Yesterday, I read verse 15 and 16 that says "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly", and couldn't help but stop in my tracks. What does that even look like? We have an incredible example of what perfect Love looks like through Jesus. That He chose to suffer for you. For me. That everything He did was out of the most perfect love, and that it was for us. He was the Son of Compassion. That the love of the Father moved his heart. Compassion means that you are so moved that you are physically shaken. And this is the love Jesus has. And for some incredible reason, undeserved by me, He choses to lavish it on me. How can I not then, pour it out to others? To 'rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep'. You see, truly loving others isn't about our timing, or in the way that feels most comfortable to us. It often requires us to sacrifice something. To step out of my tendency to focus on myself, and to chose to love, no matter how much it requires of me.
And the verse "Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly'. 'Do not be haughty' is pretty self explanatory. But, 'associate with the lowly'. What does that even look like?! My husband and I talked about this verse, and ultimately this call of Jesus, for a while yesterday. And it moved us. We long to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. To take up the call of Jesus, and the cost of discipleship. And as crazy hard as it can be sometimes, the cost of non-discipleship is actually greater. David Platt says it so well in his book 'Radical'. "We are giving into the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist Him into a version of Jesus we are most comfortable with. A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream... The Jesus of the gospel is something- someone- worth losing everything for. The cost of non-discipleship is profoundly greater for us than the cost of discipleship. For when we abandon the trinkets of this world and respond to the radical invitation of Jesus, we discover the infinite treasure of knowing and experiencing Him." HIM. The one who lived and gave out of radical love for us. Does He not deserve anything but radical abandonment and love from me?
As God had been tapping at my heart about this all day, and as my mind was in search for what it actually looked like to 'associate with the lowly'- this incredibly poignant call and challenge Jesus asks of us- I went to church that night and spent the evening with some incredible kids. I listened as Gabby, about 12 years old, told me how her life has turned upside down since she found out that her Daddy has cancer, and I listened in awe as this tenacious hope glistens in her eyes as she speaks. And I talked to Gabby and Noah, the most adorable brother and sister, full of spunk and joy, as they told Jeremy and I how their family is struggling just to get by.
Back up a little bit, if you know me at all, you know that I love clothes. And I love finding good deals, which is the only reason I have attained as much as I have. It's like a treasure hunt! So, there's this store here in Santa Barbara, full of the absolute cutest things, and you can sell clothes to them, trade clothes with them, or just buy their darling pieces. So, the last few weeks I've been going through all my clothes, and literally got rid of half of everything I had! And I've been so excited to take it to this store, and trade it in for some new, fun, delightful dresses, tops, etc.. But last night as I'm listening to these precious little ones share their stories, and as I'm thinking about what the cost of discipleship looks like as Jesus continues to take hold of my life and world, I had an idea. I asked Jeremy what he thought if we helped some of the kids that couldn't go to camp next week, because of financial reasons, get there? And I decided instead of trading all those clothes in to get more cute clothes, I really wanted to use the money, to help these kids get to camp. And he was all for it! And this incredible excitement came over me.
Now here's the thing, I don't say this to make it sound like I'm some great Christian or so selfless or anything, because to be honest, when I woke up this morning, I wondered how I could still get some cute clothes out of it and help the kids! Haha. I am still a selfish person. But Jesus is doing His work, and He choses to use us, as selfish as we can be! In His amazing grace, He does something in us and through us, and... if we are willing, we get to see and be a part of His Kingdom coming to Earth.
I walked into the kitchen after this conversation, to hear my husband say, "You know that really expensive motorcycle I've been pursuing and working towards (and obsessing over), well... I don't want it. To truly live radically for Jesus is everything I want. No matter the cost. I'm ok living a more simple life, in order to be used and for us to really live out the gospel. I want to live like Jesus is calling us to live, and that doesn't mean a fancy excessive lifestyle. And it excites me." And do you know what...it was the hottest thing I have ever heard. Because this is what Love is, that He laid down His life for us. Can we not do anything less for Him? In the big and little areas. I can tell you with certainty that He's worth it. And our reward is more fulfilling than ridiculously cute clothes (which I still have to remind myself :), and an attention-getting-fancy-motorcycle. In the end, it is gain. He came to give us life and life to the fullest. And that doesn't start once we die and go to heaven. That starts the minute he comes into our lives, and starts to ruin us for the ordinary. Are we ready?
1 comment:
Beautiful Maggie and such a good reminder and lesson to learn.
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