Ch. 652 - Reality Check

What a night...

I know I've said this before, but: I think often we get too caught up in what's going on in the 'here and now' with ME, ME, ME... so we forget about the big picture. And how it should be about GOD, GOD, GOD... and THEM, THEM, THEM.

Life is good.
Life is great.
God is good.
God is great.

Joy.
Hope.
Clarity.
Renewal.
Blessings.

God-highs... gah.
I've been on a definite God-high for about a month now.
And it's been fantastic. I've loved every minute of it.

I've done my best to not focus entirely inwards. And while I have spent time thinking and praying about other people, I feel that it's not enough. I've tried to share what God has given me. But sometimes I feel like an absolute failure. Do people know I truly care about them? Are my spoken words empty? Meaningless? Do I ask God for an awareness of the needs and feelings of others? Am I following the Holy Spirit's promptings towards my brothers and sisters? Or the promptings towards nonbelievers? Do I even want to be aware or sensitive?

Each day I pass people who put a smile on their face, while on the inside their hearts are breaking. Each day I pass people who are leading a group in laughter, but they'd rather weep or cry out in anger. We see joy, they feel bitterness. But they want to seem strong. "Okay." "Fine." Even "Good!" or "Great!" And just to ward off possible questions of greater depth, they tack on the exclamation that "God is so good, man!" But they can't really expound on why He is "so good" because they've got homework [or so they say...] and they'll have to catch you later.

Sad.

Sometimes we have no idea.
For one thing, they aren't willing to let people in.
And another, we aren't willing to chip away at their walls.
It would be done with gentleness and respect, of course.
But if we don't work at it, no progress will be made.

They'll remain shut up, surrounded by numerous defenses that sometimes they don't even mean to construct. So how do they get there? The world puts them there.

The world says this is a cold, hard place.
The world says nobody really cares.
The world says we can't get from here to there with merely an unseen God.

The world is wrong. How can we let ourselves be so greatly deceived? Oh, well... "the great deceiver", the devil, can have a stronghold on us [if we let him]. But in contrast to God, he has nothing. The power of God greatly surpasses the power of our enemy. And he is not loving, or just, or kind, or merciful... and he truly has no authority in our lives.

The world should not dictate whether we reach out to our brothers and sisters in Christ's love - or, as someone being reached out to, whether we grasp their outstretched hands. We can't assume that just because someone is a fellow believer everything is fine. We all have our battles. There's nothing wrong with asking if someone would be willing to be an ally. Trust in God, yes. But trust people, too. Man is not entirely evil. I know that I have always struggled with thinking other people are heartless. I've always been very critical and hard on people. That is changing more and more each day, it seems. Some days I learn more than others, and those are the days I deem "bad" or "difficult" - yet when I sit down at the end of the day and reflect, I see God was at work throughout the day. And that makes each bad day a good day in the end.

I think we sometimes focus outwards to such a far extent that we miss the people standing right next to us. Or walking down the hall towards us between classes...

But don't take this as a challenge to simply ask people more questions the next time you see them or get a "feeling" that someone's not doing too great. Don't make someone your pet project. Don't talk to people because you feel like you have to. Talk to people because you want to. Because you genuinely care about them, and are interested in their lives. Just remember that Christ lives in them... would you give Him the cold shoulder or brush Him off like a pesky mosquito?

... I hope not.

You can't love God without loving others.
And you can't love others without loving God.


'If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.'
[1 John 4:20-21]

By the way: I apologize if this was difficult to follow. I feel like I was kind of all over the place, jumping from one thing to another. There is simply so much on my mind right now. I'm finding it difficult to think straight and organize my thoughts. So when I'm just writing down raw thought, it's just as jumbled as it is in my mind. Blech.