I am aware that the best advice for living righteously can be found in the Bible. The problem is with interpretation and understanding. However this past Sunday, my pastor really broke it down. Pastor is a fascinating man who makes Sunday service fun every week. I’m guaranteed a laugh and a great lesson.This past Sunday was a bit different. I laughed of course. I even laughed hard even to lie down on the pew but I was hit with something else. I sensed that I ought to take notes on every word my pastor was saying and share it. I felt like everyone ought to have heard his sermon.
It started with the choir. They sung lyrics that said something like, I’m sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes almost level to the ground but I know HE cares for me. Now those are the exact words, and I don’t know the title of the song. You get the gist though. So many of my family members and friends are “going through something,” right now. So many people seem to be suffering or down and out. So many folks appear to be discouraged.
During his sermon Pastor told a story about a little boy and a glass of water. Basically the boy was watching his daddy working hard. Sensing his father was hot and tired; the little boy went inside and got a glass of water. While carrying the glass to his father, the little boy placed his dirty finger on the inside of the glass. When the father took the muddy water he noticed the PERFECTION in it. He noticed the perfection, not in the dirty water itself but in his son’s intentions. I immediately started to think about how I would have handled the situation. Most likely I would have been so disgusted at the muddy water that I would have been angry at the child. I’m being honest people. There would have been no kind of thank you. I might have even reprimanded the child for being unsanitary. I think most people would react in a similar way. That behavior would have discouraged the child.
We tend to teach discouragement to our young people. They hear us grumble. They see us act unappreciative. Most times these are self righteous reactions because we walk around with a sense of entitlement. But we need to rid ourselves of the weary attitudes. We need to start looking at things through righteous eyes. The child in the glass of water story would have been let down by my reaction. He would not forget it and just maybe he would stop performing random acts of kindness.
Pastor said we need to “Move in the name of Jesus Christ.” Everything we do and say should be in the name of Jesus Christ. As we rid ourselves of weariness, we need to thank GOD for caring about us. For loving us. We need to keep our eyes fixed on the LORD. Pastor reminded us that Paul said to keep your eyes up on Christ because looking back my cause you to stumble. I hear Paul. I agree with Paul. Let’s go even further. While we take steps towards Christ let’s pick up anyone we may see on the way. Someone who may be down trodden. Someone whose joy and hope have been stolen.
Of course, it is not easy. That is to say changing behavior. Once again we can look to the Bible. Philippians 3:12 It's not that I have already reached this goal or have already become perfect. But I keep pursuing it, hoping somehow to embrace it just as I have been embraced by the Messiah Jesus. So while we are working on ourselves, while we are spending our adulthood righting wrongs from our younger days, we ought to be glad that GOD is not through with us. We ought to teach our young folks NOW that they are able because GOD is willing. We ought to get right and lead by example. We ought to teach our young folks to “keep on keeping on.” Even now when we are financially struggling. When we are losing our homes and our jobs. When we cannot afford health care and our prescriptions. When we are battling racism and terrorism. Right now even though the young and the old don’t understand each other. The democrats and republicans battle each other. The men and the women have tension amongst each other. Despite losing young people to drugs and alcohol. Despite burying a friend after a tragic accident.
We can still be encouraged. We can still live righteously. We can still be kind. We can still have hope. We can still have joy. We can still love. We can still keep our eyes fixed on the LORD. We can still move in the name of Jesus Christ.
Personally I have a long way to go, but I am encouraged. I do have hope and joy. I do love and I do thank GOD. “I will trust in the Lord …I’m gonna stay on the battle field until I die.” I am thankful for Pastor’s sermon because the next time someone brings me muddy water I’ll think twice before I speak. And if you have gotten this far, I thank you for reading this post in its entirety and ask you to share it.
