It is Sunday afternoon. I went to church this morning at New Life. I have been going here for the last three weeks. I was looking for a Spanish church and stumbled upon this one instead. It's not Spanish, but it reminds me a little bit of the Shark Club at Rock Harbor, but with a smaller number of people and less club. The pastor was speaking on James Two. It reminded me of something I was thinking about yesterday, while walking across the Walmart parking lot...
Yesterday, I woke up and decided to do nothing very quickly. I sorted through papers and did dishes, while watching the television. I was watching A&E and this show came on about all the big personalities and history of big time wrestling. Towards the end, the show was talking about these wrestling schools they have for people who want a shot at big time wrestling. People can come, workout, train and hope to make it into the big leagues. They were interviewing the different men who had come to try out for the club. This one man in his perfect eighties attire - complete with mullet (for his credit I believe the film clip was from the eighties) - said he wanted to become a big time wrestler because he wanted to be known. He wanted to walk down the street and for people to know him, to be recognized. After the Andre the Giant special and Mr. T special I decided it was time to get out of the house. As I walking across the Walmart parking lot, I thought "You know that really is it - people just want to be known, to be recognized, to know that their important". Isn't that what Christ was really about? He came to glorify and serve God, but he also came to love people. He wants to set us free, want us to know that who we are is quite enough. With his gentle yet firm Spirit move us into life with him. A life that is polished by him, taking what is good in us and changing what is not so good.
Our job as Christians is to treat people as Christ treats us. This is what they discussed at Church. It is about treating the man in rags the same as the man in the suit. It is about treating people kindly. It about loving others as you love yourself. I know this isn't easy. I am a person who has the ability to get along with most people, but when I feel someone hasn't treated me right or fairly, it takes a long while and a lot of GOD to get that out of my system. There are people in life were I literally had to pray to God to help me love and forgive them. I think these verses in James though go beyond just difficult people. They ask us to live above our bias and stereotypes that dress and makeup form and to see the person underneath. We have to make sure we aren't going over the top to please some and ignoring others in the process. Que dificil! No? But I think with the grace of God, with a life solid in the Spirit, we can become people who are Christ like in our actions and lives. After all Jesus took 12 ordinary men, including a handful of fishermen and a tax collector, and made them the foundation of his church.
Live in HIS Love!
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