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A Morning View

Sunday morning. Get dressed up, go to church, worship, sing songs to the Lord, listen to the message, examine myself and repent from sin. Go home and live life then go back to church on Sunday morning. 

Study is good. Daily devotions are important. Inward focus and repentance are vital. Self growth and striving for perfection in love are our lifeblood connection to God. Doing and saying the right things are good to do to remind us that God is God and we are not. We need to strive to live in a holy humble manner recognizing the importance of personal holiness between us and God. 

Salvation is such an important starting point in our relationship with God, but it is only a beginning place. I have often said that truly my salvation in Jesus Christ is not for me. My salvation in Jesus Christ is for the world. I am to love God and then love the world as I love myself. I am not to hold others to my standards or even force God's standards upon them. I am to love them right where they are. 

I see where we too often we project our Christian routines on others as  into doing the law with all the do's and don'ts instead of living and sharing the grace Jesus afforded us in the Resurrection. 

People need to experience the amazing grace from God through us before they can become the grace of God striving for the above mentioned pursuit of holiness driving us deeper in love with God and away from our sin nature. 

I believe this parable illustrates how to share the grace and freedom in Jesus Christ with another.

"On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”  - Luke 10:25-37


People need the Lord. People need salvation. People need to grow. People need you to love and care for them right where they are so that they experience the grace of God within you. 

So today instead of just selfishly going to church, how about we live as and be the church?


Peace,

PB

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