Serve'n'hood

Serve'n'hood

Well, we're in a new neighbor"hood", a new house, and we have great friends and family who "served" by helping us move in last weekend. Really without the sacrificial help of others we would not be here right now. Some families gave in ways that probably hurt to a point. One entire family gave up their whole Friday night as a family to come help us move. This may not sound like such a big deal until you consider that the husband's job is such that they often go 4 days without even seeing one another and when they do he is tired. Another friend drove almost 45 minutes to help lift and move furniture all while his wife stayed behind, alone to add our 3 kids to their 2 leaving her with 5 kids for over 5 hours. Other friends lifted, put together and arranged all our "stuff" for us throughout the many hours we spent loading and unloading. Others gave snacks and drinks to help me stress less about providing for those helping us and my wonderful parents gave dinner for those helping. It was all such a blessing and felt so undeserved.

All the serving and sacrificing others have done on our behalf lately makes me think of God's GREAT sacrifice for us in Jesus death and resurrection. It reminds me that often true loving brotherly sacrifice hurts, is not comfortable and does not come easy. It is truly "laying down one's life for the  better of others". It does not always have to be painful to give sacrifcially and it is not neccessarily a measure of how good your giving is or how much it is worth.

However, I would challenge you to examine your giving, your sacrificing, and your serving. Does it ever hurt? Does it ever push you? Does it ever mean you laying down your own plans, desire and will at the foot of the cross to say instead, "you matter"? If you only give when it is within your means...if you only serve when it is comfortable and something you enjoy or find "easy"...if you only sacrifice when it is a cause "worthy" of your giving... Hmm, how sacrificial is it really, how giving is it, what kind of a servant heart is being used to serve someone you want to serve rather than someone who stinks worse or lives in a house that stinks worse???

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
I know it challenges me to examine WHY I give, sacrifice and serve... And after this week I will be pondering sacrificial giving in a whole new way. I thank God for meeting our needs through the sacrifices of time, energy and resources our friends and family offered us.

backWORDZ

We live in a backWORDZ way. We're sinners, but we've been forgiven. We make mistakes, but yet we're redeemed. We fall short, but we're loved. We lack, but we have enough. We falter but we have a steadfast pace set for us in Him. We say things we don't mean and mean things we don't say. We ask for things and then complain about them when we get them. We are greedy even though we have an abundance. We are selfish, and will not serve. We are served, but will not offer gratitude. We are bent on revenge and being pleased. We are not quick to forgive or quick to be silent, but filled with hatred and violently loud about our own opinions. We shed tears of both joy and sorrow. We hope for tomorrow yet we know it may be filled with the same disappointments and troubles of today.

We live in the backWORDZ world.

But, one thing I choose to cling to is a belief, a hope, a promise, a faith that despite the backWORDZ way in which we are destined to live, ONE DAY all that is backwords will be made right. All that is so upside down will be turned around. All that is lost will be found and tears that are shed will be wiped away. All that is empty will be made whole. All that is old will be made new. All that is torn apart will be restored. All that is burdened will be lightened. All that is held captive and bound in chains will be loosed. All that is hidden will be uncovered. All that is fallen will be rebuilt. All that has died will be given new life. All that is will be restored.

This hope, this promise that I cling to, THIS is what has gotten me through my struggles, through my pain, through my hopes dashed, chains bound, pain felt, emptyness and toils.

Colossians 4:5-6 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one.


We live in the backWORDZ, but let us not use our WORDZ without gentleness, without seasoning, without thought, without HOPE and without restraint. Let us, instead, speak with and walk with wisdom. Let us redeem the time! Let us speak HOPE to the hopeless! Let us begin even now, even in the backWORDZ to RIGHT the time by speaking truth in a world muddied in lies, to speak hope in a world drowning in hopelessness, to speak love to a place perpetrating hatred and pain.