Other People Exist

 
Inspired by a talk Donald Miller gave at Catalyst a few years back about his book Blue Like Jazz. 

Donald Miller points out that “our sin nature wants us to reduce other people to tools and machines.” When, in actuality, we are called to understand that the world does not revolve around “me” but rather, that everybody is having an experience, created by God, and loved by God.

This is something I’m completely guilty of. I constantly forget that this life is just as much about other people as it is myself. How has God’s kingdom missed out because we view other people like the city bus?

Here’s what Paul had to say on the matter (Romans 12:3, 10, 16):

12:3 - For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

12:10 - Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

12:16 - Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Psalm 23

A David Psalm
1-3 God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
4 Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
makes me feel secure.
5 You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.
6 Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life.

Finding Freedom in the Commands of God

Alex and Brett Harris (The Rebelution) respond to a recent comment: What I would like to know is your view of 1 John 5:3 which states: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” You say that following Christ is hard, but worth it, and yet here we read it isn’t hard. What is your response?

First, let’s read the next sentence. After John writes, “His commandments are not burdensome,” he follows-up on that statement by saying, “for (or because) everyone born of God overcomes the world.” In other words, God’s commands are not burdensome because we have Christ dwelling in us.
In my opinion 1 John 5:3-4 is confirming Luke 1:37, where the angel of the Lord tells Mary, “For nothing is impossible with God.” This doesn’t mean that God’s commands are not hard, it means that (with Christ) they are not impossible.

God’s commands definitely aren’t burdensome or oppressive like the legalistic code the Jews were living under at the time. They aren’t commanded as our means of eternal life — which is a huge burden lifted — but instead as a joyful expression of our love and appreciation for being saved. 1 John 5:3 says: “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” It does not say: “This is how we are saved: by obeying God’s commandments.”

I’m convinced that God’s commands can be hard — but not burdensome. They can be hard — but not oppressive. They can be hard — but we can joyfully do them through Christ. They can be hard — and God is glorified by the fact that it’s hard.

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was in me.”

Here you see a beautiful paradox. Paul’s hard work didn’t get him any glory, and God’s grace didn’t make it easy. But both of them together brought Paul to the end of his life where he was able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

HT: The Rebelution