Don't cross oceans for those who wouldn't even jump in a puddle for you.
Now! This one has me particularly vexed. It is so disheartening when I see CHRISTIANS posting this — like, are you serious? Are you posting this at gunpoint? I need a reason why you think this statement is okay.
I am just so so so grateful that I was not raised on this principle and I am even more happy Jesus did not have this mentality. What would it look like if Jesus thought like this? It would look like carrying the cross to Calvary but not actually being nailed to it. Like a partial sacrifice, like a "you're doing enough," like a "they can't meet you halfway?" This is once again a lazy Christianity, this is a hands-off approach to the gospel. This is an "I'll do for you what you'll do for me and that's it." That is NOT love. That's sacrificial love that is conditional. That is "if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" — that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Cross the ocean.
I have to say I am so blessed that I have had the privilege of people who have crossed oceans for me. Whether I didn't want to, whether I was too weak to, or whether they decided I was worth crossing the ocean for. God looks at His children the same way and He sent His Son to cross an ocean that you and I could have never crossed. He sent His Son to do in our own strength what we couldn't. He deemed us worth it. Cross that ocean for somebody, go the extra mile. God sees you and God will reward your sacrifice, not necessarily earthy but your reward will be in heaven. You never lose when you choose to follow God's will, you only gain. Cross the ocean for someone who wouldn't even jump in a puddle for you.
No one is telling you to be taken advantage or to become a doormat for abuse. But if you're looking to have the same love and appreciation reciprocated back to you all the time, baby, you're in the wrong faith. This is a SELFLESS walk. Do we completely understand the sacrifice of Calvary? Jesus comes on a donkey, people praise him saying HOSANA! Jesus comes bearing a cross filled with THEIR sins, they shout CRUCIFY him. People aren't always going to jump in a puddle for you and that's okay. If you only do so that you will receive in return, again, this is not the faith for you. This faith, this walk, this lifestyle is a life of sacrifice.
I don't want my reward to be here on Earth, I am storing up for my riches in eternity. Only someone who sees this life as everything will end up with nothing. You are a visitor, you are an ambassador of the kingdom, this is not your home, you are a guest here. So you do as Jesus would after He healed the blind or cleansed the leper or raised the man from the dead. He didn't say okay in return or need something. That wasn't His heart. This does come down to a heart problem and I'm here to do a heart check.
Why would you feel as if you are owed? What do you possess Earthly that isn't even attributed to you, but God? Check your heart. Check your intentions. Are they rooted in Godly principles? And then there are those who only share and post this ridiculous rhetoric because it sounds cool. But let me prompt you. Don't ever compromise the cross for the culture. The cross is eternal and the culture changes constantly. The culture loved Jesus and claimed him to the King of the Jews and the Messiah and that same culture accused him of being blasphemous and hung him on a tree to die. Not only did he cross the ocean, but he walked on the water to show you in the midst of the storm that he is still God.
Some people have never had the experience of God's reckless love portrayed in this life. They never truly had someone give and give and expect nothing in return. If you can reflect the true essence of God's love to someone in need of it, you not only gain souls but soften hearts. God never requires of us something He hasn't always displayed. He doesn't say do as I say, He says do as I do. So cross the ocean, because it was crossed for you.
