When the World Is Just Weird
I was talking to someone very important in my life today. They stood up for me in a big way, and said some very nice things. I don’t generally get a lot of positive reinforcement in my life, and over the last two years of so many rejections I’ve lost count, I have come to appreciate the positive stuff when it does come my way. Sometimes our blessings can come from the strangest of places. Once in a while a hidden gem shines through and the brilliant light that glimmers is a reminder that God is always working even when times seem the most bleak. It’s not always easy to see the silver lining in the storm. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the bad things, the continual crashing of the waves as we are just bobbing in the water trying to stay afloat. When all we can taste is the salt, and the roar of the waves drowns out our own screams for help, we have to remember that somewhere out there is a rescue swimmer ready to pull us out. I heard a saying one time that God is doing one of three things. 1. He’s walking along side you. 2. He’s pushing you along. 3. He’s dragging you out of the battle zone. See, we aren’t ever alone, and even when we feel like we are, we don’t know who’s about to come into our lives, or what’s going on in someone’s life to give you a little encouragement.
We know that this life isn’t easy, and that sometimes it’s just downright unfair. The thing about life though is we are told from the beginning that it’s not fair, and we should expect it. 1 Peter 4:12-13 “12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” Partaking in Christ’s sufferings… That’s a powerful statement, and one I would say we miss more often then not. When we think of the crucifixion we think of the beating Christ took. Most of us has seen The Passion of the Christ, and how brutal the Romans were. The fact is, Christ did endure the worst kind of torture any of us could imagine, and then was forced to carry his own cross for miles to the place where he would be nailed and tied to it before being lifted up where his full weight would be pulling down causing extreme agony, and a struggle to breathe. All of this however isn’t the true suffering. While this was an attack on his physical body, the attack of the soul was far more upsetting. Christ was both son of, and God at the same time. These are 3 distinct parts of the trinity when added to the Holy Spirit. Each of the parts separate, but together as one. We have a hard time understanding this concept, but in reality, if mortals could understand it, then God wouldn’t be God. Jesus grew up his whole life as part of that Holy Trinity. While we don’t know much about his early life, we do know he was teaching at the Temples early in his life. He spoke with the authority of a high priest, yet only a boy with such knowledge and understanding of the Holy Scriptures. We don’t know if he showed divine powers as a child or if they manifested when he was ready. We do know that before Christ started his ministry he attended a wedding in which the wine ran out, and his mother Mary, asked him to perform a miracle and turn that water into wine. She knew he had the power to do so, or she wouldn’t have asked. So here’s a man roughly 34 years old who’s been God on earth feeling, and growing as a mortal man, but hanging on that cross something had to happen in order for our sins to be paid for by the ransom in blood. Christ must be made apart so the full divine wrath could be poured out onto him in payment for the sins of all mankind. Going from divine to mortal in the blink of an eye, and then feeling the full wrath of God attacking your very soul. How much emotional suffering that must have been for Christ? Another avenue to consider is how difficult it must have been for Christ to stay on that cross? Christ being God he could have turned every last Roman into morning doves, or even a single celled ameba’s. He had to make a choice to endure the pain, the suffering the ridicule. A choice he knew the consequences to. Love concurred over hate that day on Skull Mountain. From the fall from grace mankind has watched as hate covered the land in darkness. Greed, perversion, anger, hatred, selfishness, all the deepest darkest recesses of our brains and our hearts laid out in the most horrific acts imaginable. Today we see child rape, murders, wars, thievery, forced slavery, selfish dictatorships, and a plethora of other horrible displays of man’s wickedness. Christ knew and saw our future, and there were times when he told the Apostles about our future and yet he made the choice, the most unselfish choice anyone would ever make, “to lady down their life for a friend.” Christ not only voluntarily endured the worst pain and torture by man imaginable, he chose to endure the wrath of the Father completely for the sins of man. We as people can barely give up a few dollars to help the beggar on the street corner let alone forgive all of mankind for the worst traits imaginable.
We think it’s strange sometimes the little things we do for one another, and here’s our Lord and Savior that has done the unthinkable, and we are so small we can’t understand the magnitude of what this truly meant for us. It certainly shows how ungrateful we are. We have so many opportunities to share the Love of Christ with others and how often do we let it slip down the drain? We watch as a fallen world is plagued with death, and rape, and mass killings, and bombings, and weapons of mass destruction, and yet when we get the opportunity to give a little peace, to show a little love, to lift someone up, are we taking those chances? Sometimes the least likely people or person lifts us up in our lives. Last year around Christmas time I was in the Wal*Mart parking lot and a truck pulled up, the man driving asked me to come to the passenger door, and when I did he handed me an object. The object was a $100 dollar bill. I couldn’t believe it, but there it was in my hand, the generosity of a stranger, in the Wal*Mart parking lot. While I can go on and on about the wonderful things a few people have done. We are so surprised when random acts of kindness pop up in our lives, but if we were to truly think about it, why is that? Why do these acts of kindness happen so infrequently? In a world where Jesus told us to go forth baptizing all the people of the world, to spread the word the hope and love of Jesus Christ, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, can we honestly say we are doing that? When was the last time any of us did a random act of kindness for a stranger? I’m blessed to have some great friends who do nice things for me pretty often. I try within my means to do nice things for them in return just as often. I try to be nice, and kind, and respectful to everyone I meet. But when we look at acts of kindness as weird or bizarre, I would say that we as Christians have failed in the mission we’ve been given by Christ. Acts of kindness should be commonplace not a rarity. Showing love to those around us shouldn’t be reserved for those people we know, but for everyone we meet. When we look at the sacrifice made for us, and yet we can’t even do the one small thing Christ asked us to do, shame on us. We need to do better. Now don’t get me wrong, we are told to be good stewards of our gifts from God so please use a little common sense and verify your kindness isn’t going to be taken advantage of.
It’s not a hard thing to do to be nice to others. Today when I was told such wonderful things from one of the most unlikely of places, it reminded me that there is love in this world even if we don’t see it often. Today I saw many acts of kindness come my way, and as I’ve been actively trying to fight the onset of depression, those random acts of kindness went a long way. There are so many things we can do for others, hold the door, give the right away while driving, saying please and thank you, asking someone how their day went, and so many more. We never know how just the smallest act of kindness can change someone’s entire day. Do something unexpected, do something wonderful, and remember if Christ was willing to take on everything He endured, the least we can do is put a little love back into this world.
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The Arrow Preacher 