Read His Words Before Ours!
Ezekiel 34:1-10
Acts 20:28-30
Jeremiah 3:15
1 Peter 5:1-15
Woven, Day 15
Jesus taught many things, but said the most important were these because they fulfilled every other law:
Love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength,
and love our neighbor as ourselves.
He told us to do those two things, and all else will fall into place.
Two things…
And yet, so often, we don’t.
Picture Jesus standing before a multitude of people;
you, me, pastors, small group leaders, and other leaders in the church.
His eyes are down cast until He looks up and begins to speak.
Sorrow drips from every word, and His eyes are confused and deeply concerned.
“The weak? You haven’t strengthened them. Wouldn’t that be loving them?
The sick? You haven’t healed them. Wouldn’t that be loving them, too?
What about the injured? You haven’t bound their wounds.
And the stray? Why are there so many astray? You haven’t brought them back?There are still so many lost. Why haven’t you gone after them? Do you not love them?”
Friends. That. Is. Me.
I haven’t done these things.
And my heart breaks as I read this,
because I am seeing that I am so far from doing what Jesus called me to do.
Dozens and dozens of faces are flashing in my memory as I think of the people I know who are weak, sick, injured, straying, and still so lost.
Why am I not loving them?
Why are so many members of the Church not loving them?
So often, we shake our fist at Jesus, give Him the cold shoulder or the silent treatment because we’re disgusted with the world we’re looking at, when in reality, it isn’t Jesus not doing His “job”… it is us: The Church!
We’re the ones failing to love like Jesus loved when He was here on earth.
He gave us His love,
commanded us to steward it,
and yet here we sit,
holding onto it as if His love is only for us.
No one encountered Jesus and left the same as they were moments before.
If they were weak, they became strengthened.
If they were sick, He healed them.
If they were injured, He cared for their wounds.
If they were stray, He pursued them.
If they were lost, He went after them!
He is the GOOD SHEPHERD – the Chief Shepherd.
When we choose to follow Christ,
we are invited in to steward that precious gift of grace, given by the Good Shepherd!
We are invited to love others well.
It reminds me of that K-LOVE classic by Matthew West:
(Read these words, don’t just sing along. Really hear them!)
I woke up this morning,
Saw a world full of trouble now, thought
How’d we ever get so far down, and
How’s it ever gonna’ turn around
So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”
Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, “God, why don’t You do something?”
He said, “I did, I created you.”
If not us, then who
If not me and you…”
And it sounds scary. It sounds hard and impossible because there is
So. Much. Darkness.
There are so many lost sheep!
But.
He showed us how to steward His grace!
You know what He did?
He loved.
So friends…
Be patient.
Be kind.
Don’t envy or boast.
Don’t be prideful and rude.
Don’t be selfish.
Don’t get angry easily (Yes, even when a car is going 30 in a 45).
Don’t keep records of all of the wrong things people do!
Grace upon grace, sister.
If we do these things… if we truly do all of those things…
then we will never fail, because love never fails!
That is HOW we actually rock at stewarding God’s gift of grace and letting it overflow onto others.
Friends, this isn’t just about the people who aren’t saved.
This is about the people who are, too. (Which is sometimes the hardest.)
This is about loving the Church.
This is about loving our friends whose husband is dying, whose marriage ended in divorce, whose interpretation of the Bible doesn’t quite align with ours, whose lifestyle doesn’t always reflect Christ, who seems like they have it all figured out.
It is all about loving them because they’re weak, sick, injured, and stray, sometimes too, just like us.
“The weak? You haven’t strengthened them. Wouldn’t that be loving them?
The sick? You haven’t healed them. Wouldn’t that be loving them, too?
What about the injured? You haven’t bound their wounds.
And the stray? Why are there so many astray? You haven’t brought them back? There are still so many lost. Why haven’t you gone after them? Do you not love them?”
Where do we start?
With the faces we pictured when we read this again.
Now let’s go start… together… as a Church.
Strengthening the weak, healing the sick, caring for the injured,
passionately going after the stray,
and embracing the lost.
Just like God told Israel they needed to do, thousands of years ago.
His love story was woven from before Day 1,
and it continues now, in your everyday!
Ready for more? Dig Deeper!
Join us for every Journey Study by signing up!
Looking for yesterday’s Journey Study?
Share your thoughts from today’s Study!
Don’t miss today’s Digging Deeper! And we’d love to hear your thoughts from today’s Journey! Comment Here!
Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Woven Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Click the above image for today’s Digging Deeper!
