Door 104 KZ

Anyways, like I said, last night, Hall Devos. Matt Troiano gave our lesson, and he had an awesome powerpoint for his lesson and everything. It was pretty sweet. I looked at him a few moments before the lesson and told him this: "Matt, I know that you have a word from the Lord today. You have a word from God and I believe it." It was something that God had pressed in my heart that he had something from God that was going to touch our hall in a deep and intimate way. I never thought that it would end the way it did...

Matt spoke on Evangelism and Love. Quite frankly, love is a prerequisite of evangelism. "In our quest for the Great Commission, have we lost view of the Greatest Commandment?" was a quoteworthy comment on his ppt. Not only that, but it is so true. We seem to have lost view of what Jesus said when he was asked what the greatest commandment is. Simply (or not so simply) Love God, Love People. Often, we choose to love some, and leave others outcasted. Why? It's a question that I ask myself at times. What made me want to show love to this person, yet reject or ignore this other person? God spoke to our hall last night, and you would have been able to tell by the responses given during the discussion time. We were challenged personally, as well as corporately--I will get into this a little later.

Presently, the question still remains, and the problem still occurs... why can't we love unconditionally?

Proverbs 29:13

"The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: the LORD gives sight to the eyes of both."

This proverb is a constant reminder that most all of us have on our bookshelves. We seem to lose sight of who we are as Christians. We show prejudices when we should show acceptance. We say if you aren't up to par with my expectations, then forget you, find someone else... We don't want to admit it, but we do. I do.

The Poor Man and the Oppressor

Do you see the contrast in this verse? The poor man and the oppressor. The bum and the wealthy. The Prince and the Pauper. lol... but for real, when we read about the two sides of the spectrum, we already make prejudices. We already have a vision in our minds about who/what the poor man is and looks like, and the same for the oppressor. The sad thing is, most of us would want to hang out with the oppressor before we hung out with the poor man. Why? We choose the better looking. The better off. The one who is more socially acceptable. We are nothing but an extension of the world rather than an extension of the loving arms of Jesus Christ. I don't want to narrow it down to just those 2 types of people, but think of everyone in between. We pick and choose. We make it seem like, even though there are millions of types of people, there are only two. Each person in unique and needs a unique touch from God, but we throw our prejudices onto them and tell them that they aren't good enough. They need to get a little more dignified before they can hang out. They need to smell better. They need to stop spitting when they talk. They need to stop cussing all the time. They need to stop drinking/smoking. Guys, all of those should mean nothing, because the overarching principle is that THEY NEED TO FEEL THE ARMS OF CHRIST WRAPPED AROUND THEM. No matter who they are...

The Lord Gives Sight to the Eyes of Both

This is humbling. God Almighty, Lord of Hosts, doesn't segregate them into who he gives sight to and who he doesn't based on who they are. It's a reminder that we need to love them like Jesus did. Like Jesus does. God provides for their needs in giving them both sight. They are not much different at all in God's eyes. I said last night that we should strive to be praying that we may see with the eyes of Christ, and that we act upon that vision, and show love. loving kindness that is spoken about in Scripture. We have to remember the words of Jesus when he said to love God, and love people...

How can we do this? How can we begin to see things differently? Well, start right where you're at, and from there, progress with prayer. Eventually, God will surpass every one of your expectations. Love God, Love People...

So we were challenged. Personally, but also corporately as a hall to love someone this week. Not just any kind of love, but an unconditional love. Something that Jesus would have done. Something that we all need to work on. It was a challenge that maybe, all of us need to take on. A challenge that can change our hearts, Springfield, and the World...