storiesofvalue

Morning Devotion Group…I accidentally posted today’s devotion yesterday at the same time I posted yesterday’s devotion.  To keep you from missing the order of things I am sending both today.  You may have missed entry #35, which was the last in our study of how we portray Christ’s Bride at home.  Entry #36, is posted below it.  You have probably already read it.  You can always access any past entries by going directly to the www.storiesofvalue.com blog.  Blessings!  Larry Jones

The Long Walk of Love at Home – 35

Third, my father reminded us to guard our character when our brothers and sisters in Christ push us to the limit.

Christian character is composed of moral and ethical convictions that reveal the true nature of our spiritual commitment.  It prompts us to do the right thing, regardless of whether or not it is the easy thing, and guards our hearts against the wrong thing when we are tested.

If you have ever failed the test, don’t worry.  There is a difference between acting “out of character” and “losing our character.”  Both are undesirable, but since we are human we aren’t always going to be perfect representatives of Christ.  In a moment of frustration we may lash out at those who have hurt us, but because we don’t want to dishonor Christ or hurt His Bride we step back into character through a process of reflection and repentance.  However, should we lose our character we will no longer care how our behavior hurts others or the name of Christ.

One night my father came home from a church elder’s meeting disappointed in himself.  In a moment of anger he had called one of his elders a “bozo.”  The dictionary defines a bozo as “a fellow, especially a big, strong, stupid fellow.”  As soon as the word came out of my father’s mouth he was sorry and he apologized on the spot.  When he told us about the incident later, he wasn’t arrogant or combative, but humbled and remorseful.  Even though the elders in the room, including the one who made him angry took things in stride, it bothered my father to think he had acted out of character.  He used his mistake as an opportunity to remind us we all lose our cool, but that difficult circumstances never excuse bad behavior.

How we treat the Bride of Christ in our homes matters.  Every time we abuse her with our words or actions we diminish her glory in the eyes of the people we love most.  When unbelievers visit our home and hear us criticize our church, we give them more reasons to resist the gospel.  And our family’s attitude isn’t confined to the house we call home.  For instance, a Christian family that comes to worship with a chip on its shoulder will steal everyone else’s joy.  Yet, the one that comes, having taken up its cross, builds up the body.

Consider these thoughts with all urgency.  Once opinions are formed in the hearts and minds of those closest to us, they are difficult to remove.  If they are hurtful opinions the long walk can be very miserable indeed.

The Long Walk of Love at Work -36

During my Bible college years my grandfather hired me as a summer worker in the government offices where he served as County Clerk.  He moved me from department to department to fill in gaps as employees took their family vacations. I registered people to vote, transferred automobiles, sorted, filed, listened, watched and learned.  But the things I learned might surprise you.

Some ladies in one department had an ingenious system that allowed each of them to attend sales at downtown clothing stores during working hours.  Their strategy was as impressive as the tunnel project in the movie “The Great Escape.”  They met daily in the break room, cigarettes and newspaper ads in-hand, to plan their runs down Main Street.

Down the hall a couple of men in another department knew the lunch schedules of some attractive ladies who worked in the bank across the street and timed their breaks so they could watch them walk by.  They possessed an extensive repertoire of off-color jokes, and loved to brag about their popularity with women.

If I have led you to think my co-workers were bad people, I must apologize because nothing could be farther from the truth.  As a matter of fact, they were very good people.  I chalked their behavior up to boring, repetitive work, and as far as their crudeness, I had worked maintenance at a golf course and hotel in high school, so my experience in the courthouse was nothing new.  Ok, so maybe my grandfather’s employees had a poor work ethic at times, but they cared deeply about others and about one another.

What does this have to do with how we treat the church in our discussions at work?  The answer lies in a common human experience.  We see it in Christ’s Bride.  She is the body of Christ, made of many members, each drawing their redemption from the same Lord.  Since believers are bound by this common grace, they love one another deeply.  The apostle Paul expressed this principle in his letter to the Ephesians: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Although our relationships with co-workers may not be forged at the cross, they are similar in their expression.  I have never worked in a place where people didn’t care about each other.  Maybe they didn’t always treat each other as they should, and there were always a few adversaries in the mix, but most people sincerely cared for their co-workers.  Chances are, in your workplace there are people who care for you, and because they care for you they also care about the people you care about.  This means if you told your co-workers about a church friend who was battling a serious disease, they would hurt with you.  They might even offer to say a prayer for your friend, regardless of whether they knew Christ or not.

Of course, in order to have this kind of relationship with others in the workplace we have to care about their relationships as well.  And there are always those who want to keep their distance from serious conversations that might turn religious.  But in general, people care about their co-workers, regardless of their relationship with the Lord.

You may still be wondering what our love for our church family has to do with our testimony at work?  I believe when we share our lives with others in the workplace, and pass along stories of faith, hope and love from our church family, we make the Lord attractive.  People we work with need to know our Christians friends are valuable to us, just as their friends are valuable to them.  They need to understand, while we strive to understand God’s will and obey it in the church, we also thrive in an atmosphere of grace where we cheer each other on and lift each other up.  This is likely our greatest commonality, and our best platform for sharing the love of Christ.

The Long Walk of Love at Work

During my Bible college years my grandfather hired me as a summer worker in the government offices where he served as County Clerk.  He moved me from department to department to fill in gaps as employees took their family vacations. I registered people to vote, transferred automobiles, sorted, filed, listened, watched and learned.  But the things I learned might surprise you.

Some ladies in one department had an ingenious system that allowed each of them to attend sales at downtown clothing stores during working hours.  Their strategy was as impressive as the tunnel project in the movie “The Great Escape.”  They met daily in the break room, cigarettes and newspaper ads in-hand, to plan their runs down Main Street.

Down the hall a couple of men in another department knew the lunch schedules of some attractive ladies who worked in the bank across the street and timed their breaks so they could watch them walk by.  They possessed an extensive repertoire of off-color jokes, and loved to brag about their popularity with women.

If I have led you to think my co-workers were bad people, I must apologize because nothing could be farther from the truth.  As a matter of fact, they were very good people.  I chalked their behavior up to boring, repetitive work, and as far as their crudeness, I had worked maintenance at a golf course and hotel in high school, so my experience in the courthouse was nothing new.  Ok, so maybe my grandfather’s employees had a poor work ethic at times, but they cared deeply about others and about one another.

What does this have to do with how we treat the church in our discussions at work?  The answer lies in a common human experience.  We see it in Christ’s Bride.  She is the body of Christ, made of many members, each drawing their redemption from the same Lord.  Since believers are bound by this common grace, they love one another deeply.  The apostle Paul expressed this principle in his letter to the Ephesians: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Although our relationships with co-workers may not be forged at the cross, they are similar in their expression.  I have never worked in a place where people didn’t care about each other.  Maybe they didn’t always treat each other as they should, and there were always a few adversaries in the mix, but most people sincerely cared for their co-workers.  Chances are, in your workplace there are people who care for you, and because they care for you they also care about the people you care about.  This means if you told your co-workers about a church friend who was battling a serious disease, they would hurt with you.  They might even offer to say a prayer for your friend, regardless of whether they knew Christ or not.

Of course, in order to have this kind of relationship with others in the workplace we have to care about their relationships as well.  And there are always those who want to keep their distance from serious conversations that might turn religious.  But in general, people care about their co-workers, regardless of their relationship with the Lord.

You may still be wondering what our love for our church family has to do with our testimony at work?  I believe when we share our lives with others in the workplace, and pass along stories of faith, hope and love from our church family, we make the Lord attractive.  People we work with need to know our Christians friends are valuable to us, just as their friends are valuable to them.  They need to understand, while we strive to understand God’s will and obey it in the church, we also thrive in an atmosphere of grace where we cheer each other on and lift each other up.  This is likely our greatest commonality, and our best platform for sharing the love of Christ.

Third, my father reminded us to guard our character when our brothers and sisters in Christ push us to the limit.

Christian character is composed of moral and ethical convictions that reveal the true nature of our spiritual commitment.  It prompts us to do the right thing, regardless of whether or not it is the easy thing, and guards our hearts against the wrong thing when we are tested.

If you have ever failed the test, don’t worry.  There is a difference between acting “out of character” and “losing our character.”  Both are undesirable, but since we are human we aren’t always going to be perfect representatives of Christ.  In a moment of frustration we may lash out at those who have hurt us, but because we don’t want to dishonor Christ or hurt His Bride we step back into character through a process of reflection and repentance.  However, should we lose our character we will no longer care how our behavior hurts others or the name of Christ.

One night my father came home from a church elder’s meeting disappointed in himself.  In a moment of anger he had called one of his elders a “bozo.”  The dictionary defines a bozo as “a fellow, especially a big, strong, stupid fellow.”  As soon as the word came out of my father’s mouth he was sorry and he apologized on the spot.  When he told us about the incident later, he wasn’t arrogant or combative, but humbled and remorseful.  Even though the elders in the room, including the one who made him angry took things in stride, it bothered my father to think he had acted out of character.  He used his mistake as an opportunity to remind us we all lose our cool, but that difficult circumstances never excuse bad behavior.

How we treat the Bride of Christ in our homes matters.  Every time we abuse her with our words or actions we diminish her glory in the eyes of the people we love most.  When unbelievers visit our home and hear us criticize our church, we give them more reasons to resist the gospel.  And our family’s attitude isn’t confined to the house we call home.  For instance, a Christian family that comes to worship with a chip on its shoulder will steal everyone else’s joy.  Yet, the one that comes, having taken up its cross, builds up the body.

Consider these thoughts with all urgency.  Once opinions are formed in the hearts and minds of those closest to us, they are difficult to remove.  If they are hurtful opinions the long walk can be very miserable indeed.

Secondly, my father used conflict as an opportunity to teach us about human nature.  An unchristian act by a believer was always a platform for a good psychology lesson, with some homespun adages tossed in for free.  My father expected people to be different because of their relationship with the Lord, but he wasn’t surprised when they weren’t.  He was also careful not to label them as hypocrites because he knew none of us are exactly who we claim to be all of the time.  To him, they were merely sinful human beings who sometimes forgot who they were and whom they served.

Our discussions at home about Christians who behaved badly were filled with insight and wisdom.  We talked about how much easier it is to accept people’s idiosyncrasies when we know how far they have come.  My father also explained basic psychology concepts such as “projection”, “rationalization,” “deflection” and “just plain stupid.”  Alright, so maybe the last one isn’t in any psychology books, but sometimes there really is no other explanation for the way people act.

To be honest there are some behaviors that are impossible to explain, but if we understand people, we don’t blame Christ or His Bride for their mistakes.  In fact, we learn to appreciate what the Lord is accomplishing in them, and appeal to them on the basis of His love and grace.

As a preacher who served three growing congregations in his lifetime, my father witnessed the church at her best and her worst.  He walked with friends who would have literally given their lives for him, and antagonists who had a knack for finding his faults.  Ironically, the antagonists were often those my father had helped deliver from the brink of moral collapse, but feeling scorned because he wasn’t comfortable putting them in positions of leadership they challenged his authority at every turn.  I only discovered this dynamic years later, which brings me to three important lessons my father taught me when it comes to respecting Christ’s Bride at home.

First, my father continually reaffirmed our mission as Christians.  It was impossible for him to see himself apart from the church, not just for theological reasons, but also because he owed his very life to some church members who reached out to him as a teen and led him to faith.  In addition, since my father didn’t grow up in the church, he was more concerned about bringing his family members to Christ than he was demanding membership privileges.

My father reminded us to “remember why were in this” and when people disappointed him he tried his best to respond with compassion.  Maybe I should clarify that my father’s compassion sometimes involved strongly confronting people with the truth and holding them accountable.  But he always held out hope the grace of God would change their hearts, and he never lost sight of his calling as Christ’s ambassador, whether he was enduring the barbs of an antagonists or diving into a mess with an unbeliever.

I am convinced one of the most common mistakes we make when it comes to defining the church in our homes is to institutionalize our verbiage by referring to “those people” or “that church”.  Once we forget we are the church, and as such are one in faith and purpose, we start to see Christ’s Bride as a thing, which makes it easier to hurt her.

The Long Walk of Love at Home 

Home is where we nurture our core perspectives.  How we are taught to view our world, the people in it, and specifically our Christian brothers and sisters, impacts our relationship with the church.  This doesn’t mean a negative spiritual experience at home predisposes someone to reject the gospel, no more than a positive one guarantees acceptance.  In fact, I believe we are on dangerous ground when we play armchair quarterback in other people’s families.  Unless we live there, we don’t have the whole story, and we do well to judge on our own circumstances.

On the other hand, when we consider the time we spend with family it is difficult to deny the role our loved one’s play in forming our opinion of Christ’s Bride, and in some cases our behavior toward her.  Over the years I have had many discussions with people who say they believe in Jesus, but have no interest in His church.  To be honest, after hearing some of their stories I understand, though I disagree with their decisions to distance themselves from the Lord’s people.

Yet, the most troublesome excuses are those that have been imprinted on people’s hearts by other family members.  I have met children who refuse to attend church because their parents had a conflict with a church leader or disliked the way the church was doing ministry.  They are rarely able to give me any details, but they remember someone in the church hurt their parents, and they want no part of it.  I have had similar conversations with spouses and siblings.  It is human nature to want to protect and defend those we love, so it doesn’t surprise me to find Christians who don’t want anything to do with the church due to the grievances of family members.

While I am certain negative experiences in the church are a reality, as I have had several in my own life, I also think it is possible to overlook a more important issue.  If I am not able to find peace in my conflict with my brothers and sisters in Christ, and put a stop to my constant criticisms, how in the world do I expect the people who love me to love Christ’s Bride?  If I want to bring my children, my spouse or my siblings to salvation, what do I think I am accomplishing when I bash the very thing I want them to embrace?

Imagine a bride making the long walk of love toward her future husband, and as she walks some in attendance hand her notes criticizing her dress and hairdo.  Two more notes request that she ask her father to take bigger steps, and one points out a typo in the program.  Even the bridal party is upset.  Some of them are unhappy with their placement, and there is considerable dissatisfaction over the banquet hall that has been chosen for the reception.  A young flower girl, who has been privy to the nasty conversations taking place between the adults around her, decides then and there she will probably never get married.  If, by some chance she does, she definitely won’t invite any people.  Can you blame her?

In the church, we are the Bride beholding the Bride.  Like an out-of-body experience we see her and we see ourselves.  What brings her happiness brings us happiness, and her trials become our trials.  We are one and the same, yet “one another”, devoted, yet dynamic (John 13:14).  This means, when we consider how the church is treated or viewed there are times when we imagine the perceptions of others and other times when we are the perceivers.

But regardless of whether we see her or we see ourselves, what we think and say about her matters.  As well, what we say might to some degree determine what we see, or how we see ourselves.

It is a long walk of love, but not a dreadful one.  If anything, we grow more anxious to reach the end with each step.  As we move we are held up by the Father, strengthened by the Spirit, and cheered on by the Son who waits for us.  We are driven on, filled with and surrounded by His love.  The walk is a holy one, on holy ground, with holy purpose.

How do we describe this journey so the world sees the Bride as the Father sees her?  What do we say when she is maligned, sometimes by those who are closest to us; sometimes by us?  In so many respects we must decide.  You may not yet understand how many souls depend on it.

The Long Walk of Love

When my wife walked down the aisle on our wedding day, I vaguely remember watching her father.  I am certain he held her arm the entire way, but to be honest I was too busy looking at the bride.  She was beautiful!  But her father was there.  In fact, before he took his seat beside my mother-in-law he stood near us and sang an amazing rendition of The Lord’s Prayer.

Now that time has passed and my own daughter is about to take the same walk, I have been thinking more about what might have been on my father-in-law’s mind as he walked down that aisle.  I know he was proud.  But did he want to slip out the back with his daughter and find a place where time stood still?  Did he wonder if anyone could possibly love her more than he did?  Was he happy?  Was He sad?  I need to ask him soon.  On second thought, I will find out soon enough.

At the moment we make Jesus Lord of our lives, we embark on a spiritual journey of eternal proportions.  In our case, the Father presents us to Himself, cleansed of our sin through His Son’s blood.  We don’t have to wonder how He feels about us since He has told us through the writings of the Apostle Paul: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Ephesians 1:4-6).

Yet, the long walk of love into the presence of our Savior surely must be an emotional one for the Father.  He sees us struggle, stumble and weep and shares in our victories and joys.  Surely His heart has been broken in seasons of persecutions, and again in times of apostasy.  At times, I am convinced God has prompted a heavenly chorus of angels to cheer us on, to pick us up; even to rescue us from danger.

Some have finished the walk and stand in His presence awaiting the final feast.  Others continue the journey, fixing their eyes on Jesus, the “author and perfecter” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

At the risk of sounding paranoid, I feel a need to mention there is an obvious darker side to the way the church is portrayed by society.  While the gospel sounds like a very positive thing to those of us who have put our faith in Jesus, it is not such welcomed news to those whose way of life is threatened by religious people.  This was the case in the first church when silversmiths like Demetrius tried to destroy the Apostle Paul for undermining their idol craft business (Acts 19:24-28).  I am not suggesting unbelievers are consciously involved in a concerted effort to discredit the church.  On the contrary, people who have a secular worldview usually value the good in everyone, and try to be fair in their depiction of people with whom they disagree including Christians.

I merely reference this dynamic to remind us how important it is not to fall into the ironic habit of bashing Christ’s Bride.  We might sound enlightened when we do so, when in fact we are mistaken.  The church represents Christ in beautiful fashion, and deserves better.

Since I am a preacher I am often around the church building during the weekend leading up to a wedding, and have an opportunity to share in the excitement of those who have come to celebrate.  I have noticed, when a group of bridesmaids and a bride are busy preparing flower arrangements, or decorating a wedding venue, it is hard to pick out the bride.  Of course, I usually know who she is because I am performing the ceremony, but there is nothing about her that stands out, except for the obvious joy in her step.

But when the wedding begins, everything changes.  When the bride is escorted through the door, everyone knows who she is, and why she is there.  In fact, her friends and family members have taken special care not to upstage her, and to present her to everyone in attendance as the most glorious bride ever.

I believe it is time for Christians to stand down from their self-effacement, and give the Bride of Christ her due.  Has she missed the mark of her mission at times?  No doubt about it.  Have some of her representatives embarrassed her and brought shame to the kingdom.  Absolutely!  But, in our desire to be real with others, we shouldn’t miss an important truth: there is nothing on earth as beautiful as the church; nothing!

It is time to spend some time thinking about how we treat the church and what we say about her when we are in the presence of others.  We need to save her from those who use her weaknesses as a convenient excuse to go on sinning.  In short, we need to live to make her glorious.  After all, if the people who love the church and are spiritually woven into her being don’t praise her, who will?

Radiant Representation 

I have heard people characterize Christ’s Bride as self-centered and self-serving.  It is true some churches consistently put their own comfort ahead of the lost, or even their brothers and sisters in need.  I have also heard others say the church is known more for what it is against than what it is for.  I concede the mean-spirited approach some believers use to address sin sends the wrong message to the world.

However, in general, I believe these perceptions are highly overblown.  Don’t get me wrong.  As a preacher’s son who grew up in the church I have certainly seen the inauthentic side of things.  I have met plenty of Christians with questionable character.  I have been hurt by those who held me to an unrealistic standard and used my father as a whipping post for their personal insecurities and private sins.  Yet, it seems to me these behaviors have more to do with fallen human nature than faith, and they are exhibited inside and outside of the church.  At least in the church there in an emphasis on spiritual principles that bring people back to their senses, and I am convinced more times than not believers get it right.  Most Christians want to glorify God with their lives and ministry.  Unfortunately, those who don’t are the ones who leave the most dramatic impressions in our world.

For these reasons I refuse to allow Satan’s occasional victories to overshadow the radiance of the church as a representative of God’s grace.  The next time you visit a local hospital, pay attention to its name and mission statement.  Go online and research how it came into existence.  There is a good chance your hospital started as a non-profit outreach by Christians wanting to show mercy to their community.  The same thing is true of children’s homes, homeless shelters, food banks and disaster relief organizations.

In recent years, Christians have been reaching out to those caught up in the tragedy of human trafficking.  Adult entertainment, prostitution and pornography are all a part of a cruel system that steals the souls of men and women, and sometimes enslaves the most vulnerable members of society.  Wherever we find people risking their own safety to rescue those who are being exploited by these industries, we find the love of Jesus.  I have met law enforcement officers who are passionate about shutting down human trafficking operations because their devotion to the Lord drives them to defend everyone’s dignity.

The church is making a difference everywhere.  Her beauty radiates in school classrooms, community youth leagues, inner city ministry, courtrooms, boardrooms and politics.  She is in Hollywood, Nashville and Times Square, and every time there is a disaster it is the church that rushes in to serve in the name of Christ.

I am not ignoring the fact that the church is sometimes a part of the problem.  Anywhere we find good people sharing their faith with those in need, we also discover those who use religion as a vehicle for selfish human ambition.  I believe I have been fair in establishing this reality.  On the other hand, I am convinced Christians have been so faithful in touching their world, there is a sense in which our culture has taken their benevolence for granted.  This is why it is more common to see the church criticized for the malevolent acts of a few than praised for the loving acts of the vast majority.