Why do I do it?

After reading the post from yesterday you may be wondering why in the world would I choose to give my life to reaching people when the majority of them could hurt me, misunderstand me, judge me, etc.  It does seem somewhat crazy doesn't it.  Well, I thought I would take a moment and address this thought.

First, I do it because God risked the pain of personal loss so that I could enjoy the personal gain of relationship with him.  Sometime we over look the pain of God in the story of redemption.  The Bible teaches us that God turned his back on his son right at the point of his death.  Have you ever thought how hard that had to be?  I believe in a concept called the Trinity.  The word is not found in the Bible.  It's a man made word to express a thought that is found in the Bible.  The thought that God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are three separate expressions of but yet all together make up a singular God presence.  Think about this for a moment. 

Let's assume that the Trinity is incorrect - that God the father is one being and Christ the son is another - as a parent how hard would it be for you to turn your back on your children?  Incredibly.  But let's now assume that the Trinity concept is right - that God the father and Jesus are different expression of the same presence - how hard is it to turn on yourself? 

This kind of person is often the one who is cutting themselves in the bathroom in an attempt to rid themselves of the demons of their mind and escape the pressure of living.  This kind of pain is extreme.

God risked this kind of pain - not when he sacrificed himself on the cross in the form of Christ - but when all the weight of sin was laid upon Christ.  The pain that humanity inflicted is nothing compared to the pain and aloneness experienced by the Christ on the cross. 

God's love for all of us was that strong.  His pain tolerance was that high.  If he could endure that pain and loss in exchange for the lost being reconnected to himself through relationship...I must believe that He who has called me will give me the strength needed to endure such pain, rejection and turmoil.

Secondly, I truly have a heart for the hurting and having dedicated my life to being Jesus-on-legs to people.

When I struggled with past sins and addictions, it wasn't until someone stepped up in my life and gave me grace when they could have condemned that I met Jesus.  I had studied Him.  I knew the story.  I had prayed (I mean common, I am a PK!)  But I had never MET Him.  This is the trouble we have in the church in America I believe.  We study Him.  We teach Him.  We pray to Him.  But we never truly BECOME Him.

The Bible calls the church the "body of Christ."  For my part, I have chosen to reach out to and love and be merciful to those who others don't.  This puts me in the high risk category for hurt and pain.  It also puts me closer in line with the place where God is and that is never a bad place to be.

Lastly, In the 8 months since starting Fellowship, I have met a lot of people who are hurt, broken, abused and forgotten.  They didn't believe that God really could help them and that their was truly hope for them.  God has used Fellowship, with all it's imperfections and imperfect people to show them a love and a path that they didn't know existed.  When I get discouraged, I read letters sent to me to remind me that the pain is worth it.  The misunderstandings are worth it.  I may not have the largest church on the block but one by one....yard by yard...running the fullback up the middle...we are seeing lives impacted for the God who endured personal pain to bring personal freedom to the world.

Comments

[Anon]

this post and the previous one are decent posts.