The Inconvenient Truth

Since Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life . . . wait a second, rewind that! See that second word? He is the TRUTH. With that being the case; you would think His followers would be able to better deal with the truth. Honesty and holding someone accountable is not being judgmental-- it's part of our Christian walk.

The truth is we as Christians want as much of Jesus as possible and desire to have everything He will give us as long as He doesn't inconvenience our lives! That's what I call the inconvenient truth. Why do I believe this? Because I used to be one of the worst. Who knows how many years I talked about wanting to get involved in the community, give back, go on mission trips and be a servant. There was only one problem-- you can't be selfish, prideful and inconsiderate and also walk in humility, thoughtfulness and altruism.

I've worked diligently over the past couple of years of letting God mold me into being less ME, ME, ME, but it's really just been this year where I started to embrace the notion I was TRULY second. It's not that I cared any less about me or lowered my self-worth by coming to his conclusion. In fact, it was just the opposite-- because I have begun to grasp my self-worth, started to answer the call on my life and have let God take a look under the hood and begin to make my engine (Spirit) run better; I've come to the realization what truly matters is putting others above ourselves. (J.O.Y- Jesus Others Yourself).

At the urging of my best friend Sara, I started volunteering at the local Christian Ministry soup kitchen. After talking about it for years, I finally took the plunge and diving into the waters of benevolence has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever experienced! These waters have baptized me into a life of greater purpose. If you want to truly test your motives and purity of heart . . . do something for someone who has nothing to offer in return. In doing so, you will find a rare and special type of fulfillment. That's a guarantee.

See, I am concerned. It's like the Casting Crowns song says, "If we are the body (of Christ), why aren't His arms reaching? I believe the reason is-- it's not convenient. The greatest directive our Savior gave us, after loving Him, was to love our neighbors as ourselves and treat them the way we want to be treated also known as the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12). I feel we are treading on very dangerous ground brothers and sisters. In a 'feel good,' instant gratification society, many have adopted that same attitude in their walk with Christ. They just want to feel good! That, in and of itself, is not a bad thing, but what I've learned, primarily through Jesus' 33 years on this earth, is love is not love without sacrifice. Can you love without giving up something? Can you love without putting the other person's needs, wants, desires and dreams in front of your own?

After all, don't you think the Creator of the Universe, who sent His son to die for you, deserves at least that much?

Many of us, in the body, want everything God has to offer us, except the privilege of sharing in His suffering. That's where we draw the line! It's in our trials, tests and tribulations, in our suffering, we find dependency on Him. It's during those times we are finally honest with ourselves and admit we don't have ALL the answers.The reality of our Christian walk is it's not supposed to be easy, but it is meant to be rewarding. I believe there is an epidemic in our churches-- we want to feel good for an hour and a half, we want God's blessings, but when it's time for us to put the work in . . . we want none of it. I know there are many who devote their lives to service, serve the poor in their cities, towns and in foreign lands and love the downtrodden, but to put it bluntly most Christians just want a 'cake walk.'

We just want to 'feel good.' We want to get caught up in a feeling of euphoria. Do we want each word we sing to be doused in love, adoration and gratitude for our Heavenly Father when we worship or do we just want to find an emotional high we can carry throughout the week? We want God to have control of our lives except for this area or that one-- as long as He doesn't step on our toes, change our attitude about that one person or make me look like some freak and turn me into an outcast; we're all for Him working in our lives! Don't even get me started on how much we hate the thought of God asking us to sacrifice anything for the sake of the Kingdom. We don't want to sacrifice-- not OUR money, not OUR time, not OUR energy and not OUR resources. . . even though it's NOT our's to begin with and never will be (James 1:17).

If you love Jesus; that love compels you to serve Him, to obey Him, to please Him. . . to do more! It's not about your salvation, that was purchased through unmerited Grace through the Great Sacrifice, and it's not even about storing up treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:20)-- it's about knowing there is not a better feeling this life can afford than being obedient to God and making Him smile.

Life is about trifold blessings-- when we do for others-- they bless Him, bless the recipients of our acts of love and we get blessed as result. To see someone who has very little light up just because you gave a little bit of your time. To hear a homeless person tell you thank you profusely and how much they appreciated the meal. To bring people in out of the rain and feed them the only warm meal they will eat that week. To live those moments is to find true love. To live those moments is to look straight into the eyes of Jesus.

I encourage you to find the courage, the time (yes you have it) and enough love for Jesus to sacrifice. When you do . . . You will find more purpose, more faith, more character, more perspective and what this life is truly all about.

In short, you will find the TRUTH and not an inconvenient one.