How to live joyfully in a world that hates you

There are two kinds of joy I experienced in life.  First, is the cheap joy which occurs when I satisfy something from my flesh or soul; like buying a favorite item.   Or, there’s the deep joy when my spirit is at rest with God amidst a world that hates you.  Just how do we get there?  Here’s what I discovered.

I learned there are three things I need to be psychologically healthy; Security, Trust, and Love.  If any of these life foundations are broken or missing, then I will experience wounds in my heart.  My heart will become hardened and cutoff from love.   Because of the anger and resentment within me I will be blinded to my own self-destructive behavior.  No longer a whole person, I will become dysfunctional; unable to receive nor give love.

In today’s scripture reading, Jesus states the following;

“Just remember, when the unbelieving world hates you, they first hated me. If you were to give your allegiance to the world, they would love and welcome you as one of their own. But because you won’t align yourself with the values of this world, they will hate you. I have chosen you and taken you out of the world to be mine.” John 15: 18

This is tough medicine.  I have a natural need to be liked and accepted by everyone.  Rejection is painful.  So, if I need security, love, and trust, how does one live in this world with a healthy state of mind?  Who wants to live in a place where people hate you?

For myself, the key is knowing that my sense of value and love comes from God; not the world.  Since the world and its people are imperfect how can I expect perfect love to come from imperfect people?  That’s crazy talk! Imperfect people have wounded hearts filled with pride, anger, self-centeredness, and unforgiveness. On the other hand, God is perfect, and I can expect perfect love from Him. Isn’t that healthy talk?  

I must remember that I am spirit, soul and body.  My relationship with God is spirit-to-spirit; not soul to spirit.  It’s the same way as when two people live in union with their hearts who know each other intimately without the need of a conversation. Therefore, my spirit leads my soul and body; not the other way around.  Jesus once said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. John 6:63

I learned the love of God the Father and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is a creative, life-giving love that produces immeasurable joy and lasting friendship for all who accept it. God loves the world so much because he created it to reflect his glory. And he created each one of us in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). He wants us to be united with himself in an inseparable bond of unity, peace, and joy that endures for all eternity.

Jesus goes on to say; “I love each of you with the same love that the Father loves me. You must continually let my love nourish your hearts. If you keep my commands, you will live in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands, for I continually live nourished and empowered by his love.” John 15: 9-10 

Therefore, to live a joyful life in a hostile place filled with imperfect people, I must allow my spirit to be in union with God’s spirit.  By having God’s love nourish and empower me, I can receive the love, trust, and security, to live in a toxic environment. I know God protects me and I can trust him eternally with my life and spirit. Like all successful people, I must put first things first, and that is to acknowledge God in all things and to be immersed in his word.  His word and truth will guide me in all things.  By knowing and experiencing my spiritual intimacy with the Lord, I can live joyfully in a world that hates you.

Ledger Legacy

Matthew 28:18-20

When I was growing up, if I wanted something that cost money, I asked my Mom. That’s because my Dad grew up on a farm in Iowa where money was really tight. He learned very quickly how to count pennies to make ends meet.

He transferred that lesson to me. I still remember him sitting at his desk almost every night, writing entries into his ledger. He probably recorded every penny spent and every penny earned. I’m guessing he had columns for groceries, car, the house and probably one for me, since I was always getting Mom to buy me stuff.

However, he never sat down with me and explained his ledger. And yet, almost from the time I went to college I kept my own ledger. And before getting married, I put one together to make sure we could afford such a big step. I learned how to do this by watching my Dad over eighteen years. I guess you could say, I was his disciple.

God spoke these words to Moses to prepare His people for the Promised Land.

⁶ These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be [written] on your heart and mind. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.    Deuteronomy 6:6-9 AMP

These verses were written to parents about raising their children. But they’ve been applied to rabbis and disciples; rabbis like Jesus and disciples like Peter, James and John… and you and me.

When Jesus first called his disciples he said, “Take up your cross daily and follow me”. When he left his disciples for the last time he said, “Go make disciples… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Being a disciple is a lifetime, two-way street. First you are a disciple; then you disciple others.

My Dad left a ledger legacy that he passed on to me, and in turn, I passed on to my daughter. What does it mean to “make disciples”? Do like my Dad did; set an example, live it out daily, and talk about it. When you do that, your children, your neighbors, your co-workers will see what it means to be a disciple, and those with faith will follow.

What About Him?

The arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost changed everything for this band of Christ followers. They were all together in one place and were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in our lives is a game-changer. It was for them as well.

Peter had to make some major adjustments to his beliefs and his practices to be on the same page with God. He went so far as to argue his point with God after God commanded Peter to "kill and eat". Then God gave him a sign and Peter got the message. But, then he had to convince the other disciples.

What it boiled down to was God wanted everyone to get to know Jesus but Peter thought only the Jews should know and be saved. "When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.” (Acts 11:18)

The Disciple's task just became a whole lot bigger. Now they had to share the Gospel message with Jew and Gentiles. The same can be said for us. We are to share the Gospel message with everyone so that all have the opportunity to know and be saved. It doesn't matter the nationality, the social status, educational background or who they know. The only thing that matters is that God loves them and we should also.

When pointing at our neighbor and asking, "What about Him?"  Yup, him too.  What about my boss who doesn't even like me? Yes, but maybe someone else could tell him or her about God's love. The point is, we all have the right to know Jesus. And one of us needs to get started.

Acts 11:1-18

Living a Life Worth Imitating - that's how!

Luke 14:25-35

The past two Sundays we have been examining the question, “What do you want to do, really?” Then, “Why do you want to do it?” Now we are asking ourselves, “How will you do it?”

With the first question, we examined our responsibilities.  One being to love God and the other to love each other. Once we understand this we know we want to share our faith with someone else. The response to the ‘why’ question is because we are God’s children, we are blessed and He loved us first.

Today it is time to make a plan, to figure out how to do these things that we, as Christians, really want to do. The answer is easy, the doing – not so much. We are called to live a life worth imitating. Since childhood, we have been challenged to lead by a good example.

Luke 14:25-27 (MSG)
One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one's own self! —can't be my disciple. Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.

Jesus is making the point that we must first love Him, live our life for His glory and never our own. When we worship a parent, spouse or child, we relinquish Jesus to second place and He can never be second in our hearts. A Disciple of Jesus loves Him first and foremost. All other love flows from this perfect love.

When we are lost, Jesus seeks us out leaving all others behind. That is the same type of love – boundless and undeserved love.

Disciples are Disciplined

I played a lot of baseball while growing up.
 

One of my summer league coaches was Mr. Austin. We were drilled on what he called “situational baseball.” All 9 defenders were on the field and there would be people on base. Mr. Austin would hit the ball at someone. He was less concerned about whether the ball was caught, but more concerned about what was done with the ball after it was caught. He wanted to make sure his defense was playing properly.

Can Anyone Name this Stadium?

 

His son, Tim, asked him why we did this drill. (Batting practice was much more fun!). Mr. Austin replied, “We are going to have a disciplined team that knows how to play the game.”

 

Today’s reading is Hebrews 12:3-11, and it is about discipline. God disciplines his Sons; he disciplines those he loves.

 

When I think of discipline, I sometimes think of punishment. When my dad said I was being disciplined to a friend that wanted me to come out and play, that meant I was being punished and was not allowed out of my room for a while.

 

In these cases, my dad used the term discipline to imply I had done something wrong. Mr. Austin used the term because he had high expectations of his players.

When God disciplines us, today’s verses tell us it may not be pleasant for us. Nonetheless, we should accept discipline and learn from it.

 

Why does God discipline us? We are all capable of doing the wrong things. God disciplines, that is punishes us, when we do the wrong things. After all, there are consequences for our sin.

 

God also has high expectations of us, extremely high expectations. His discipline may not be because we did something wrong, but rather because He desires us to get better at what we are doing, much like the desires of Mr. Austin.

 

When you are disciplined by God, use it as a learning experience. Either  correct what you are doing wrong, or do a better job of what you are doing.

 

All of Jesus’ disciples will be disciplined!

Be A Disciple

Today’s reading is from Luke 14:25-35. Jesus tells the crowds that following him means also to stop following the ways of the world. Jesus urges the crowd to consider the cost of Being a Disciple. Jesus wants disciples who will carry out his will, not merely people who will see Jesus only as their Savior.


 

Being a Disciple is a tough decision for a person to make. Humankind has a long history of rejecting God and his Law. Adam and Eve could not help but eat forbidden fruit.

 

Disciples are the Flowers of God

Adam and Eve’s immediate descendants also had obedience problems. The Sethites, against God’s warning, married the Cainites, and the world became totally corrupt. God cleansed the world with the flood, and through Noah, we had a fresh start. Yet humans continued to reject God over the ages.

 

I am certain that left to my own devices I would not chose to Be a Disciple.

 

Fortunately, God chose me at my Baptism. The Holy Spirit became a part of me and I became not only acceptable to God, but also equipped to Be a Disciple.

 

My ability to Be a Disciple is flawed, yet it continues to improve, through the Word. By reading the Bible over the decades I have a better understanding of what my assignment in life is. My life, as sinful as it is, has been one of general Christian growth. Perhaps I am maturing, but I will never be fully mature disciple in this world.

 

Another tool that helps me in my growth is my congregation. It not only administers the Sacraments of Grace, but it helps me to find opportunities to Be a Disciple. Not only that, it can even challenge me to do more, and thus, continue to grow in faith.

 

How is your Christian Growth? Are you a member of a Christian Congregation? Are you following its lead to carry out Jesus’ Mission? Are you Being a Disciple?

 

Individually we can only do so much. Together we can accomplish God’s Will.

 

God chose me, so I want to Be a Disciple.

 

Pray. Give. Go. That is Being a Disciple.