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vivmeeraj
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Joined: 2012/5/26
Posts: 61


 Victorious Christian Life - 3 - Others

2 Cor 8: 1-5 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God

One cannot replace the aspect of ‘others’ with charity, spiritual work or good deeds. It is about love, understanding and care for others. In my Christian life, I have seen very few people who are really concerned about others as much as they are concerned about themselves.
If you want to be Christ like, allow God to break your will, selfishness, pride, self righteousness, self justification and all the hypocrisies. I was one with all that and God had to work really hard to break me! It was a real hard experience for me. There is a better way for you which is yielding to Him (word of God) unconditionally. One has to be broken to be molded into a shape that our Lord wants us to have. If not, we would build a beautiful structure uninhabitable for our Lord.

Some of the areas to be careful concerning others are the following.

1. Never judging others even when they are wrong.

Matt. 7:1-5 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

This is an acid test for even true followers of Christ. We see people with all kinds of difference in their teachings, faith, practices, worship etc. We judge them from a religious perspective.

Then we see believers and non believers around us living in all kinds of circumstances and levels. We judge them from a social perspective.
We have too many reasons to judge!
I have had my struggles with this grave sin. I meditated about it and finally realized something. We judge people primarily for one reason – lack of love. We can never judge a person if we love unconditionally. Even when they are at fault, we cannot judge them but be compassionate. We can understand this from the mistakes our dear ones (children for example) make. We may correct them, warn them etc. But we just don’t judge and write them off.

2. Loving all, even those who do not deserve it

1 Peter 3: 8- 12 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
Loving some people could be a very difficult task! Some ‘are’ completely unlovable. They go away from you when you try to reach them. They don’t understand you. They bad mouth you. You name it. There is only one ideal reaction to these which is to love unconditionally. It is difficult to practice. But the fruit of it would be a great blessing. Peace and happiness.

Rom 12:17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. Rom 12:18 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Practice – make believe yourself, you are only called to love and not to expect anything in return.

3. Considering every human being equal irrespective of class, positions, possessions etc.

Rom 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
This is another area many Christians have failed miserably. If one is not able to understand that every human being is equal in the eyes of God, one has not understood God at all. I am sure we are all smart enough to admit that all are equal for God. But let us take a look into ourselves. Do you see differences in class, creed, status etc? Let us be honest.

James 2: 2- 9 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Considering people different for their class, creed, colour, status etc is abominable in the eyes of God. Let us get rid of it.

4. Supporting others in need.

James 2:15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food James 2:16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

Christendom has been flooded with messages of prosperity and personal benefits that people have lost that it is actually all about love and sacrifice. But there is a small, probably very small lot who would not set any limit to how much or how far they would go when it comes to lending a hand. They go on and on beyond all limits, denying self and taking up the cross. They live a higher life indeed which is pleasing god.

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death

Recently, God gave me light in this area through a family. They demonstrated what it means to stretch out – beyond limits. They spent their time, resources, comforts etc to lend a hand to another family in need. They did not stop at that but kept on interceding for the family in every way. They did not set a limit to what they could do, and God also didn’t set a limit to what they could achieve! Praise God. They taught me a lesson in true spirituality which has yielded spiritual fruits in me as well.

It is the Christian response to need. 11 years of listening to pure word didn’t give me this life. A good testimony yields many more. All the scriptural knowledge and experience looked like nothing in front of Life. This is the life Jesus wants us to have. This is the river of living waters that flows through a person who believes in Jesus Christ. Jesus was like that, we ought to have His nature in us.

There is a cross which we need to take up to follow Him. It means sacrificing time, privacy, money, wealth, comforts etc for the sake of others. Where do we stand in this? Let us repent and set a higher standard for ourselves in this area.
In the parable of the Samaritan, we can see that he felt compassion in the first place, then he put in personal efforts to bandage him and take him to the inn. There he spent money for him and most importantly, told the inn keeper that if there were any additional expenses incurred, he will take care of it. See the flow of events, starting from compassion! We need more grace to have this attitude of Christ Jesus himself.

Luke 10:29-37 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. “On the next day he took out two denary and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’”Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Practice – look for an opportunity to lend a hand, may be some time with one who is depressed, may be a word of consolation, may be a small financial support. Do not wait for the person to approach you.



Full article available at http://maninchrist.org/?p=34

Praise and glory to God


_________________
Rajesh

 2012/5/28 1:12Profile





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