though so many things in my life are uncertain, the one thing that i look forward to is someday being a part of an amazing Christian community. so right now, i see it as my job to be active in bringing that community to fruition. it has been my mission, as of late, to try to be the most edifying person i can be. i want to build up my brothers and sisters in a loving Christian community. this means a lot of things, but here are some specific things i've been working on:
1. stop complaining. to quote the Darjeeling limited “we’ll stop feeling sorry for ourselves, it’s not very attractive”. no one wants to hear me complain, and it doesn’t do any good to me or anyone else. i am a whiner, so this has been difficult.
2. be in prayer for my friends, and remind them of it. i am very careful not to be someone who forgets a friends’ prayer requests. it has always been very comforting to me when someone tells me that they have been praying for me.
3. speak encouraging words. negativity is a disease and a tool of satan.
4. be available. i want my friends to know that they have a support system. i want to be a person that helps people with what they need. a Christian should never feel scared, alone, or overwhelmed in any situation, because their brothers and sisters should be there to help them.
5. read the word of God often. what better way to learn how to love our neighbor? i once had a pastor tell me, “why would you limit your reading of the Bible to just once a day?” this was a very important concept for me to understand because for many years of my life, i had a goal of getting to a place where i was reading the Bible everyday. but why would we, as followers of Christ, limit ourselves in that way? on this note, i have also been praying consistently for God to give me passion to do His work. passion is something i feel many of us Christians are lacking (see Acts 4, it inspires me).
all this being said, feel free to tell me to stop whining, give a prayer request, or ask for help. i wish that i naturally had a the heart of a servant, but the truth is that i am selfish, and i want to help myself before i even want to think about helping my neighbor. it is only by the grace of God that i can love sacrificially. the Bible tells us that “they will know we are Christians by our love”, and if we can’t love each other, how will we ever learn to love our enemies? that’s the next task ahead…
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to help me get in the habit of reading the bible often, i read it when i'm eating lunch or having a snack, because my bible is big and heavy and stays open by itself.
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