I was created to either run barefoot or wear boots, I don’t care which kind; cowboy, hiking, tall dressy boots with lots of buckles!! I am not a fancy dress shoe kinda girl! But there are occasions which call for dressy, the black tie¸ wear your best, kind of occasions. You would think that dancing at a party in the presence of the King would call for that… I wonder? I think He loves my bare feet as long as they are dancing in Joy before HIM and with HIM.
As a Christian, especially an "American Christian", what does our walk look like? What should it look like? Are we really applying WWJD? Is the church acting like Jesus? Is everyone welcomed? The dirty homeless? The prostitutes? The Liars and thieves? What about the people who choose or are trapped in an addiction to some sort of self-medication? What about the hypocrites? The proud? The arrogant? The rich? The poor? Which of these would you shake hands with? Hug without reservation? Greet with a kiss, invite to sit in the front row? Ask to speak? Invite to dinner? Invite to stay in your church? Invite to stay in your home? Give up your bed for? Give your last meal too? Give your money too? Who is accepted and loved? Who is not? How do we love with the abandoned love of the Trinity? Why should we love in that way?
Please don’t point out your church program that feeds people once a year, once a month, once a week; Unless you can honestly say that if that same homeless person showed up Sunday morning stinky from no access to a shower, with bleeding cracked lips from the cold, clothes filthy from being lived in 24/7…would your church welcome them, as they are, let them sit up front with the choir, sing off key and be happy they are there? Because they are a glorious creation of God, made in His image every bit as much as you or I; you can be sure that the Trinity would be dancing in joy, filled with abandoned overflowing love that the least of these would be accepted, loved and included.
That is the church I will be a part of because the Trinity is throwing a party and inviting us to dance in that church…
I want to be (I hope I am) willing to give up all my “blessings” as described by others in order to be filled with His Joy. Joy can be hard, joy can be giggly, joy can be weeping, joy is brokenness, joy is transparency, joy is a choice, joy can mean waiting, joy may be a desert, and joy is definitely dessert ;), joy is laughing at yourself, joy is knowing you are inadequate, JOY IS KNOWING CHRIST IS ENOUGH!!!
Blessings are icing not necessary to enjoy the cake but can definitely be enjoyed. They are NOT what should be sought. They are secondary things, how do we shift our focus from them?
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