Re: I might have something for you
Submitted by Chris on January 24 2002 18:17:45
In reply to Hearts for Christ submitted by Bach on January 23 2002 16:43:52
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Dear Bach, After I read your post yesterday and wrote my reply, I went home and read out of "My Utmost For His Highest". I was amazed because the reading for that day had much to say in regards to your post. Let me share some of it with you... "The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside. The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that is "hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3) That wasn't the entire quote but it is the part I wanted to share with you. You know my friend, we are called to do Christ's work here on earth...every Christian is. And for us, a lot of that work is not going to be easy and we are definately going to know hardship and suffering. Just as Jesus was put down, laughed at, ridiculed, even tortured and killed; we are not immune to these things. That is why God gives us His Holy Spirit, His Word, and each other. There are a lot of Christians out there who expect to live a utopian life here on earth and are even taught that in thier place of worship, but when someone looks at them a little funny or maybe says something within ear-shot that maybe hurts thier "higher Christian sensability", they get shakey and start to get all choked up. I cannot help but wonder what would happen to them if they had to put up with the world at large and most of the Christian community comming up against them, telling them that thier faith is no good and that there is no way they could ever be a Christian or ever measure up to whatever standards might be popular at the time. That is our lot, isn't it? That is what we have to face because we have made a choice to love and follow our Lord. It almost seems like for every one step forward we make, we have to take two back because we are put down or harrased or somebody finds CBLF and decides to go on an all-out evangelical binge to "purge the world of people like us"! Or perhaps something happens to one of us and a lot of people find out we are Boylovers in our real-life communities. And when that person tries to tell them that he is a Christian and really loves God with all his heart, does he get a warm reception from all the local churches? And do they listen with fascination as he tells them of his faith? Oh no, no way! That person is branded as a child molester by some, MAYBE, just MAYBE accepted by one or two if he is lucky (I should say "blessed"), and then they want to put him in front of shrinks and hook him up to poligraph machines. My friend, I am working on something you might really like! I believe in my heart that we who are Christians out on the fringe of the social circle are actually today's versian of the Gentiles of Jesus' time. And I also believe with all my heart that just as they needed a Paul, so do we! I will go into more detail on that at a latter time but please keep your faith and just know that it is by all the hardships and persecution that we have to face and endure that we KNOW we are walking with God and doing His good work! It would actually be more frightening if everyone accepted us with open arms! Love in Christ Jesus, Chris |
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