For the first time in YEARS, I'm not following a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year program. Instead, I'm just seeking direction each day on what to read, what to study, where to look for my daily supply of spiritual food. It's like coming off a diet where all your meals are preplanned and now, suddenly, you have to figure out what to eat for yourself.

So far in 2012, I've read through Galatians and Ephesians again in The Message (if you don't have a copy of Eugene Peterson's contemporary rendering of the Bible, hie thee to a bookstore at once!). This week I turned to Philippians and fell headlong into verses 1-4 of chapter 2...

"If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care– then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."

Now, just think about what you see on Facebook every day... How many of the "Christian" (including your own) posts are agreeable, loving, friendly and helpful?
No wonder so many folks avoid Facebook altogether. It's often easier to be silent than to follow Paul's directive.
But Paul's words weren't even designed for social media (although they fit). They were designed for LIFE–for living and interacting and responding to the people around us, from our children to our church family to our co-workers to our Facebook friends and Twitter followers. They were designed to give us the kind of life-giving, soul-fulfilling, lasting relationships that human beings need in order to be happy, successful, and satisfied.


Agree.
Love.
Be. 


Agreement requires us to stop trying to change the people around us. It demands that we accept and acknowledge without judgment, without manipulation, without control.

Love, though it sounds simple, is complex. True love casts out fear, obliterates condemnation, and offers unconditional acceptance.

Deep-spirited friendship? That's the kind of communion, companionship, that goes beyond shared likes and common opinions, it's a covenant between souls that extends beyond shared space, shared time, shared feelings, to the deepest hope and belief for the other's greatest good. It's rare, to say the least.

To these things we are called...


 

It's the first Wednesday since I decided on my new plan for themed posts here at In Truer Ink. Wednesday, if you recall, is set aside for words. Not my words, but other people's words...enjoy!

I'll start with something from Eugene H. Peterson's introduction to the book of Galatians from his "contemporary rendering" of the Bible, aka The Message. He writes,

"When men and women get their hands on religion, one of the first things they often do is turn it into an instrument for controlling others, either putting or keeping them 'in their place.'
...Through Jesus, Paul learned that God was not an impersonal force to be used to make people behave in certain prescribed ways, but a personal Savior who set us free to live a free life. God did not coerce us from without, but set us free from within." p. 1602, Introduction to Galatians, MSG

Now think about your personal "religion," whether it's a denomination or an anti-denomination. Have you ever been guilty of using your religion to put or keep "others" in their place? Judging and condemning others, or worse, manipulating and coercing people to "walk this way" from outside, instead of letting Jesus work on them from the inside? I have.

Conversely, I've been a willing subject of that kind of external control, from the church AND from myself. It's the way religion works, and it makes our flesh feel good because it looks like we're accomplishing something. Unfortunately, all religion really does is put on a good show.

I need to think about the things I do, particularly the things I feel compelled to do, the things I feel guilty over, and the things I judge other people for doing, and figure out if those feelings are coming from within my new creation spirit, or from the Christian culture without. Interesting, no?

On a lighter note...

For guaranteed giggles, check out my daughter's blog, Walker Whimsy.  Yes, I'm probably biased, but if your own kid can make you laugh out loud, surely she can make other people laugh too, right?





Joanne Sher may be one of the sweetest, kindest people I've had the good fortune to meet online. Her unflagging encouragement of others is inspiring, especially in light of the obstacles she has had the opportunity to rise above. She's starting a Wednesday theme at her blog, An Open Book, to share stories about God's goodness and faithfulness. Today's post, in particular, was heartfelt and thought-provoking.