thoughts Cheerleader

Oh, this picture.  I found it at Pixaby, though I can't remember the search criteria I used.  I've been hoping and praying over a re-start to Walking in the Word Wednesdays, however, where I am at in my current study (of Matthew) is an odd place to pick up.  Instead, what kept weighing on my heart was September 2017 and all the spiritual tid-bits which fed my pause to sabbatical.  I scrolled through saved pictures on my desktop file and the one above dropped into view.  All I could think was her mountain-top perch under the heading I would create, "Unpacking: Scripture Reflections". 

I identified with her, making that hard climb to the tippy-top, then resting and soaking in the view of all the mountain-top and valley-lows which God gave her the strength to traverse through.  She is me, and I am her.  I've been climbing for the past year and now, I truly feel as though I have reached a summit; a point to sit, pause, reflect, and soak in the view of all God has worked in.  This picture and reflection opened my eyes to just how I ought to begin mid-week devotion lessons.

For a time, this may be a bit un-orthodox.  I prefer a sturdy devotion with well-anchored Text and clear, concise lessons.  But this, for the next little bit anyway, will be an unpacking version of the biggest bag of all: what God has shown me through His wonderful Word this past year and how He has grown me, in spite of myself!  Shall we begin?

At first my sabbatical was a relief.  A welcomed reprieve from 8-straight years of hard work through multiple moves and even traveling around the country as we did full-time missions work.  But as I stepped into the vacuum of life without writing, what was at first welcomed quickly became a stark reality.

My thoughts rambled around.  My hope was jumbled and I became my and my family's biggest critic as a result.  Perhaps it was that blogging was my escape.  My false god to hide behind a facade.  In some ways blogging opened a venue to see the best but it also provided an alcove to hide from the worst.  Yet, like a tiny pin-prick on the fingertip of life... when blogging was removed... blood poured out and pain poured over as I had to face certain truths and learn how to confront and manage them.

It took months to put life together.  To see life separate from my adventures in writing.  And the very first thing I learned was, while we ought not to stuff or glaze over the hardness, we also need to put on our best hope for resolutions.  One of my first reflective entries in sabbatical mode has this scripture penned at the bottom of my journal page (including my own emphasis):

.... whatever is TRUE, whatever is HONORABLE, whatever is JUST, 

whatever is PURE (wholesome), whatever is LOVELY, whatever is COMMENDABLE, 

if there is ANY excellence, if there is ANYTHING WORTHY OF PRAISE, 

think about THESE THINGS.

Philippians 4:8

In the void of no writing, I let the little things bug me so much I would complain, I would talk about things with others which were best rolled around between me and God, but most of all, I wouldn't give others, even my family, the benefit of true and noble thoughts.  It's hard to admit... but I had to learn how to become my family's biggest cheerleader, even if only in my thoughts... not at the expense of truth and reality, rather, in an evolving sense of considering their journeys with respect (most of them are adults) and hope-filled thoughts while also helping them grow past flaws and troubles constructively. 

I didn't realize it at the time, but I had been trying so hard to ignore and write myself out of the hardships of life that I didn't know what to do once I was faced head-on with them.  No alcove to escape to.  Just me and raw, messy, life.

I couldn't run and write about menus or Bible study or the sweet fluffy stuff of our school week and ignore pain, hurt, and brokenness.  Instead I cried, I complained, I moaned, I thought on strings of negativity.  And finally, I sat down and Listened.

Truth be told, when I went on sabbatical, I was even finding it hard to really get into my Bible study and prayer.  Yet, as I flip through the early pages of my time on 'rest', I see an out-pouring... out crying... to God, in search of His Face and waiting on His good Word.  September 23, 2017 was a beautiful example of His patient reply:

Think about these things

The TRUTH
... not to ignore it, rather, acknowledge it, give it space... but give it HOPE not condemnation, and the rest of this passage exemplifies that.  Inside of truth, also think about...

whatever is....
HONORABLE
JUST
PURE which connotes wholesome
LOVELY
COMMENDABLE...

.... and I think a turning point in the study of this passage was, "if there is any"... meaning, things may be tough, people may be trying but we need to LOOK for ANY, even a SPEC... any-little-piece of....

EXCELLENCE
and/or
THINGS WORTHY OF PRAISE
  
In big letters underlined in red along the side of the next page I wrote: 

BE THEIR BIGGEST CHEERLEADER!!

Cheerleaders are great.  Do you ever notice how, no matter what is going on... even if their team ranks at the very bottom of all the charts... even if the game is botched from the beginning with fumble after fumble... even when it is freezing cold out.... they jump up, pom-poms waving, they put on their best smell and shout cheer after cheer until they are hoarse.  They try to rally the crowd.  They strive to encourage the team.  And no matter what they think of the situation, their energy and positivity never waver as they look for ANY excellence or bit worthy of [cheer] and praise in the face of any truth.

Realistically, sometimes the cheerleader's encouragement and rallying cries boost esteem and games are won.  But just as often, in spite of all the cheers, balls are fumbled and scoreboards read unfavorably at the end of the game.  Yet, the process is made more bearable by their encouragement.

When I journaled words in reflection of Philippians 4:8, my marriage was strained and my kids were making choices I didn't see as their best potential.  Yet, at that time, as I rolled 4:8 around, I saw where I didn't need to ignore OR complain... instead, I could choose to be a cheerleader.  I could look at truth, both life's and God's, and I could recognize the honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy parts.  I could celebrate my family's achievements, even small, and I could simply wait and trust the results of their own opportunities at trial, even if it meant error, because at the end of the 'game', we could all at least be encouraged that our thoughts were minded and cast in the best place and, if thoughts breed words and action, then outwardly I knew I could be putting my best-foot forward on their behalf. 

A year ago this month, God set my feet onto a new trail up the mountain before me in this stage of life.  It began with my thoughts and a realization that I needed to learn some good cheers for game days!  I hoisted my pack up on my back and took to the trail with daily learning how to keep my mind in-tact.

 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, 

and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil,

 for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Luke 6:45 

 
I pray, whatever game follies may be happening in your life right now, that you can find your inner cheerleader... whether you need to cheer yourself on or those around you... and Trust the Play into the mighty Play-maker's Hands.  After all, these aren't the finals... we are merely in warm-up season!

Blessings,

If you are interested in the "Unpacking" series, where I reflect on the challenges and triumphs of the past year on Sabbatical, you can follow this link or simply type, "Unpacking" into the search box in the right column here on my site.  The articles aren't in order but they are all there!

You can click here to see some of the great blogs I am linking up today ...

By the way.....

*Are you subscribed to my newsletter?  You might want to be.  Why?  Well, the newsletter contains bonus material you won't find on the website... not to mention, in those busy months when I can't get regular blog articles up, you can count on this periodical popping up in your email in-box each last Thursday with all new content!  What exactly does the newsletter contain?

• Encouraging articles on Faith, Home(making), and Homeschool
• Free printables under different themes each month
• Early Childhood Education bonus-packet with activities and articles on teaching littles at home
• Insider info on the latest goings-ons with all things on my blog and writing related

You won't find all this great bonus material on the blog so be sure to sign up so you don't miss out!  It's Ok, hop over real quick, right there to your right, see it on my sidebar where it says, "Subscribe to my Newsletter" with a  picture of the "Faith and Home Times" logo above it?  Ok, now enter your email in the box labeled "email address" then click "Subscribe"....(don't worry, it doesn't hurt and I promise not to spam you!). You should receive a confirmation email from me.  

Also, with your new subscription, you will be entered into my latest drawing!  I'm still working on the details for the new one, but I'm certain you will like whatever I can think to concoct this time!!  

What is your Purpose?

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.  

Do not forsake the work of your hands

Psalm 138:8

Purpose, it's my 'one word' for 2017.  Not to be cliche, but I prayed about it and God, in fact, had ONE WORD in particular for me to realize this year... and purpose was it.

Purpose is one of those words - we are often torn between the noun and verb variations of application.  To be defined... or to be directed.  "What is my existential purpose".

It is our human nature.... "Why am I here?" [ie: purpose]

In our finite thinking we often fall into that trap of life being about us.  Yet, even as Christians, when we learn life is about GOD, not us, we still ask, "Why am I here... what is MY purpose?"

What if we have it all backwards?

What if... just maybe... God chooses people and, perhaps, even allows us to think our purpose is why we were crated.  We take quizzes and assessments and identify our spiritual gifts* and we press forward, declaration in hand, THIS IS MY PURPOSE.

But we have it backwards.

We miss it.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever....

.... to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

and brought Israel out from among them,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who divided the Red Sea in two,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

and made Israel pass through the midst of it,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who led his people through the wilderness,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

 -Psalm 136:1 & 10-16 

I could keep going but I think I have shared enough to make my point.

As I poured over Psalm 138 recently I noticed a penciled scribble in the margin of my warn ESV by verse 8, "see Psalm 136".  So I flipped one page back and (admittedly) skimmed through. First, that phrase echoed: his love endures forever.  Instantly I saw a connection between these two Psalms.  'Well that is cool Lord', I thought as I prepared to turn back to 138.  But I felt the pushing of the Spirit, look closer.  His invisible hand kept the page in place.  So I paused and looked a bit closer, suddenly noticing something more.....

WHO brought Israel out from among the Egyptians?  Wasn't it Moses?
WHO stretched out his arm to see the Red Sea parted?  Moses again... right?
WHO made Israel to pass through?  Didn't their own legs carry them?
WHO overthrew Pharaoh and his gang of brutes?  Didn't they stupidly run in after the Israelites themselves?
WHO led the people through the wilderness?  Again, Moses... right?

NO, God did.

God used man for GOD's purpose because, let's face it, man's purposes are always polluted by his fallen and sinful nature.

Back at Psalm 138 I read again,
God will fulfill HIS purpose FOR me

It isn't MY purpose for me or MY purpose for Him.... it is HIS purpose for HIM using me to fulfill it.  

Yes, I may have a purpose, but it has absolutely nothing to do with some intrinsic, self chosen, or talented drive.  Rather, it has EVERYTHING to do with HIS goals... not just for me, but for others and, ultimately, His goals are for His glory... and for us, collectively, as sojourners of planet earth, to be in relationship with Him.

Maybe that seems too complicated.... or perhaps it is too simplistic.  For me, as I poured over these verses, it was wonderfully powerful.  I suddenly realized I could quit trying so hard, stop trying ti figure and find purpose, stop attempting fruitlessly to work purpose's details out, and instead..... I could let go, and let God. Seriously. I was reminded of how, just like the push against 'religiousness', so is the push against self-propelled purpose: no amount of MY work and MY plans mean anything if they a) don't glorify God, b) don't draw myself or others closer to Him and (most importantly) c) don't LET Him direct my path.

Purpose wasn't about me trying to figure out MY plans and direction in life.... it is completely about God's plans to do stuff and my being pliable so He might use me to complete them.

Sure, I can have hopes and dreams and schedule and explore.  However, my greatest peace will come through keeping Proverbs 16:3-4a in mind....

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.  

The Lord has made everything for its purpose ....

it's purpose.... we have purpose, there is purpose in me, like a measuring cup's purpose is to measure, but it does not choose that purpose or contemplate it.  It did not create it's purpose... it was created FOR a purpose and it is useless until I pick it up and put it to work for MY purpose of cooking/baking.  Man may give the measuring cup it's existence and define it's purpose but the measuring cup is not propelled and fulfilling it's purpose until it's creator (or purchaser!!!) acts on it and through it.

How much more so is it between God and us!

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways 

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

I am truly 2nd!

I pray your heart might be encouraged today to know you don't have to try so hard to define yourself in life... God has already done that.  Instead, you can let go and let God work, like he did through Moses and the Israelites and so many others down the scope of history who simply allowed themselves to be vessels for which God could perform His intended function with and through.  They didn't even always know and understand... but they allowed the hands which created the universe to guide their lives and hearts... we can too!  (Hebrews 11)

Blessings,

*Post note:  I am not against Spiritual Gift assessments, as a matter of fact, when done and used correctly, I believe these tools can help us see more clearly what God created us to be used for.  They can be used to sift our ideas of ourselves out and move them to God's plan and Purpose for and through us! 

Linking up today with some of these...

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Imitations and Implications, Join Me?

Posed in my high back chair at the head of our dining room table in the early, quiet, dark hours of the morning, a dim bulb illuminating from above, I poured over the passage sprawling across the warn pages of my ESV...

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk 

according the example you have in us.

Philippians 3:17

How many times had I pressed into this passage over the years?  How many times had I grabbed a hold of the robes of my Lord to be kept from dark places because my heart had cried, sisters, join in imitating me.  My children watch.  My friends watch.  My family watch.  Those God gives me to disciple watch. What will they see.

On this chilly February morning, I saw. 

...keep your eyes on those who walk according the example you have in us.  What was this example?  In Paul's letter to the Philippians he shares some but digging deeper, a vast world of understanding opened before my eyes...

For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.  We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ.  We are weak, but you are strong.  You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.  To the present hour, we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands.  When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat.  We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.  

I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.  For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers.  For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  I urge you, then, be imitators of me....

1 Corinthians 4:9-16

Paul is not complimenting the Corinthians.  On the contrary, he is admonishing them.  He is pointing out how they stand... and the contrast it is to how he and other disciples of Christ stand in the Lord.  And while the epistles are replete with evidence of how the faithful of faithful followed Christ, something in this passage of Corinthians stirred inside of me.

Not-one-positive-thing-is-said of Paul and his companions and their condition and consideration... at least by worldly standards.  They are spectacles, fools for Christ's sake.  They seem down-and-out.  YET, and here is the one positive, in harsh situations, instead of retaliation, they bless, endure, and entreat.  While the Corinthian believers  appear wise, strong, and held in honor... Paul doesn't commend them for this.  Instead, he stops just shy of condemning them.

But, Paul, I thought wisdom, strength and honor were desirable attributes.  Yet, I don't think he is saying they are not.  Rather, I believe he is pointing to WHO counts believers as wise, strong and honorable... because, by the world's standards... few (if any) believers would attain such praises. 

As Christians, we can see the work, devotion to scripture, sacrifice and endurance of fellow believers and whole-heartedly and rightfully so consider them wise, strong and honorable.  Yet, these same people, according to Paul, would seem fools to the world.  Their work and devotion: a spectacle.  As a result the world will revile, persecute, slander... even consider such faith-filled believers scum.

My mind was drawn back to the now.  To the implication of Philippians in the face of Corinthians.  To thinking on church and Christianity and this rat race to be the example, to follow me as I follow.  Leaders, followers, all looking.  But looking where?

In the now, people want fads.  People want to be told they can look like the world, be excepted by worldly friends, do worldly things, be honored, wise and seen as strong... commended.

Yet, we are not called to be of the world.  We are required to be in it.  Sojourners through it.  We are called to look like fools to the world.  We are called... to be spectacles.  We aren't meant to be of the culture, rather, counterculture.

Now.  People gather around the latest fads and trends in ministering.  They clamor to praise, and be praised.  They search for the wide, easy, road where all self-propelled pursuits, desires and passions are justified.  Fads and trends which allow them to keep status-quo.

A comfortable faith.
A praiseworthy faith with applause from the world.
A rusting honor.
Crumbling strength next to faulty wisdom.

No.

Imitate me. 

Not just any me. 
Not just an idea ... follow my ideas. 
Not just interpretation... follow my interpretation.
Not just a message... my message.

No.

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1

Funny.  The scripture address just happens to have a lot of 1's! Aptly so because there is only....
One idea.
One interpretation.
One message.
And all from One person in Jesus Christ.

As we lead others to imitate us... let us not forget to lead by Jesus' example... not our own or someone else's idea, interpretation, message or self-desire.  Simply Jesus.  What did HE do?  What were HIS ideas?  How did HE interpret? What was HIS MESSAGE. 

As we follow in imitating others... let us be real in asking if that person is really imitating Christ... or are they simply an imitation.  Do they speak their own ideas, words, opinions and interpretations... are they speaking others' ideas, words, opinions and interpretations... OR are they sharing God's amazing Word as-it-is... raw, hard, and, at times, uncomfortable and convicting.  Are they making themselves look like fools... a spectacle to the world - or are they honored by the world because they are so good at looking like it?

I heard Francis Chan recently speaking at a conference for leaders (I shared the video on my Facebook page.)  I loved how he explained he didn't know everything there was to know about God's Word, BUT, if he came across anything that differed from what he thought.... he didn't try to make God's Word fit His ideas or the latest fads.... no... he would recognize he needed to change his pattern of thought to fit the pattern of Scripture.

Paul did.  He only imitated Christ.  Not Peter, not John.... just.Christ.  And I believe the only reason he called others to imitate him, wasn't because he was special, but because he was humble and because he sought, with his whole heart, to look like his savior.

Shouldn't we?

I pray, whether you are a leader or a follower... or both.... that you see and imitate only that which is wholly and completely Christ.

Blessings,

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