The picture above was taken during a prayer walk in Tyler this past weekend. A group of people are coming together in unity to pray for our community. (Notice "community" has the word "unity in it, btw.)
Unity: the state or fact of being united or combined into one as of the parts of a whole unification.
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" -Psalm 133:1
"...walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all in all." -Ephesians 4:1-6
There is such a separation in our cities today. People remove themselves from living anywhere near those who are different; whether they are of lower income, different race or of different beliefs. Isn't it ironic that we have moved away, totally separated ourselves, from the very thing we were commanded to go to; the very people we were told to love and care for.
The world doesn't need more people with more money to help those who don't have much; the world needs people with more heart. People who don't mind getting dirty, don't mind having to seek out those who need help, people who think more of others instead of "what people will think about them."
"You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD." -Leviticus 19:17-18
Whether we want to admit it or not, we group certain races with bad things that have happened in our country, or sometimes even in our own lives.
We consciously choose not to help certain people or withhold God's love to them simply because of their origin or the color of their skin. We may say we disapprove of racism, but we ourselves do it in our own minds.
"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions." -Proverbs 10:12
Now, I'm not saying we all hate these people we have chosen to live a distance from, but if we aren't showing them love...we're showing them the opposite of love, and that is just as wrong. It causes problems, not only in our world, but in our hearts as well. When we make the choice to follow Christ, His love dwells in us! It is so much love that it has to overflow from our lives, but often times we press it down, holding it all inside so we don't have to share...but because we are keeping it from it's very purpose, it causes problems in our hearts, our families and our lives. It's time to give it away.
"-Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
-Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
-Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
-Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
-Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely
say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for
your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted
the prophets who were before you.
-Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
-You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER'
and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that
everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever
says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court;
and whoever says 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." -Matthew 5: 5, 7-9, 11-12, 16, 21
Gentle, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, those who rejoice in times of trouble, those who shine Jesus, those who do not let anger take over their heart, those who do not mock or accuse their brother....those are blessed.
Those are the ones who let God have control of their heart instead of pushing Him away from it.
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." -John 13:35
"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." -John 15:12
LOVE ONE ANOTHER. It's said over and over in the bible, but how often do we not apply it to our own lives and tell other people how they should be loving US? We are a selfish people. We want everything having to give up nothing. We were born this way, and will die this way. The more I see "me" being stamped on my life, the more I long for heaven where I will be able to do nothing but praise God and please Him. I can do so on this earth, but I also have a choice to do wrong, as well. Every day, every hour, every single minute I have to make the choice to
love. Love isn't something you just feel, it's something you MUST do. You have to live out love for it to be affective.
"If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophesy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not bran and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it's own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails, but if there are gifts of prophesy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease, if there is knowledge, it will be done away." -1 Corinthians 13:1-8
This has got to be one of the most amazing verses in the bible...at least I think so. Every time I try to live my life the way I want, I notice how unhappy I am. Living for oneself is no fun; seriously. You become angry, mean, unloving and unkind. It's an awful place to be. If we are living our love, we will be able to do all of these things in this verse!
"But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." -1 Timothy 1:5
Our GOAL: love from a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. Sounds simple, right? I find it slightly funny that the things in life that seem so incredibly simple are the hardest, most pain staking things we must try to do.
-A Pure Heart: one that is not contaminated with dirt from the world and myself. One that is truly in it's purest form. Almost organic; nothing but the fresh fruit of God.
-Good Conscience: when you do wrong, it stays in your mind. It comes back to haunt you; it makes your life miserable because your mistake stay there every day, keeping you from fully living. You're a tree in November; you're still alive, but on the outside you look dead, lifeless. "When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." " -John 8:12
-Sincere Faith: This is the big "religion or relationship" thing I always talk about. You can't just say you have faith, you have to actively HAVE it.
Anyone can say they have faith in a friend that they will catch them if they fall backwards, but until they actually fall, they do not sincerely have faith in that friend.
"Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." -Hebrews 13:1-2
How often do we make hospitality all about us? We make a choice to invite someone over for dinner or whatever the reason, but the minute someone desires hospitality or truly needs it, it's inconvenient for us. We are to treat strangers with such love and hospitality as if we were entertaining Jesus.
"The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all,
keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins." -1 Peter 4:8
The last part of this verse is mind boggling. The perfect example is God giving His life for OUR sins. His LOVE covered the sins we have committed, have just committed and will in the future. It covers everything. He paid it all.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loves us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in is, and His love is perfected in us." -1 John 4:7-11
It is not easy to love, I will be the first to admit. Especially when someone hasn't been super easy to deal with or has purposefully hurt me. That's when I want to quote the "eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth" verse. They hurt me, I'll hurt them back. It's only fair; right? Wrong.
As my mom, and I'm sure many other parents have said, "Life isn't fair." It's so true. It it were "fair" God wouldn't have died for us. The bible says,
very clearly, that if we do not love we do not know God. God is love, but He is also just. If we claim to know God, call Him our own, we had better make sure we're showing fruit of that relationship. God does not appreciate His name on something that is not His.
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also." -1 John 4:18-21
We cannot say we love God then turn around and toss our brothers or sisters in the trash. We cannot go around talking negatively about others, we cannot be rude, inconsiderate or hurtful to people and love God at the same time. Mind you, God will forgive all our sins, but wouldn't it be better to make the right choice instead of dealing with the ache we get from knowing we disappointed God?
The day we realize people around us deserve love just as much as we do is the day the world, just might, start to change. The day we decide to go talk to that neighbor, or right a wrong, apologize for being less than love, caring for those in need, giving away instead of hording to oneself.
To make a difference, it all starts with you. Battles are not won by numbers, but by faith. One person going out and loving can explode into thousands of people's lives being touched. Take a glass of water and pour three small, separate, puddles on the floor. Watch as they spread and finally reach each other and form one larger puddle then as it spreads even faster as it gets bigger. There are many groups around our country that are trying to spread so much so that it unites with other
revolutionaries. Let's start making puddles!
Romans 12:9-12
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