Was listening to Lecrae's song "Welcome to America" tonight and I was struck by the weight of the darkness we operate in. I think all too often we don't realize the stakes of the game we make out of eternity.
We are called to love this world like Jesus did, and to share the Good News everywhere we go. But not only this, we need to invest in the lives of those whom we can touch. Its so important to reach out and help others; they often won't come to you. And I also realized we all do this in a masquerade. I know that all too often, I don't want to talk to anyone cause I need some time to sort through things myself, and someone will approach me with something they are facing. So instead of being honest and letting them know I'm hurting also, I put on a persona of strength and wisdom when I often have none to give. In times like this Jesus works, because I could have done nothing to help them and yet Jesus spoke life to them through me. HOWEVER, I am not being honest if I assume a persona of impregnable integrity and maturity... I fail so much in my walk with Jesus, and if I am hurting, I should let others know so they can help me.
Pride stops us from sharing our hurt with others. Unbelievers and believers alike hide their deepest concerns because they don't want to be vunerable before others. They entrench themselves in a hole of mock-happiness, and bury their pain in the deepest parts of their soul. And we are called to fight - yes, FIGHT - past the vollies of lies they through at us. All too often people aren't "fine", or "ok". And while we shouldn't push others into revealing what they don't want to, we are called to love them and if they need to share, we need to listen. Love is our shovel, and we need to dig past all the gloom and darkness and hurt to reach the heart of the matter. Love is our only weapon against the vast arsenal of the enemy. Good thing our weapon, Love, is powerful and mighty and knows our concerns as well!
All too often people who don't know our personal Lord and Savior have nothing solid to hold onto. They have grasped a lie; be it evolution or other gods. We are so blessed to be able to hold tight to something that will embrace us also. But for them, what they hold onto is slippery and with one outside influence it all falls apart. And that is the whole of their existence. And we, as Christians, are called to take away from them what they hold most dearly to. This is the darkness we battle. To take away what someone prizes does not seem loving, until you realize you are taking away from them what THEY love and giving them something that will love THEM.
But to get to this point, we need to relentlessly fight off the darkness and pain that permeates our world and our souls. We need to gain each other's trust, we need to love unconditionally and irrationally. We need to show each other that we cannot save them ourselves... only Jesus can do that. If we offer ourselves as a way to save them, we have failed. We work for one goal: to bring glory to God. Any salvations are collateral that He has ordained. We are not saving people from darkness, we are guiding them to the Light.
Darkness is oppresive. It even overtakes the strongest of Christians. And to be such a small little flame, surrounded by the vast cold and empty void, you can't help but feel that our commission is hopeless. And it is. Because as soon as we view ourselves as the ones that save, the end result becomes nothing but disaster. But if we recognize that in Jesus, all things are possible, we will come to the truth that even small flames cut through swaths of darkness. Even small flames draw people to gather around it when the power goes out. Light is such a primal thing that every being on this earth knows how powerful and meaningful light can be. Its a sign of hope.
And this is where we are called to be love. People will look at us and take strength in that they are near the Light. But no matter how much the small flames urge and exhort and press those gathered to become lights themselves, they don't want to. To watch a pretty flame and to burn are two very different things. Many take comfort in the heat and light given off by others, but refuse to let go of the things that keep them in the dark. And its the lights' job to penetrate into the souls of those gathered and show them what it is to be loved; not by a small flame, but by the sun. The SON. A flame on a wick is nothing compared to a helium fusion reactor. And our God is even better than some silly star sitting in our sky.
You see, the dark will always oppress the weak. It will always oppress believers and non-believers. But those who don't know Jesus are without hope; and they need to come to realize that their lies are worthless before they can be lights themselves. You, the Christian, as a flame struggling to stay burning as the darkness closes in, need to realize that the darkness is in your head. You are in broad daylight. You just need to lift your face to the Son to see that. But they are those stuck in a place with no light. And we need to break down their beliefs (as Jesus leads us) and replace them with promises that will NOT fail.
Stay strong, yall. The world is dark, but take heart: God has overcome this world through the death of His Son. Rekindle your love for Jesus and cut through the darkness. Watch as people draw near to your light. And don't let them admire you complacently, actively let God change them through you. And remember to always #LiveItLikeJesus
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