{By Kaila, Ignite Staff}
As Christians, we all want to know what we should be doing and how we should be living our lives. Here are the first two of four things every Christian needs to know about who we should be.
- We are to be TRUE WORSHIPERS.
Although worship can include music, it’s so much more than that. John 4:23 (ESV) says, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” Jesus said the Father is looking for true worshipers. What is a true worshiper?
When you look at the definitions for the words in this verse in the original wording and context, basically this verse is saying that true worshipers are ones who submit their lives to the Father, in their private and public lives out of great love for Him and not just dutiful obedience.
Any of you who read my post a couple of months ago (here: https://ignitefaya.wordpress.com/2019/02/06/all-hope-is-lost-or-is-it/) will recall that I’ve long struggled with submitting to God simply out of trying to be obedient. As I studied out this Scripture in John, I was reminded again that God doesn’t just want my obedience. He wants my heart. He wants me to love Him and for that love for Him to drive my desire for obedience. I’m learning to let go of obeying out of fear of upsetting Him.
Any of you who are parents, aunties, or uncles know that we all get excited and feel proud when the kiddos in our lives excitedly hand us their messy finger painting portraits. Who even knows what we’re looking at?! God has been using this analogy with me. He’s showing me little by little that even if I don’t do everything perfectly or I make mistakes in what I think He wants from me, He still loves me. He’s still proud of my efforts. The messy painting I can bring Him is still evidence that I at least tried rather than sitting back paralyzed into doing nothing by fear or hopelessness.
I challenge you to join me in this walk of faith. Together let’s become true worshipers who submit our lives to our Heavenly Father out of love for Him in all aspects of our lives.
Now we know that we are called to be true worshippers. What’s next?
2. We are to show COMPASSION.
Jesus consistently showed compassion in Scripture. Jesus loved people. Over and over Scripture shows He was on His way somewhere, only to become sidetracked to help someone because of His compassion for them.
In Matthew 14 we find the familiar story of Jesus feeding the crowd of 5000+ people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish. I want to back up, though, and point out something that happened right before this miracle. This story starts out in verse 13 with Jesus finding out that John the Baptist, His cousin, had been murdered. Jesus was attempting to get away to be alone to process and grieve the death of His loved one. This miracle in Matthew 14 is one of multiplication for sure, but it was also one of amazing compassion. In the midst of His own grief, Jesus was still moved with compassion for the crowd and healed them. He was again compassionate enough to feed them at the end of a long day instead of sending them away.
Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus’ heart of compassion on display:
- The Samaritan woman at the well
- The woman with the issue of blood
- The children who wanted to come to Him
- The centurion whose servant was ill
- Jairus whose daughter was ill and died
- Blind men
- Lame men
- People demon possessed
- Lepers
Jesus made time for every single one of these. Who do you need to make time for? Who is someone you can show compassion to today?
We may not all have the gift of healing operating in our lives like Jesus did, but we can all do something. Here are a few ideas:
- Phone call to a lonely family member
- Snail mail a card to a friend
- Bake cookies for a neighbor
- Visit a church member in the hospital
- Listen – people will often spill their guts if you just listen
- Participate as a volunteer in Convoy of Hope
- Participate as a childcare volunteer or tutor for The Shelter
Opportunities for compassion are not hard to find if we keep our eyes open. Not many months ago, I had a patient who was extremely distressed during the course of the appointment and admitted to being suicidal while I was with him. I had a BUSY schedule for the day and knew there would be penalties for running behind. When you see a grown man sobbing though, it touches you. It hurt to watch this man be so broken. It was an easy choice to make to put everything else on hold to make sure he knew I cared. I took extra time with him. I let him weep without judgment. I listened to his stories. I sat through a call to the suicide hotline with him to give him the courage to reach out for help. It was so worth it to see him get to the end of that appointment with a huge smile on his face, get a hug, and a big “thank you.” He again called back to the office later to thank me for caring and for showing him that he mattered.
Sometimes compassion matters more than we even know. I don’t like to think about what could have happened if I had not slowed down and taken the time for him that day. He got help because I chose compassion. I’m not here to show how good I am or to say that I have it all together…I know for a fact that I’ve missed plenty of opportunities to show compassion in the recent months. But, this story illustrates the point that I do want to make – you never know how much you may mean to someone. It matters to be compassionate and to make time for hurting people.
This post is already growing long so I’m going to stop with these first two steps for now. Has God been speaking to you as you’ve been reading this? Maybe you realize that you’ve failed in being a true worshiper or in showing compassion. I want to challenge you today to ask God for His forgiveness and His help to step back into right relationship with Him again. I encourage you today to step out of your comfort zone and into obedience. This week, let’s be true worshipers through our lives of love-driven obedience and compassion toward the hurting people around us!
“Four Things You to Know About Being a Christian: Part 2” will be coming soon, so keep an eye out for it!
Ignite Faya 