The Generous Hospitality We Christians are Famous For...

So I've been thinking a lot lately about "the family of faith" I've been reading about in Galatians.  Something about that term and others like it just give me a big bad case of the warm fuzzies.   That kind of family in Jesus is something I desire so strongly... I want it for myself, as in being known and cared for... But I also really really want to do that for others... to show people that I love and appreciate who they are in the family of God.  

So I have been thinking/reading about practical ways to purposely create an atmosphere of community in The Church.  As I see it, a main factor in bringing about that kind of close-knit life is HOSPITALITY.  

The Bible has a few things to say about welcoming our brothers and sisters into our homes...

Here are just a sampling of verses that mention hospitality and how important it is:

Acts 16:15,Acts 27:3,Romans 12:11,Romans 16:1,2 Corinthians 7:13,Philemon 1:4,Hebrews 13:1,3 John 1:5

Jesus give me opportunity to show hospitality to my brothers and sisters... to show them appreciation and care... and to help build them up and strengthen them for your service. Amen.

Harvesting What You Plant.. and The Community of Faith

I seem to be trapped in a very small portion of Galatians as of late.  Here is where I am reading today.  I think a lot of people, especially some churches want to promote the idea of sowing/reaping, specifically when it comes to finances as: Plant money, Harvest money.  The issue I am seeing with that is that if you are planting money with the motivation of harvesting money, what you are actually planting is SELFISHNESS...  If you plant money out of selfishness, you very well may end up harvesting money... but along with it more selfishness... Not altogether a good thing.  On the other hand, to plant (anything) in response to God's Spirit is to harvest REAL LIFE.  So if I plant patience in the fertile soil of my children, by demonstrating patience out of obedience to God's Spirit, I will harvest real, eternal life...  And hopefully the side benefit of patient children!  Sounds good to me!  If I plant a good attitude and humble submission into my marriage... again, I think the motivation is key here... If I am pleasant to my husband because I think God will have to make him pleasant to me... It just doesn't seem to work that way... We're not talking about a hard and fast "formula."  The law of the spirit always comes down to the heart and listening to God. 

The other thing about this passage that stuck out was the phrase "the community of faith."  The NIV says, "family of believers," NASB "household of the faith," NLT "family of faith."

I do have a tendency to get hung up on this type of thing... There is something in me that just burns with passion to see believers living out the true community/family/household of faith.  I guess it's that when we reach out to unbelievers or those in need outside The Church... if they don't see us taking care of each other... what does that mean?  I mean isn't that just advertising the fact that we want to get you into our circle and then ignore you?  Nice...  I don't know... I have this vision of all of us living in unity, helping each other, supporting one another, lifting each other up... In a real way.  Not just once a week "at church" or at a Bible study... But living life together.  Admittedly, I am prone to idealism... However, God's Word seems to be with me on this one, so this is one dream I'll hang onto!

Live Creatively

I am stuck on 2 verses this morning.  

Completely and totally stuck.

Galatians 6:4-5

Make a careful exploration of who you are and work you have been given and then sink yourself into that.  Don't be impressed with yourself.  Don't compare yourself with others.  Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

Eeek!

Goodness, do you realize what this means?!?  I am what I am... right now.  I am a wife.  I am a mom of 4 little kids.  I am in charge of the house and the meals and the laundry... I bake the bread for our gathering on Sunday and make cookies and hold babies once a month...

That is who I am...

"Sink yourself into that."

I am noticing (just now) that it does not read... "resist that..." "push past that..." "find something more interesting to do..." 

"Sink yourself into that."

If I sink myself into those few things that God has put me in charge of... maybe I'll actually succeed... Maybe I'll make Him proud... Maybe he will be glorified in part because of my life in Him...  

Father help me to have a good attitude and be hardworking with what you've put me in charge of... Help me to live creatively as an expression of YOU!  Amen.

Spiritual Fruit

So I finally got to the passage about the fruits of the Spirit this morning...  and I actually noticed a couple things I hadn't seen before.  One is that these gifts appear "the same way that fruit appears in an orchard."  For me, this is a big deal.  It takes me back to the parable of the scattered seed and causes me to think about just what kind of dirt my heart is right now... I'm guessing if I want those "gifts" or "fruits" of the Spirit to grow well and flourish, "good dirt" or a soft heart is the way to go!  And if I'm not noticing those fruits... or if some of them have maybe gotten kind of rotten... it may have something to do with the state of my heart "soil."  

Another thing I noticed in this passage which I've always skipped over before is the part that says, "...let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.  That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse.  We have far more interesting things to do with our lives.  Each of us is an original."

In a way, I think that could refer again to tearing down our brothers and sisters, as in thinking we are better than they are... But I also think this could mean viewing certain jobs or gifts as better or worse... I could be wrong... but I see this concept contributing to "partisan strife" as well and have noticed how when that creeps up in my own life, I have a tendency to lean toward legalism rather than on a life in the Spirit.

So the Message Bible lists the fruits as: affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity, willingness to stick with things, compassion in the heart, a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people, loyal commitment, not needing to force our way in life, and directing our energies wisely.

WOW.  I want to live that way!

A Free Spirit

According to Galatians 5:16-21, living freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit is totally incompatible with self-centeredness... Hmmm... definitely something to think about...

I think I would like to "choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence."

Father show me what it looks like to live the free life, and teach me how to do it too.  Ultimately so I can show others as well and bring glory to you.  So be it.

Using Your Freedom to Serve One Another in Love

So I was going to jump right to what we know as "the fruits of the Spirit," but this passage caught my attention.  I love when God makes things excessively obvious with words like "it is absolutely clear that..." and "use your freedom to..." and "that's how..."  I am a girl who gets excited about a plan of action and that's exactly what this passage does for me.  

I'm reading that if I desire to live the free life and in order to watch that freedom grow, I can serve others out of love, loving them as much as I love myself.  Loving them the way I want to be loved.  That is true freedom... AWESOME.

And the other side of the coin is that there is also a way to lose my freedom... by biting and ravaging my brothers and sisters (the Amplified Bible says "biting and devouring one another in partisan strife").  It seems that the act of picking apart those in the body of Christ is to make a return to the Law of Death... legalism... and takes away our freedom to live out the Law of the Spirit through love.

The Life of Freedom

I was reading in Galatians today.  Every now and then I need to remind myself that it's not about what I believe... what I agree or disagree with... It's about having that relationship with the Spirit and expressing that same faith in love to others.  In the next several posts I will be looking at the fruits of the Spirit, the overflow of the heart... the practical expressions of faith in love... a demonstration of a life lived freely through Jesus.