Dan Berry (ArtistOfWords) Offline

Being a Blessing

There are many instances where we may see a brother or sister in Christ struggling. It breaks our heart and we want to help in any way we can. We often go out of our way to do this.

That is, of course, as it should be. We are, as the body of Christ, to support one another and encourage each other-building each other up in faith by way of the Holy Spirit's lead within us.

It is good and of God's will, after all, for us to love our neighbor. We know this because it has been commanded of us from the very beginning and then redefined by Jesus with the new covenant that we see in the NT.

What happens to us today, though, when we are confronted with the painful realization that we must leave our comfort zone to do God's will? It can become very difficult for most people to do things that are new to them.

We are commanded to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth by the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. We can surely do that by way of our voice when we worship God and also by sharing scripture.

The problem is we become too safe and comfortable in our own private bubble. Too many times we share our love only with those we know that will accept us.

We gather in groups for support and then many times we may find that others appear to be lacking what we have. We may pity them. We may try to teach or lead them. In the end though, many of those who are different see something we may not.

We are the representatives and ambassadors of Christ. The old saying that we are the only Bible some people will ever read is absolutely true. The Spirit living within us should spur us onward to become more like our teacher (Jesus).

Why then do we spend our time among our own brothers and sisters and not out looking for those who we may share our love with in Jesus Christ? Are they in places that we do not know? Maybe they are in a place that would be wrong for us to venture to.

Jesus went into the homes and the personal space of the sinners. Jesus did not come to save a holy people who were doing great deeds or else the Pharisees would have been considered perfect and good.

Jesus came to save a world that was dying to sin. We may nod and say amen to that but what are our actions afterward? What are our fruits showing?

Matthew 5:46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

We have to leave that protective bubble and love every single person that we come into contact with. That love is not just telling them that Jesus loves them but rather showing that love because it is within us.

Let's move on to another concept. Think if you will the actions of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as we see them act within the Bible. When they act they do so in a certain manner. They make a decision and then act swiftly.

As we read all throughout the Bible, no matter which translation we use, we see Them acting in a way that is swift whether it is said to be straightway, swiftly, suddenly, immediately or other ways. God does not withhold love to make sure it is right to love. God loves.

We like to make excuses though when opportunity presents itself for us to love though. Maybe it's not a good time to bless another. Maybe we have to count our costs to bless another. Maybe we have to find the best time to bless another. Maybe we have a hundred other excuses.

When we have the opportunity and the means to be a blessing and love another as Jesus loves his church we must not delay. We must not procrastinate. We must not ignore those things that we know are good by the Holy Spirit's leading.

Let me restate that again. When we know that we are to be a blessing to another in love in some way by the leading of the Holy Spirit and we are able to do it; we can not ignore doing so.

It's not a matter of time or of thought. It's not a matter of our need or our desires. It's not a matter of our finances or of our possessions. These are earthly concerns and not ones of heaven. Jesus told the rich man to sell all he owned and follow him after all.

If we are growing to be as the teacher then and we know that we are able to be a blessing in love to another and we choose to do so then we should also act in the time frame that we see God do good to others and that is as quickly as we are able.

James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—

14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

We do not know if we will be able to be a blessing in love at a later time. We do not know what our future may hold or even if God has planned to give us another day. That is why we must act as we are led by the Holy Spirit in the time we can bless.

If we are in the Word and the Word is in us then we will know when and how to be a blessing in love to another. How many times do we have to see that God works out the things that are in God's will before we believe and follow in submission?

We are all maturing slowly in the ways that God desires of us but one thing is fact. We have the ability to love others in Christ's name and if we do not then the question becomes...is Christ in us?

17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Act according to the Word and the Spirit and the will of the Father will be done. Do not act according to the Word and the Spirit and ignore the will of the Father and we sin according to our pride of thinking we know better than God.

It's all your choice as an individual. Will you do the right thing when next you are given the opportunity to be a blessing according to the love of Jesus Christ?