Hindsight: Add Value

 I'm older today. Though not exactly old. This last year has brought a few unexpected, yet God-ordained, transitions that have been wonderful blessings in their own right. I've learned a lot of stuff in my life. But it all boils down to this.

Learn how to add value to people's lives and you will never be without friends, job, cause to live for, something that matters, purpose that wakes you up in the morning, and a reason to keep on breathing.

Life is about more than just yourself. Life is about more than having the latest things, wearing the latest things, driving the latest things, knowing the latest things. Life—and the only thing that really matters right when you boil it all down to the bare essentials—is all about connecting to others, and helping others connect to God. The best, broadest, purest, and the simplest way is to learn to live, love, and add value to another person's life.

Life lived for yourself is a roller coaster, up one day and down the next—good and bad, great and worse. But life lived for others is never about you. It keeps the eye on the prize. It keeps the main thing the main thing.

You can never go wrong not living for yourself. You can never go wrong putting others first.

Another word we use for that sometimes is humility. Sometimes people think humility is about thinking less of yourself. That's not true. Humility is about thinking of yourself less.

What could be more humbling than a life lived in pursuit of adding value to the lives of others. Agree? Thanks for reading. God bless.

Waiting

Parenthood comes with lots of "waiting" time. This isn't something anyone warns you about. Not saying there's a lot of calm time just waiting.  Waiting at practice, waiting for potty time, waiting on food to cook or cool (isn't that funny that we have to do both).  Waiting at the doc's, waiting for a phone call, waiting...waiting... Waiting.

Maybe that's why pregnancy comes with so much waiting.  Waiting on a positive test result.  Waiting to tell everyone until you're ready. Waiting for nausea to subside. Waiting to find out what you're having.  Waiting at the docs.  Waiting on test results. Waiting on your water to break.  Waiting on contractions.  Waiting to push.  Waiting on birth.

Having had my first child after being induced at almost 42 weeks I did a lot of waiting.  Now here I am waiting again.  God designed pregnancy to be a certain length of time for different creatures.  Why does ours have to be so long?  Why do we have to wait? And why is it so hard?

Waiting can do one of two things to you.  It can exhaust you or revive you.  We have to LEARN to be good "waiters."

Isaiah 40:31 speaks of the good kind of waiting.

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

But we often see people who react quite differently to the waiting.  Who impatiently demand change or anxiously blame the waiting on something.  What is different?  Okay let's be honest we all are these "bad waiters" sometimes.

So what can we do?  Shift our focus and be content.  Paul talked about learning to be content in all circumstances.  Not accepting of status quo but so rooted in Christ and so trusting of His plan that you can accept what comes your way.  You can search the scripture but Jesus didn't follow a "traditional life schedule," write out a to do list, or whine about the demands of the job.  No he consistently fed those around him and then turned around and spent time with His Father.

So let us focus on serving while we wait. Let us remember the things we allow our minds to dwell on have power in our life.  As Paul wrote:

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (‭Philippians ‭4‬:‭8-9‬ MSG)

Harmony and peace while waiting.

December 4 - You First

Read: Acts 3:11-26

God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. (Acts 3:26 ESV)

Peter didn't pull any punches during his first sermon. He was letting them have it. Both barrels. He recounted the mission of Christ, the life of Christ, the heritage, and the qualification. He turned their murderous actions around on them.

"Jesus was sent to you first!" he declared.

He was not wrong. Jesus showed up in the Judea wilderness performing miracles and preaching repentance. He went to God's people, the Jews, first. Many followed him, while many more rejected him outright.

What if Jesus had come to you first? How do you think you would have responded? How we respond to others now is a direct reflection of our belief about Jesus. Let's strive to serve Jesus by serving each other.

August 25 - As the Youngest

Luke 22:7-30

But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. (Luke 22:26 ESV)

One of the biggest flaws I fall into sometimes is thinking I am more awesome than I actually am. I just have a natural tendency to think quite a lot of myself. The problem with that kind of thinking is that it is rooted in pride. And it pushes me toward selfishness rather than selflessness.

In the Upper Room Jesus stressed the importance of selflessness to his disciples. He knew that once he was no longer there to physically walk them through every step those guys were going to need to be selfless. The spread of Christianity would count on their willingness to put the message, and the hope it brings, ahead of their own selfish tendencies.

The youngest among Jesus' disciples was a guy named John. Some theologians believe John was only about 17-20 when he travelled with The Lord. And the Jewish culture of that era was not always one that esteemed the opinions of younger generations. Still, Jesus thought it pertinent to compare leading and serving to becoming like a young man.

The authority of leadership is not inherent in a position, it is a gift from the Father. Position is not had to garner esteem, but it is brandished to enable selfless acts of servanthood. For a wise old leader to be effective, he would have to humble himself, and realizing the source for all he has and does, he must become as the youngest.

July 9 - Give and Serve

Mark 10:35-45

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45 ESV)

Jesus emphatically and repeatedly declared that the disciples were to serve God by serving the people. It was the climax of his teaching after chastising the sons of Zebedee for their misplaced enthusiasm. They were to serve by giving and give by serving.

Our charge today is the same. As harbingers of the Gospel we are to take the message of the good news of Jesus Christ to e lost, hurts marginalized, and destitute. We are to take it to everyone. We are to give it to them by serving them.

Too often Christians polarize around the implied possibility of potential Christian martyrdom. Either we embrace, seek, and expect to give our lives to Christ, or we shy away from any form of reverent selfless sacrifice. What if the example demonstrate by Christ was his attempt to teach that we are to find a balance in both?

Jesus wished to serve, and his service was culminated in giving his life. But his work did not end there. In fact, his ultimate sacrifice was really just the launching point for two millennia of building. He gave to serve. He served to give.

What are we doing?

March 10 - Teach and Learn

Read: Matthew 10:16-25

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. (Matthew 10:24 ESV)

I love living life with my fellow Christians. I have the wonderful privilege of working and serving in a close knit community of believers. We're in a season of rapid change as God brings in more and more people. We are experiencing a ton of growth. This has created a lot of really amazing opportunities for discipleship.

It is an awesome experience to have a hand in the spiritual development of a young adult. It also comes with the hefty weight of responsibility. Being given that kind of degree of authority places people under your care. When you're discipling someone you begin to care for them deeply as both parties begin to understand their unique roles in the relationship.

A mentor is burdened with the wonderful task of guiding someone toward a greater level of understanding and obedience in their faith. The one being mentored, the disciple, has the appointed opportunity to absorb and obey as they share in life and ministry with their teacher. This is probably my favorite aspect of ministry.

This was Jesus' model for growing the Kingdom. Take twelve guys, pour everything into them, and turn it over to them. Incredible. Along the way he offered up this little reminder. We all have a teacher to follow. We all have a master to serve. Sometimes that means we just need to pause and consider: How might I learn better? How and who can I serve better?

I love teaching and I love sharing. Sometimes I can learn just as much from those God has placed under my authority. They often teach me a great deal about dreaming big, about sharing faith, and about walking in transparency.

The Missing: Sacrifice

What have I done lately for someone that actually put me out in some significant way? Nothing. I like to think of myself as a servant. I mean my chief responsibility is serving college students right? Yes, it is; and I'm fairly sure that there are several that are benefiting from my influence in their life. But when was the last time I really had to sacrifice to make a difference? Those times are rare. My life is pretty much amazing. I face almost no conflict or adversity. Hmmmmmm. (Read that like Yoda says it. Go ahead go back and try it. No, not the whole paragraph, just that last word before this nearly pointless parenthetical derailment.) For a group of people who rally behind the sacrifice of someone (Jesus) as a historical, miraculous, cosmically, and eternally influential event; we do precious little sacrificing of our own. Going to church is not a sacrifice, no matter how boring your pastor is, that's not what I'm talking about. When is the last time following after Christ actually cost you something? Apathy, ignorance, and indifference are the norms today because we are a generation of spoiled and lazy infants who expect people to fight our battles, pay our way, and make us feel good about it; while we moan about how terrible everything is from the safety of our smartphone. I'm convinced that Christianity was meant to be different than this. I feel as though we have sorely missed the mark, and are now so confused about where the mark is that we have traded the pursuit of truth for the calloused whispers of the devil's deceptive mirage.

Writing this has cost me nothing. My prayer tonight is that our hearts would become fertile ground for the seeds of selfless sacrifice to take root--that the Church of Jesus Christ would again become selfless. That I would be both willing and able to love bigger, and try harder to shine the Light of Christ on those who need it most, even if it costs me everything.

He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot