Have you ever noticed the way you look at something can transform your attitudes and actions toward a particular situation or person?
Quiet often we view situations and people around us in a way that benefits us the most. That is a kind way to say we view things in a selfish way. We tend to look at situations and people in ways that would benefit us.
But what would happen if we viewed situations and people through God's eyes? What would happen if instead of thinking about our own needs or wants when interacting with other people we simply attempted to see people the way God sees them.
I'm sure that perhaps there are a few scriptures that affirm the viewpoint of seeing people the way God wants us to see them.
For Summer of Blessing we are supposed to be meeting our neighbors? Why? That seems so ridiculously simple. Wouldn't it be better to develop some elaborate plan with detailed follow up for connecting with people around us?
Well...
Perhaps learning to simply view the people around us with God's eyes is where we all need to start. How amazing would it be if every time we interacted with anyone around us our first response was to quickly pray and ask God to help us see this person with his eyes. The results might amaze us. We might discover ourselves generously showing patience, mercy, and kindness to some. We may discover ourselves taking a few moments to interact with others not because we have the time but because God needs us to take the time. We might begin to recognize people who are seeking God and need someone to talk to. We might encounter someone who simply needs a word encouragement. And we might even be surprised to discover that God has brought someone into our lives tnot so we can bless them but so that they can bless us.
Have you been a blessing to someone this week?
Monday, June 18, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
Summer of Blessing
This summer Sugar Grove is doing the Summer of Blessing which is a week by week challenge to help us be a light for Jesus Christ where we live.
Earlier this week I was reading through a couple of Paul's letters with someone and it really struck me how wildly different his attitude and lifestyle were from our typical American Christian lifestyle.
We tend to put our 'Christian' effort into church related things and then work somewhere, go to school somewhere, live somewhere, go to eat somewhere etc...We give very high value to being happy. We want to be happy and we don't want to do anything that would cause anyone around us to be unhappy. Our happiness is typically determined by how much things are going our way in life. Our attitude is typically dependant upon how happy we are.
Paul lived out his walk with Christ wherever he was. His focus in life was to make sure everyone around him heard the news of Jesus Christ- no matter where he was. He was more concerned about Jesus Christ than he was about happiness. However his attitude was not determined by how much things were going his way. His attitude was determined by the incredible hope of life in Christ. It did not matter what was going on in life, whether shipwrecked or in prison, because his attitude was shaped by Christ. He was not concerned about making sure his life was happy or about making sure those around him were happy. Instead he showed love and peace to those around him, even his guards in prison, and made sure everyone around him knew of the incredible news of Jesus Christ- even if learning about Jesus Christ would make others unhappy.
As I thought through Paul's life as compared to my life I realize I am just about a 180 opposite from Paul. How did that happen?! I love God and I want to live for him and I want others to know about Jesus Christ but somewhere along the way I have devised my own plan for what it means to live as a Christian and that plan sure does look different than Paul's plan.
So tomorrow I will change and start living just like Paul! Great. Except changing in one day just doesn't work very well. It takes weeks and weeks and months and months to change. So how do I change to be more like Paul.
One step at a time.
I have to learn that letting my light shine isn't something I do at 11600 West Airport Blvd and no place else. I have to learn to listen to God's Holy Spirit every step of my day. I have to change what I am doing which means spending a little less time doing my Christianity at the church building and a little more time living for God where I am. I need to learn to see the people around me with God's eyes and not with my eyes.
Summer of Blessing is an incremental challenge to pay attention and act with the people who I am around every day.
Earlier this week I was reading through a couple of Paul's letters with someone and it really struck me how wildly different his attitude and lifestyle were from our typical American Christian lifestyle.
We tend to put our 'Christian' effort into church related things and then work somewhere, go to school somewhere, live somewhere, go to eat somewhere etc...We give very high value to being happy. We want to be happy and we don't want to do anything that would cause anyone around us to be unhappy. Our happiness is typically determined by how much things are going our way in life. Our attitude is typically dependant upon how happy we are.
Paul lived out his walk with Christ wherever he was. His focus in life was to make sure everyone around him heard the news of Jesus Christ- no matter where he was. He was more concerned about Jesus Christ than he was about happiness. However his attitude was not determined by how much things were going his way. His attitude was determined by the incredible hope of life in Christ. It did not matter what was going on in life, whether shipwrecked or in prison, because his attitude was shaped by Christ. He was not concerned about making sure his life was happy or about making sure those around him were happy. Instead he showed love and peace to those around him, even his guards in prison, and made sure everyone around him knew of the incredible news of Jesus Christ- even if learning about Jesus Christ would make others unhappy.
As I thought through Paul's life as compared to my life I realize I am just about a 180 opposite from Paul. How did that happen?! I love God and I want to live for him and I want others to know about Jesus Christ but somewhere along the way I have devised my own plan for what it means to live as a Christian and that plan sure does look different than Paul's plan.
So tomorrow I will change and start living just like Paul! Great. Except changing in one day just doesn't work very well. It takes weeks and weeks and months and months to change. So how do I change to be more like Paul.
One step at a time.
I have to learn that letting my light shine isn't something I do at 11600 West Airport Blvd and no place else. I have to learn to listen to God's Holy Spirit every step of my day. I have to change what I am doing which means spending a little less time doing my Christianity at the church building and a little more time living for God where I am. I need to learn to see the people around me with God's eyes and not with my eyes.
Summer of Blessing is an incremental challenge to pay attention and act with the people who I am around every day.
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