I have found it so incredibly easy to find fault in almost anything. I have found it so much harder to accept there is a fault in anything. The moments of perfection are quickly diffused by chaos and uncertainty. Always. No matter the circumstance.
My personal go-to in these situations is... complain to myself. I find it humorous how one moment I'm outraged and then after some sleep I realize how ridiculous I was being. "How did I get so upset about that?" "Why did I let that bother me so much?" "Why do I care so much?" But then I do it again. A lesson that seems to never be learned. A lesson I don't want to come to terms with.
How is it that every time we feel sad it is only fixed by something good. How is it that something only is a lesson if we can reflect back positively on it. Why is the world constantly giving us options to fix our bad situation. Why can't we just sit and be miserable? Why do Christians always have to look "happy" and "rejoicing in the truth."
Understanding this has always been a constant struggle of mine. We raise hands about something we can only pray is fixed. We might not even live in the generation that sees real change. The truth is ugly. The truth is scary. The truth is "demeaning." People believe that it's all "fake."
As silly as this sounds... it's sometimes my guilty mindset. I have noticed when I witness to others, I tend to focus more on what Jesus took me away from rather than what He brought me to. I feel its easy for us to get into rants about our past and hope and pray its relatable to someone.
I have found I get more of a reaction when I focus less on my past and more on God's future in my life. It's alarming how easy it is to get distracted from the main goal. It is never to impress or resonate. It is never to be relatable or understood. It is to lead people to Jesus. Most importantly to encourage friendship with Jesus.
In one of my favorite songs by Casting Crowns, "Jesus Friend Of Sinners" It capitalizes on the stumbling block we can be as Christians, without even knowing. "The World is on their way to You but they're tripping over me" Personally, this is the most humbling verse of a song I have ever listened to.
How scary is it to think maybe we as Christians are the reason the world is at a standoff with itself. The one thing we preach goodness about might be held back by Us. The moment we feel like we are advancing might be the moment we are harming. In Luke, Jesus gives us a story about judgment as Christians.
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." — Luke 6:41-42
Jesus in this verse addresses the Christian who is often found to judge the lives of others. Our judgment is divided by standards only We could set. If you're like me, you've unfortunately found yourself guilty of this. It's a hard concept to accept but one that is vital to living a life of Godliness... Our lives contain just as much misfortune as their's does.
We, as Christians, love this teaching. We love it so much, that we are guilty of developing our own idea around it. Jesus warns us of how the danger of this can lead the 1 out of the 99 astray. We have become guilty of swinging the sword that wasn't ours to swing.
I pray that we begin to open our eyes to those hurting. I pray that we view harmful words of others as low self-confidence and not an attack on ourselves. I pray that we reach out when no one else will. I pray that if everyone's door is closed that ours are open. I pray that when we witness we consider the setbacks of others just as equally impactful as our own. I pray every time we point, it's in the direction of the sky.
Help us to remember you created all of us with the same grace and image.
Break our hearts for what breaks yours.
