God knows kids screw up

I currently don't have the mental energy to give this subject the time and analysis it deserves. So, please to be forgiving the slapdash feel of these thoughts. ;o)

I've been thinking a lot lately about this:

In the denomination in which I grew up, either I was taught, or I absorbed as though through osmosis, that mistakes and sins are the same thing.

They are not.

Sometimes, I do the wrong thing for the simple reason that I am a human being.

I am a child who has not yet acquired all the necessary skills for leading a life free from mistakes.

I understand the difference between good and evil. But sometimes, I just don't know any better than to do something. Sometimes, I just make a mistake. It's not a sin. It just wasn't the right decision.

Like I said, there's more to it than this, but that's all I have brainpower for right now.

Ending thusly:

"God knows quite well how hard we find it to love Him more than anyone or anything else, and He won't be angry with us as long as we are trying. And He will help us."

--C.S. Lewis
in Letters to Children, 6 May 1955
(Emphasis mine)

1. Corinthians 13 made practical

Bri posted something on her blog yesterday that I think is worth posting on mine, too. Here it is, followed by an expansion of the comments I left on Bri's blog:

1 CORINTHIANS 13 (For Missionaries):

If I speak the language like a native,
But have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And If I have all the answers,
So as to convert millions, but have not love,
I gain nothing.
Love is patient with the home congregation
And kind to demanding converts;
Love is not jealous of fellow missionaries,
Boastful because it is American,
Nor rude to its hosts.
Love does not insist on its own mission methods,
And does not become frustrated nor embittered.
It does not rejoice in the failures of its fellow workers,
But truly rejoices at their successes.
Love will stand all criticism,
Give consideration to all advice,
Help all beggars,
And endure all visitors.
Love never ends;
As for methods, they will pass away;
As for language, it shall cease;
As for cultural understanding, it will pass away.
For our understanding is imperfect;
But where love abounds, such imperfections are overshadowed.
Before I went into the field, I knew all the answers;
When I became mature I pondered my presumptiveness.
For then I saw romantically and confidently,
But now realistically and humbly;
Then I thought I knew the heathen,
But now they have come to know me.
Cultural understanding,
Methods,
And Love abide, these three,
But the greatest of these is love!

(paraphrased by Dan and Joyce Hardin)
(Taken from Christian Woman, January 1974)

My thoughts:

Ouch. I've had a copy of this for several years, and I take it out and read it about once a year.....and I'm thinking it's been too long since the last time I read it.

One of the most difficult things for a missionary--or any leader in the church, for that matter--to do is keep focus, keep the right perspective. Frustrations do build up.....and as for me, sometimes I erroneously feel like I'm not allowed to voice them. After all, I'm supposed to be setting an example of longsuffering and faith, right?

Right. But part of longsuffering is being able to voice frustrations--and release tensions--with the right attitude. And my attitude is wrong so very often. I am critical, I am judgmental, and I am proud. (I don't care how you try to euphemize it.....being proud is a sin. And when I give in to it, I am hurting instead of helping people around me. But I'll write on that subject more extensively another time.)

I think this paraphrase of 1. Corinthians 13 applies not only to "missionaries". After all, what is a missionary? One who goes out to tell others about Jesus. Another word for such a person is evangelist.

Or Christian.

Because every Christian, by definition, is supposed to be an evangelist. Every Christian is supposed to be a missionary. Not necessarily in the context of going to a foreign country (or coming back to their own country) to evangelize. But every single one of us is supposed to be living, thinking, speaking, loving, breathing in such a way as to represent Christ on earth. If you are a Christian, you are an ambassador from God, sent to reach out to those who don't know him.

It's not the preachers' job. It's not the elders' job. It's not the missionaries' job. It's not the Bible class teachers' job.

It's your job.

I'm not writing this to inspire guilt in anyone. This isn't supposed to be a why-aren't-you-out-there-doing-your-job? kind of post. But the paraphrase above got me thinking, since it's subtitled "For Missionaries". We need to expand our definition of the word "missionary." The current definition seems to be "someone who goes to a foreign country and leads and teaches in a local church" or something like that. But I believe we need to re-think that.

Ephesians 6 describes Christians as soldiers in a spiritual war against evil. C.S. Lewis describes us as soldiers sent behind enemy lines to sabotage Satan's plans. If you're a Christian, God has put his armor on you, he has given you the weapons you need, and he considers you ready for battle. He has led you into battle, and you have followed. You are now behind enemy lines, and your job is to help free the captives.

You can do it with your words. You can do it with the decisions you make each day. You can do it with a smile, with encouraging words, with the time that you give to another. You can do it by being a shoulder to cry on. You don't have to leave your country, your city, or even your neighborhood. Maybe all you need to do is step out your front door (remember what Bilbo said!) and start a conversation with the guy next-door. Just brighten your corner of the world with the love that Jesus is giving you every moment of your life.

To be the soldier that God has made you, just open your eyes, look closely at the people you see......take those loving concepts from 1. Corinthians and start living them.

excerpt from Courtney's journal

July 24, 2005

In the rubble that is too often our office, Ed unearthed the November/December 2004 issue of 21st Century Christian, and I found the following in it which struck me as noteworthy and thought-provoking:

“Mr. C.S. Lewis…said, ‘There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.’ We look at each other and see—what?—nothing special, just a guy, just a waitress, just a cop, just a Sunday School teacher. But Lewis rightly points out, ‘Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors,’ (The Weight of Glory).

“As we walk sleepily and distractedly through this vale of tears, we would do well to recall that these seemingly-ordinary folks all about us are in fact pretty extraordinary (and need to be treated thusly). That woman was made in the image of Almighty God. And this fellow is my brother for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died (Romans 14:15). ‘Next to [communion] itself,’ Lewis wrote, ‘your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.’

“Things are not always what they seem.”

--from Things Are Not Always As They Seem
by Ken Durham

I say that I agree with Durham and Lewis. I say that I believe they’re right, that I believe each of my fellow humans is an immortal with either heavenly or damned potential. I say that I believe that each of my fellow humans is either an immortal horror or an eternal splendor…

…But do I live as though I truly believe this?

If I truly believed this, if I truly believed that my fellow humans are nearly the holiest objects in existence here on earth, how would this belief change my relationships? How would this belief in the holiness of humans change how I see everyone else besides myself?

Would I still mutter irritably under my breath at the guy who rides his bike on the sidewalk where he shouldn’t?
Would I still rant and rave and bluster about how that woman annoyed me and “spoiled my mood” this morning?
Would I still complain or giggle about someone when that person isn’t present?
Would I still point out a fellow human being to my friends so we can laugh amongst ourselves at how that person walks/talks/dresses?
Would I still just say whatever pops into my head when speaking with others, instead of giving a little more consideration to the effect my words are going to have?
Would I ever dare make the statement that another person deserves to die?
Would I ever dare make the statement that another person got what he/she deserved?

I’m a sinner. I deserve to die. But I’m also a child of God. So I will never get what I deserve for eternity.

If I truly comprehended all the implications of these facts, I would treat other humans, these holy, immortal beings—for better or for worse—with an attitude of sacred care. Not with irritation, anger, contempt, or belittling. But with respect. And sincere, honest, devoted, self-sacrificial love.

Can you imagine what the world would look like if only we Christians—not even anyone else, just the Christians—treated other people in this way?

Talk about changing the world.