Sitting in The Right Seat

"Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them..."  Romans 12:6a.

For a moment, try this exercise.  Find a piece of paper and write your name.  Okay, you did that?  Now, transfer your pen or pencil to the other hand and try the same thing.  How'd that go?  I bet it wasn't nearly as easy to do, was it?  It didn't feel natural, you had to think about how to do it, and it may not even be all that clear what you were just writing (okay, maybe that's only for people with poor handwriting like myself).

When you try to do something in an area at which you are not gifted, talented, or trained, you're going to have a tough time of it.  It's not going to be easy or natural.  Now, I will grant you, even those areas in which we have gifts, talents, and abilities require some degree of refining along the way, in order to be better at them.  But if that's the case, then if it is something that you don't have a gift in, it will be even more challenging to do well at it.

Too often, in our life together as God's people, we end up putting people in seats that just don't fit them.  We want to find someone to do the work of ministry, but we don't see if God is providing that person to us.  Sure, there may be someone who wants to do it, but may not have the gifts to do it well.  We can free them to do it, but if they struggle, we should also point out that God may have gifted them for other areas that may bring even greater joy.  Likewise, when we see that someone has an area of giftedness, we should encourage them to minister according to that gift, as they can see the joy of God in that work.

It's not a bad thing to hear that we aren't gifted in a particular area, and it shouldn't be a source of shame to step away when we aren't, either.  Granted, too frequently, we can make the mistake of thinking we can't move away, but what if that is God's way of saying that He has a different direction for you, or for the overall body?  Our refusal to sit in the right seat, our holding on to the wrong seat, may actually end up working contrary to God's will.

What is the seat for which God intends you to minister in His name?  Well, think about the gift areas.  Think about your passions and joys.  Think about your strengths.  Then, see if there are areas that match that are already in existence where you are part of the Body of Christ.  And if there aren't those areas, perhaps God is opening a door for you and others to sit in the right seat and minister in His name. 

Who Exactly Are You?

Quick, list out five of your best characteristics.  Okay, now list out five of your areas of giftedness.  Finally, list out five areas where you know you could stand to grow.  How easy or difficult was that brief exercise to do?  For some of us, it might have gone rather easily, and for others, it might have been somewhat of a challenge.

Over my years of working with God's people, I've come to realize something.  A lot of the time, we don't really know who we are.  Just go to your local gathering of God's saints and ask people what their areas of giftedness are.  I can almost assure you that quite a few will tell you that they don't know.  Ask them what they are good at doing, and you'll likely find a similar response. 

While knowing in depth who we are isn't a requirement of God's eternal kingdom, it not only helps us in our lives, but it also helps us in relation to other people.  If you don't know who you are, you probably tend to find yourself becoming whatever others expect of you.  If you know who you are, you have a better ability to express yourself, as well as choose areas of strength in which you can engage in God's ministry to others.  You tend to be better at expressing why you think what you do, and why you agree or disagree with things.

I realize that there are a lot of factors that go into forming who we are.  Some of them are God-given (think gifts, abilities, and passions) and others are humanly formed (for example, I have had to work quite a bit to develop a lot of my leadership skills and abilities).  We give thanks for each of them, and discover that we are better able to serve God and serve others when we know who we are, what we are capable of, and how we best function.

A lot of that can be wrapped up in the story of our life.  For many of us, we likely have never really tried to express ourselves by telling our story.  In tomorrow's blog entry, we'll look at that in a bit more depth.  But in the meantime, I pray that you will give a little thought to answer the question, who are you?

Even That Person???

"And [Jesus] answered, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.'  She said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.'  Matthew 15:26-27

I'm sure it's happened to you because it has happened to me.  You are out somewhere, maybe in a restaurant eating, or at the grocery store, and you come across that person that you almost can't stop staring at.  In your eyes, they define the word "weird" or "strange".  I can't tell you what that looks like to you, since it is different for each of us, but you probably have an idea of what I'm talking about.

As you observe that person (that's a nice way of saying that you are staring at them!), what are the thoughts that go through your head?  Maybe something like, how could they do that to themselves, if they happen to have certain decorations on them.  Perhaps, how could they go out in public dressed that way (one my wife sometimes probably asks about me).  It could be any number of things, mostly guided by what we think is normal, and when we see someone straying from that, we may wonder about them.

While we are thinking such things about them, there's something that is noticeably absent from our thoughts.  That absence is the question, how can I be a little Christ to that person?  Yes, even that person!  Even that person that defies your sense of what is normal.  Yes, even that person who defies your sense of decency.  Yes, even that person toward whom you have a great deal of distrust.

The woman in the story from the verses above was a descendant of the original inhabitants of the promised land.  They were overthrown by God and the Israelites because of the greatness of their sin.  And yet, even in this instance, our God reached out to one of them who demonstrated faith in Him.  Yes, even that person.  And yes, even that person that you are wondering about.  Maybe that thought is one that we could try to get into our heads, rather than a focus on asking why they would do what they do.

Why Should I Care?

Unless you are an absolute hermit who lives in the backwoods and grows your own food, you are going to have to interact with people.  God created this world to operate in such a way that we are reliant upon others for the things of this life.  The farmer grows our food, the policeman protects us from criminals, the military protects us from attacks of other nations, and so on.

Think about that for a moment.  God created us to rely on other people, and to interact with other people.  We inevitably need other people.  And that means that we need to have at least some idea of how those interactions should go.  While God gives us things like His commandments to show us His design on how things should go, one of the other things we see is that our care for others is also important in our interactions.

The question can easily arise, though.  Why should I care about the people I interact with?  I may never see a majority of the people I interact with ever again in life, so why should I care about them?  That would seem to be a good question, though I would also suggest that we are valuing people based upon the frequency of our interactions with them, rather than seeing each of them as a dear, precious creation of God for whom Jesus gave His life.

Why should I care?  Because Jesus cares for them, and because Jesus now so closely relates to me that I am, in essence, His hands and feet and mouth to that person.  That provides me with an opportunity to show Jesus' care to them, no matter how trivial the interaction may be.  If I help the mother get a box of cereal off the shelf at the grocery store because she's managing her kids, I'm caring for her and her family as Jesus Himself would.  Sure, Jesus would probably manage to do more than just help in that simple way, but you get the idea.  We care for others, no matter how big or how small, because Jesus cares about them, and we may just be the one incident that day where they have an interaction with someone who truly cares for them.

What's The Deal With People?

At some point in your life, you've probably wondered something along the lines of that question.  Most likely, it came at some point where another person did something that just baffled you.  You wondered how they could arrive at the conclusion they did, or why they did the action they did.  It didn't make any sense to you, and you really wondered about them.

At heart, it's inevitable that we would think that about every other person.  God did not fashion any of us the same, no matter how closely related we may be.  We never truly will know what the deal is with the other person because they are not us.  And that, in turn, affects how we relate to them.  How do I relate to a person who, at times, does baffling things that make absolutely no sense to us?

This question especially takes on a new relevance when we are in Christ Jesus.  Because God has chosen to interact with the people of this world through His people, we are called to remember that our interactions with others will inevitably affect how others see God when they see us.  If we are rude, if we are jerks, and we say that we carry the name of Jesus, that cannot help but affect how people see God (or, perhaps, God's people).

How do I relate to others?  The reminder that we have is that we are called to be the aroma of Jesus to the people we encounter.  That means that we are Jesus to them.  Martin Luther had a different way of putting it.  He wrote that we are to be "little Christs" to them.  When people see us, the expectation is that they see Jesus within us.  And that's not just to one or two other people.  That is for every person that we encounter, no matter what time of day, where we are, or what we are doing.

I relate to others as a baptized, redeemed child of God in Christ Jesus.  Maybe if we put a reminder of that on us, maybe as a bracelet or something, it would help us remember that when the person cuts us off in traffic, or when our kid does something baffling, or when our neighbor mows their grass during the kids' naptime.  We are to be the aroma of Christ to them. 

Being Renewed

During the early part of this week, I was at a convocation for church workers.  While these kinds of things are basically required, I always enjoy the time I spend at them.  I always manage to take some things away from them, even if they are on topics or subjects that I am already well-versed in.  So this convocation, with the title "Renewal from the Inside Out", held a great deal of promise. 

Of course, as Christians, we find that God begins are renewal within us when we are washed with the water and word of Baptism.  That's when God first takes a sinful person and extends His promise to them.  He forgives them of the inherent sin that is within all humankind, and puts His Spirit within that person.  New life is given to that person, eternal life with God because of what Jesus has done.  That truly is renewal that starts on the inside.

As Christians, we are thankful for such renewal in our lives.  We can rest secure in that gift of grace.  The problem is, too often we simply rest in that gift of grace.  What we fail to realize is that, as God gives us those gifts of grace, He also makes us into a new creation.  That new creation is one that sees God's will and design, that which we would call His law or His commands, and wants to live according to them.  That new creation wants to love God with all heart, soul, mind, and strength, and wants to love neighbor as self.

The problem we face is that we far too frequently also don't want to do such things.  In some respects, that old nature, that sinful nature, seems far more appealing.  We are thankful for God's renewal in the spiritual sense, but in our outward, physical sense, we fail to demonstrate that renewal.  We fail to honor God and love Him above all things.  We fail to love neighbor as self.  We don't want to live the new life that God is giving us.

That's when the call for renewal begins.  We are made right with God, and that is our reality inside of us.  We respond to that gift of grace by seeking to live a renewed life.  Sure, we won't ever get it perfect, but that's not the point.  The point is that, far too often, we simply fail to really try.  So renewal fails to take hold, at least in an outward sense.  And that is when we need the reminder that a part of the Christian life and faith is the actual living out of that renewal.  But more on that tomorrow!