Opening Up Our Heart

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.  1 Corinthians 13:1-3

There is a saying that vulnerability is the last thing I want you to see and the first thing I look for in you.  Here is an example.  When watching a news or press conference or news report, they always move to the center figure of the story.  At some point during the discussion, the person starts to break down in tears.  At that moment, the cameras focus intensely on them, and you can hear the rapid clicks of the cameras reacting to that moment.  We often see that when a person is retiring from something they have done or a relationship they have had for a number of years.  They talk about how much they loved what they did.  These are the things that bring us closer to the person. It speaks of truth, sincerity, and passion.  Many of us love God openly and unabashedly.  Yet at times in this world, some feel to say it or maybe even display it is showing weakness.  However if we cannot be open and vulnerable enough to show this very act, how can we truly love God and others?

Vulnerability to God means to open up your heart to Him as well as others.  The words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 speak to the very core of why love must be at the center of all we do.  He was speaking of having spiritual gifts and abilities and how they are rendered meaningless without love.  God’s love for us brings us peace, joy, and comfort.  Furthermore, it can also bring us trials, failures, and challenges to grow spiritually.  Our perception of love tends to be the former, and thus, to show it makes us seem weak and vulnerable.  However if we know the latter is also love, we realize that it is also strength and conviction.  Despite our flaws, God shows us love in both ways.  While loving a flawless God is easy, loving flawed people is very difficult, and leaves us vulnerable to being disappointed and hurt.  However if God is to love us in spite of all of our faults and our mission is to follow His example, we realize we must do the same.

As God loves us, we must love others.  Jesus said, “Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.  Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:20-21)  Furthermore as to the greatest Commandment, “Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)  If we treasure our love for God and others the most, we will have the greatest rewards in Heaven, and that is what matters above all.  How can you be more vulnerable in showing your heart for God?  What steps can you take toward loving others as God loves you?  My prayer is that we show greater resolve for opening up our heart to God and others.   Amen.

The Case for Vulnerability - Pt. 2 (Vulnerable As A Child)

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.  Then he said,“I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.”  Matthew 18:1-3

My pastor talked about some of the ugliness in our lives that we would not want others to see.  God sees all this, and yet, we will still play naïve thinking we can somehow justify this to Him.  For me, I know that I should be honest with God and look to Him saying, “Lord, I am so weak.  I do not know why you love me, but help me in my weakness.”  That is the epitome of being vulnerable; being at the point where you are so desolate and helpless that you can only go to Him and admit your faults.  It sounds sad, but here is the most amazing thing about this point.  That is exactly where God wants us!  He wants us to acknowledge our dependency on Him, and in spite of our flaws, we are perfected through Jesus Christ.  We are wonderful, amazing, and beautiful both through Him and to Him.

If we are to realize that being vulnerable to God is a good thing, then we must also acknowledge that we are both weak to the world and cannot survive without Him.  Jesus clearly spells out where our dependency on God should be at the beginning of Matthew 18.  I often asked myself, “Why would Jesus want us to be like little children?  Doesn’t He want us to grow spiritually to become mature?”  The answer to this is of course yes, but the point Jesus is trying to make is not for us to act like little children that are naïve to the ways of the world and indulgent to it like not knowing when to stop eating cookies from the cookie jar.  It is to understand that little children are both incredibly vulnerable and dependent.  They need nurturing and love from their parents to be taught right from wrong.  Similar to this, we are susceptible to the ways of the world, and thus incredibly vulnerable.  However, we have an all knowing Heavenly Father who we can depend on, and He provides us with both love and protection should we reach out to Him.  Furthermore, His word teaches us how to live a fulfilling and righteous life.

Surrendering all to God is our goal as Christians, and we simply cannot do so without admitting to our own vulnerability and weakness.  Paul took pleasure in His vulnerability in last week’s verse, and this week, Jesus says we all must acknowledge that without Him, we are spiritually weak and vulnerable to attack from the world.  It is only through this admission that we gain access to God’s Kingdom.

Over the next few weeks, I will cover a lot of ground on how God uses our vulnerability to make us strong.  In the meantime, ask yourself these questions.  How can you like Paul find God’s strength in your vulnerabilities?  What parts of your life can you display a child-like dependency on God more?  My prayer is that we spiritually mature into vulnerable children serving an awesome loving and forgiving God.  Amen.

No Never Alone

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  Matthew 28:19-10

While there is so much going on in the world today, I want to speak of something more personal as it has relevancy to much of what is going on.  This past weekend, I lost a friend, and while all indications was that he was a believer, I could not help but feel the sadness of a life gone too soon.  It also brought me to realize one of the worldly devices that is creating greater stress in the world.  It is called loneliness.  I listen to experts, and see the data that points to a declining church and that people feel a disconnect with it.  With that disconnect, there is this empty space where loneliness takes its place.  It is not easy for me to ignore because I have such a connection with an awesome God, but many will say I just need to worry about myself.  But I can’t.  So I ask myself how can I not feel suffering when others feel they have no one to turn to.  What can I do to be accountable to making God’s presence in the world more known?

There is a reason Jesus commissioned us to teach others of God.  Many will disagree, but I believe much of what has gone awry in the world deals directly with the void of God in those places.  People who are alone are much more susceptible to evil, violence, and deception.  Our job as followers of Christ is to stay connected not only with God but also those who do not know of Him.  They are the ones who need to know of a God who loves them deeply, and must realize that whether they don’t have someone or do but sense no one cares about them, God is always watching, listening, loving, and protecting them.  There is no depth of loneliness or despair that God cannot touch, heal, and make one feel anew!

God is the only answer to save others.  The world is a ruthless tool of the devil for as 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”  Armed with the truth, we have joy everlasting through Jesus Christ.  We have been given true victory, and with it, we know He is with us always for God has said. “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)  Anyone who knows this will never ever be alone.  Who do you know that may be feeling alone?  Who in pain needs a reminder of God’s faithful promises?  My prayer is that when others feel abandoned, we are able to sing to them the old spiritual hymnal, ‘No Never Alone.’  Amen.

Strength in Weakness

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.  That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

What is true strength?  We are taught to always be a symbol of strength to others.  This is something I believe in, but as I’ve grown, showing strength is so much more than just being strong.  My success as a husband did not come from always being wonderful to my wife.  In my younger years, I would complain too much.  There were times I felt she was not sensitive enough, and other times where she did not do enough.  However, those were not her faults.  They were mine.  I was the one who did not love her and appreciate her enough.  I expected her to fix our failings in the relationship rather than look at the mirror and deal with my own.  In accepting my own weakness as a husband, it allowed God to be the strength of our marriage.  It made me better to her and more accepting.  It gave me not only forgiveness for my flaws but also inspiration to do better.  To be better.  The most amazing thing about it is my story, while unique, led me to the same place other Christians found themselves; saved and loved by Jesus Christ.

God shows His greatest strength through our greatest weaknesses.  We often feel that we must show our strength to others so as to lead them to a better place.  While it is true that we are to live our lives as examples of Christ, it is important that we also share where we are indeed flawed.  The vision Paul shared in 2^nd Corinthians spoke to this very point.  What brings others to God is not how perfect we may seem.  What brings them is realizing just how imperfect we are.  Our flaws are not so dissimilar from those who are lost souls.  However, our difference is that we have been born again through Christ, and He has shown us a different path.  It is a path that we not only proudly follow but also show to others.  A man struggling in his marriage and contemplating divorce is someone God may connect with me where I can say, “Hey.  I know where you are, and I have been there!”  Then God’s light can be revealed to them.

God’s glory is best revealed when He is allowed to shine above all.  There is no better way for it to be revealed than in our own story of weakness.  Romans 8:26 says, “The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”  Even when our prayers may be weak, God intercedes to ensure they are heard.  So let us focus not just on being the face of God’s strength.  Show others the flawed image of yourself because lost souls do not follow a God they don’t know.  They follow someone who understands them and can be used by God to help them see a righteous path.  How can you reveal your weakness to show God’s strength?  My prayer is that we are able to show true strength through own weakness.  Amen.