Monday Morning (okay Tuesday) 10/13/2014

"And of some have compassion, making a difference" (Jude 22)

Last week I talked about being a “WELL” individual and how that would work in our relationship with a “WELL” church. Remember the church is not the building. The church is you and me. Are you “Worshipping (God honoring and Christ exalting),” “Evangelizing” (sharing), “Learning” (watching), and “Loving” (caring)?

All of that comes down to one word: Relationship. What is your relationship with Jesus? What is your relationship with others? If you stop and think about it, if you say you love Jesus or love someone else, it means you do one thing: care. If you say you don’t want anything to do Jesus or someone else because they offend you or something? It means you don’t care.

Acts chapter 3 is an interesting picture of this. A man who could not walk from birth would be carried (Someone cares enough to do this) to the temple every day for him to beg for money to live. People who passed by saw him, knew him by name and probably knew his mom and dad. But who would stop and just encourage this man? Who would stop and just chat with him? NOBODY would stop! People just acted like he was invisible.

How would that make you feel? If you knew he was there would you stop? We will all probably say we would. But in reality, we wouldn’t bother. It’s his problem. He is the government’s problem. He is someone else’s problem.

There are those who ask the question, “What is the opposite of knowledge?” It is NOT “Stupid,” “dumb,” “low functioning,” or “don’t know.” The opposite of knowledge is ignorance. Ignorance can be called “insensitive,” “indifference” “shallow,” or even “don’t care.” Not caring is an attitude. It shows coldness and hardness in our hearts.

But look what happens: Peter and John are on their way to temple. They notice the man who cannot walk. How many days had they passed by and NOT noticed him even though he was there every day and Peter and John probably went to temple every day too! Peter "fixed his eyes on" the man. No-one else would have anything to do with him. You see the Jews believed that such a man must be a sinner (or perhaps his parents were) to not be able to walk from birth. Some even thought this was a punishment of God. But as Peter saw him perhaps he remembered what Jesus had said another time and place, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." (John 9:3)

And so Peter reaches out and heals the man. It is immediate. It is total healing. The man jumps up and leaves jumping dancing and praising God! Tell me - is the hand that reaches out Peter’s or God’s? The answer is: YES! Yes, it’s Peter’s - because WE ARE HIS HANDS AND FEET - it’s also God’s. What does Colossians 1:27 say - "CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY!"

The lame man was healed because GOD’S POWER FLOWS WHEREVER HE IS. If we would see the power we must secure the presence of Jesus. Jesus wants relationship with us because HE CARES! We should share Jesus’ heart and reach out to those around us that we pass everyday but do not see.

Ignorance is blindness. Do you care enough to open the eyes of your heart and care enough to look around you and see other's needs before your own? That is caring.

Someone once said that the only thing worse than hell is when you find out that no one is looking for you. Jesus said he came to seek and save what was lost. Jesus also said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21) Whatever is important to you is where your heart is. If wanting people to have life in Jesus is important to you then caring enough to make a difference in someone else’s life is where your heart is. And if your heart is there you really do care.

Remember, if you have faith to make a difference to someone else. You have more than enough faith to care. You have more than enough faith to care.