Empathy, anyone?

 

Platon, the British artist who has taken photographs of hundreds of world leaders from Michele Obama to Putin to Trump, gave a TEDtalk in which he spoke of finding our common humanity. Using just the eyes of his subjects, he asks us to look past our preconceptions, our assumptions, our own emotional reactions to empathize with others. He revealed that when he took pictures of Putin, he found the man spoke ‘perfect English’ and was a fan of the Beatles.  Who knew?  In Trump, he found an anxious man who made the assertion, “I am the storm.”  That is no surprise.  Platon insists that the world can survive if we see the people with whom with share the planet, beyond their politics, religion, or culture.

When we turn others into objects, when we generalize and stereotype, we lose sight of their humanity and lose the capacity for compassion. When we take time to hear and see the person, the ‘what’ of their life begins to meld with the ‘why’ giving us the ability to empathize. That does not necessarily excuse evil, but it may help us to figure out better ways to deal with it. For example, the little humanizing knowledge about Putin’s love of the Beatles does not justify his brutality or war, but his revelation of his favorite Beatles song, “Yesterday,” gives some sense of his longing for the lost Soviet empire.

Jesus takes that idea of empathy and extends it to love!
When asked the greatest commandment "Jesus replied: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" (Matthew 22:37-40, NIV)  I take good care of ME and if you are emotionally healthy you take good care of yourself, too.  We make sure to feed, wash, clothe ourselves. We work at finding security and holding onto it. There’s nothing wrong with that.  However, Jesus says that we are to take the same kind of care of ‘our neighbor,’ which He defined not as those who share our faith or culture, but those who are part of the human race!

When asked by a religious leader, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus told the famous story we title The Good Samaritan.  He told of a Jewish man who was left for dead by the side of the road by thieves and robbers. A priest and a religious worker saw him but quickly hurried on, despite sharing his religion and culture. The one who stopped and saved the man’s life was a Samaritan, a man who was considered inferior in every way to the dying man’s own people. Jesus’ point? We share humanity and our race, religion, culture, gender, social status and all those other things that separate us should be no barrier to genuine love!

Our love is more than a response. It is a choice.  He explains the costly decision to love with true empathy.  “Do you think you deserve credit merely for loving those who love you? Even the sinners do that! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, is that so wonderful? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, what good is that? Even sinners will lend to their own kind for a full return. “Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don’t be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate." (Luke 6:32-36, NLT)  God goes beyond justice to show mercy. Will we?

Today when you think of that person or that group that makes you feel discomfort or for whom you have contempt, pray for a new heart, one that looks for the ‘why,’ that feels empathy for the person, perhaps not because of, but rather in spite of, their actions. Pray for a love for others like that of our Father in Heaven who loves us deeply, persistently, and redemptively.

The word from the Word invites a true empathetic response in a hurting world. "If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both." (1 John 4:20-21, The Message)  Help us, Lord!

(Video of this blog at this link)

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The Servant Song

Brother let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I might have the grace to
Let you be my servant too

We are pilgrims on a journey
We are brothers on the road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load

I will hold the Christ-light for you
In the night time of your fear
I will hold my hand out to you
Speak the peace you long to hear

I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh I'll laugh with you
I will share your joy and sorrow
Till we've seen this journey through

When we sing to God in heaven
We shall find such harmony
Born of all we've known together
Of Christ's love and agony

Brother sister let me serve you
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace to
Let you be my servant too

 

Richard Gillard

© Words: 1977 Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

Music: 1977 Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

Fully Known

 

Do you ever feel like you are worthless?  It happens to older people who question their value when they are no longer able to do things they once did without a second thought.  It happens to teenagers when they fall into the trap of comparing themselves to others in their social media.  Young parents can start to feel like life is passing them by when the days are full of mini-vans, diapers, and runny noses.  Few things can make a person feel more useless than living with chronic illness that makes them dependent on the help of others. Those who struggle to find a way to 'fit in' because of social awkwardness often are plagued by feelings of worthlessness.

The world we live in tends to assign value to the bright, the beautiful, the highly productive, the one with the sparkling personality, the high achiever. In our culture of celebrity, being known is the prize most valued by many, but does a thousand voices yelling our name mean we have true value?

 God’s way is different! We don't have to be young, smart, thin, highly creative, healthy, or rich, to be useful to our Lord. Do you think you must lead a group, sing a song, write a poem, or inspire thousands to be valued in the Kingdom of God? It true that some disciples occupy more prominent positions than others. Some remain hidden away even as they are given critically important assignments.

The little story of Hagar that is tucked away in Genesis is a tragic one of a person devalued, treated with contempt. Sarah offered her slave, Hagar, to her husband as a surrogate when she could not bear children. When the young woman conceived Sarah grew increasingly jealous and the conflict grew so intense that Hagar ran away, helpless and hopeless. In the desert the Angel of the Lord found her and comforted her. 

Hagar had a revelation about her worth in the sight of God that day. "She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered." (Genesis 16:13-14, NIV)

Few things can compare to the feeling that comes from knowing that someone actually ‘sees’ you, loves you for who you are, not for what you do.  God sees YOU, friend, today. He understands the whole of you – successes, failures, dreams, disappointment, the ‘whys’ about you that perhaps you do not even understand. Indeed we stand naked before His gaze. That need not make us tremble! He loves us.

There is a caution in this. We cannot play games with God; pretending, posing, or bluffing. He sees past all that and we are fools if we try.  But, we can lean into His grace, accept His love, and feel the unique and wonderful emotion of being ‘fully known.’

Love creates intimacy. When we are loved, we relax, we lower our guard, we share ourselves. John assures us of His love and points to the result that comes from being loved.  He says  “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (1 John 4:7-12, NIV)

If you are feeling useless or worthless, if you are striving to make a place for yourself because you think that will give you the value you desire, pause and turn a different direction. Let God love you.  Pray to know the revelation of Hagar, that He is the God who sees you, all of you, and loves you.  Knowing that love will change your life.

Here is a word from the Word. Let it fill your mind today. "See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don’t know God, so they don’t understand that we are his children. Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure." (1 John 3:1-3, NLT)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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One Thing Remains (Your Love Never Fails)

(worship with this song about His love)

 

Higher than the mountains that I face

Stronger than the power of the grave

Constant in the trial and the change

One thing remains

One thing remains

 

Your love never fails

It never gives up

Never runs out on me

Your love

 

On and on and on and on it goes

It overwhelms and satisfies my soul

And I never ever have to be afraid

One thing remains

One thing remains

 

In death in life I'm confident and

Cover'd by the power of Your great love

My debt is paid there's nothing that

Can separate my heart from Your great love

 

Brian Johnson | Christa Black Gifford | Jeremy Riddle

© 2010 ChristaJoy Music Publishing (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)

Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Power failure?

 

Around 5:30 this morning the house suddenly went silent; air conditioners off, the hum of the frig gone. The quiet brought me to a state of being fully wakeful. After using my cell phone to notify the power company, I rested in the semi-darkness, wondering how long it would be until the power was restored?  In my neighborhood power is frequently out, though usually for an hour or two.  Each outage reminds me of just how much I rely on the flow of energy into my home – to pump my water, heat and cool my home, cook my food, connect me to the wider world via the Internet.  And, yes, I was a happy guy around 8 when the beep of newly powered up smoke alarms announced the return of the electric power!

God has empowered us, my Christian friend, giving us the Holy Spirit, but many Christians seem to living with a power failure. I mean no disrespect in comparing Him to the energy in my house.  The Spirit is more than ‘energy’ but He is truly our Power for living. Many Christians, because of the imagery of the Scripture illustrating the Spirit’s acts with wind, fire, or oil, struggle to relate to Him, to know Him.  I very much appreciate the supply of power from Jersey Central Power and Light but I also don’t ‘love’ that power, nor do I relate to it personally.  But, the Spirit of God, is Personal, a Counselor, an ever-present Source of strength, wisdom, and comfort IF we live with an awareness of His Presence. That is a BIG if for many.

First let me underline this:  

Jesus promised the disciples that "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”(Acts 1:8, NIV)  He is Who makes us unique in the world.  Many people are ‘nice.’ Many are ‘religious.’  Some are ‘kind.’  Many are, at least on occasion, ‘loving.’ But, the consist likeness of Jesus in us, the replication of His character that fills us with love, hope, and joy, making us steady and faithful, is a divine work of change. Paul prays that magnificent prayer of faith that includes this line - "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being," (Ephesians 3:16, NIV)  

Is your Christian life constantly empowered by God’s Spirit or are you suffering a power failure?

The difference in your life will be even more dramatic than the difference in mine when the power goes off in my home and that’s pretty dramatic!

It’s your birth-right as a Believer.

So why don’t more Christians enjoy that power, live in that sweet intimacy that makes their lives remarkable?

In my evangelical Christian tradition we are taught that being a ‘disciple’ of Jesus, the pathway of spiritual growth, is found in three basics – read the Bible, pray, and go to church. Those are good choices that should not be neglected. The Wisdom of the Scripture informs our mind. Prayer connects us to our Father. Going to church provides opportunities for worship, instruction, and sharing the work of God in the world. However, if that is the ‘be all and end all’ of being a ‘Christian’ it is very unlikely that the experience is anything like what God desires for us. 

The heart of our faith, the core of what it means to be a Christian, is to know God and He is known to us by the Spirit. Yes, He is God, the Father, who dwells in majesty.  Of course, He is Jesus, Who is relatable because He was human and walked in the world revealing God’s love and making a way of restoration for us. But, this is the age of the Spirit. Jesus says "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17, NIV) Though he is Spirit, we must not let our mind think only of Him as a force or energy in the world.  He is our Friend, constantly with us and IN US.

The key to knowing Him is learning to be with Him.  The ‘busyness’ of life, even in the ‘Christian’ life, is the greatest hindrance to knowing the Spirit. A quick reading of a verse or two in the Bible, a hurried prayer in the morning, a half-distracted hour in church will not make us friends of God, people who draw transformative strength from Him.  We must learn the practices of solitude and quietness, developing the ability to be ‘alone’ without being lonely, quiet without needing noise, music, or other distraction.  So many of us are addicts to phones and screens, filling our cars and homes with constant noise. Even our Christian music can be a distraction.

If we would learn to hear the voice of the Spirit, to know His Presence as richly as we may, we will learn to turn off the world and be with Him. It’s a lot more difficult than it sounds, but it is not impossible. If we start with just 10 minutes each day of complete silence, hands open, heart open, ready to receive from God, we will learn to treasure those moments.  If we will prepare for worship by getting up a little earlier and sitting quietly to meditate on His goodness, we will enrich that experience.

Richard Foster, whose writings about Christian living are profound, opens his book, Celebration of Discipline, with this line - "Superficiality is the curse of our age.... The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."  When we learn to walk with the Spirit, ‘keeping step with Him,’ we are connected to life eternal, hope unceasing, love overflowing, and peace like a river.  And, we move beyond surface religion to deep relationship with God. 

Here is a word from the Word. Lord, use this truth to change our hearts. Amen.

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God." (Ephesians 3:16-19, NLT)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Holy Spirit

(a song of adoration and invitation)

There's nothing worth more that will ever come close

No thing can compare You're our living hope

Your Presence

 

I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves

Where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone

In Your Presence Lord

 

Holy Spirit You are welcome here

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere

Your glory God is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your Presence Lord

 

Your Presence Lord

Your Presence Lord

Your Presence

Oh God how we love Your Presence Lord

 

Let us become more aware of Your Presence

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness

 

Bryan Torwalt | Katie Torwalt

© 2011 Capitol CMG Genesis (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Jesus Culture Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055