Food for thought

"Where He leads I will follow." R E A L L Y ?... let's look where He leads.
"God is love." We all know this to be true. I'm going to touch on a subject with which all at times struggle, and the holidays are one of those times- Loving our personal lepers. It's depicted in the Bible by casting out the lepers, mainly out of fear and not wanting the spread of leprosy. Fear is totally understandable here but fear and lack of faith walk hand in hand. Jesus loved the lepers and healed them. We all have people in our lives we would like to put on the outskirts of our lives and just pretend they are not there and in the same vein, like it or not, I guarantee we are that person to others. So are we willing to love and heal their hearts? Usually the person we find it hard to be around finds it hard to be around us. Great examples here are in-laws and outlaws, and I never knew there were such things until I got married. The in-laws are the husband or wife's family and the outlaw is the one who married into the family uninvited by anyone except the spouse. The unwelcome guest. As that guest, which we all at some time will experience in one way or another, we are in good company. Even the company of Christ, though that is probably the last thing on our mind when we find ourselves the recipient of the role of the unwanted guest. It is the very nail being driven into our hands and all we can think about is the injustice of it all. We are all who believe "crucified with Christ and yet we live." Now some spouses may be blessed on one side of the family or the other with love and acceptance but in general that is the exception and not the rule. Acceptance and not the rule! That's it! That's what? That's it. Let's see if we can turn on a light bulb here and shed some understanding. Legalism is all rules. We know it is by faith- not works-that we are saved, but the outcome of faith is love and you do not have the one without the other. You cannot have good works without faith, for it will fall short because it is not grounded in the love of God ... God is love! We all desire this unconditional love and yet we are rarely, if ever, filled with it . I believe you cannot get what you do not freely give. We look everywhere to quench this desire for unconditional love and do not even stop to think that unless we are willing to give it, we may not receive it. We expect to receive it from other human beings, and bitterness towards those who hurt us takes root. We must be obedient to the path Christ walked and determinedly root out our bitterness by loving others unconditionally and expecting nothing; only then in return will our wounded hearts start to heal and be filled with joy! Jesus did not keep His Holy Father to Himself, and we are to walk where He leads. Jesus freely gave His very life while we were yet sinners. He was mocked, spit on, whipped, and crucified so we might be partakers with Christ as God's children. Hard to imagine, and worse yet we cannot even seem to accept one another as believers in our own families, how petty is that? Yep, we should all be feeling really good about ourselves right now. Jesus sweat blood but did not hesitate in doing the will of His Father, He loved Him and us that much! How much do you love your family? Enough to make the outlaws in-laws? You cannot love your brother or sister and not love their wife or husband and here's why, "... and the two shall become one flesh." So when we are rude, causing pain to one, we do so to the other. In the same vein if we become bitter against those who do not accept us we are not following where Christ leads. Let the past be the past and not matter in how we treat those who are against us? That's it. It must start somewhere and that somewhere can only be with you. Look with new eyes, spiritual eyes, as family gathers to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Let the past stay where it belongs- at the foot of the cross. Dare to freely give the most precious gift you can ever give, unconditional love. Let love and acceptance shine, give this to Jesus as your gift to celebrate His birth. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." This is between you and God alone. God will guard your heart, your mind and your tongue in Christ Jesus, but you must desire to let Him. Where He leads will you follow?
Wishing you the gift of unconditional love this Christmas and always, love to all in Christ Jesus. C:)