Following Jesus
I am really encouraged by Jill and Dad's blogs. I sense that God is doing something throughout our entire family. This blog thing is not an accident. I think God wants us to be wrestling with this stuff together.
I was telling my kids a story this morning at breakfast as I often do, but this one turned into a story for me. Jeremy (the ongoing main character who loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength and loves other people, too) was disobeying at the dinner table. Everytime he disobeyed his mom said, "Don't" to whatever he was doing. He obeyed each individual command, but always found something else to do wrong. The next day as she was reading she came across the verse where Jesus called the disciples. There was no long list of do's and don'ts. It was two words that summed up everything. "Follow Me."
I don't need a list when I'm with Him. Anything that distracts me from Him is sin. The perfect life is simple: just be with Him and respond to His every word. Simple. Not easy.
As we struggle with all these hard issues I tend to want to have some great plan for life. I want to know what works and to do whatever that thing is. God is inviting me to look down from my drawing board, settle into his lap, look up into is eyes and ask, "What are we gonna do next, Daddy?" When I do that, I feel peace. But I look away often. Frequently I wander so far that I wonder if He's even around anymore. Right now I'm doing better than usual. No great success stories to tell; just a sense of peace and more joy than normal. I find I'm doing a little better at loving Luke when he seems unlovable. I am able to get my rear off the couch and rinse dishes or wipe bottoms more than I usually am.
There's a huge leap I'm trying to make right now. I want to really love poor people. I don't want to just talk about it, but I really want to do it. I believe God is moving us to make major life changes right now, but all I know for today is that I really need Jesus.
With love for you all and a desire to be with Him,
Randy
posted by Mama Brown @ 9:17 AM
3 Comments:
Randy, your observation that the rule (instruction would be a better word) is simple, 'Follow Jesus'. Unfortunately, it seems to me it is easier to be called a Jesus follower than it is to follow, at least very closely.
Maybe loving the poor is like loving your kids. It is a matter of consistently seeking what is good for them (as best God shows me that) and it is not always easy to know how to do that. Frequently it is not just giving them what they think would make them happy.
I should have added that it is also almost never just ignoring them either. That is where I most often am with regard to the poor.
Dad,
I want you to know that through the years I have learned more about loving the poor from you than from anyone. I know you are more generous than anyone knows, but I learned the most from the times you brought strangers into our home just because they needed help. Those times were often hard on our family, but they were the clearest lessons I've ever learned about loving people. Not one of those experiences was wasted. Thanks for being who you are. I'm still learning from you as you navigate the treacherous waters of wealth with faith and wisdom. I'm really proud of my dad.
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