Those words from Jesus stuck in my mind during church yesterday morning. Especially the beginning of verse 38 - "give and it will be given to you."
Look at the little girl in this picture. Her name is Autumn. We met at a wellness event in an area community. Some friends and I were there promoting disc golf. Autumn was there to have fun.
Autumn was a cool kid, much like my granddaughter. Full of energy, a big smile. She was "giving" and didn't even know it. But she was struggling to get any of the putters into the basket - just six feet away.
After a little instruction, Autumn made her first putt. and then another and another. She was hooked. By the end of the day Autumn had made 105 putts!
Think about that verse - "give and it will be given to you." Autumn gave her smile and her energy, freely, without condition. Her instructor gave her the knowledge she needed to successfully make her putts. In return her instructor received the gift of watching a young child learn a portion of the game of disc golf.
I wondered where our world would be if we only would give to one another, without condition. And what if we gave to God just as unconditionally. So often our relationship with God is a one-way street. We pray for things that WE want, not necessarily for the things that GOD wants.
The key to all of this is giving (and love). It's not necessarily the receiving. In order to receive something, doesn't it first have to be given?
Now look at the first part of our opening verse. "Do not judge and you will not be judged." Did we judge this little girl? No. We just saw her for who she was - an energetic, smiling, innocent kid. We didn't know her background, her family status, whether she was rich or poor or believed in Jesus.
Are all of our earthly relationships like that? Non-judgmental? Freely giving to each other? Do we give of ourselves at work or at school? Do we volunteer in our communities or at church? What does this teaching of Jesus look like at our southern border? In Ukraine? In our inner cities? In Washington DC?
Jesus said the following in the Book of John. How do we reconcile His words with our actions?
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:35
How can we love others like Jesus today?
No comments:
Post a Comment