A few Sundays ago, our church began a new series focusing on 1 John. It is scheduled to continue until just before Easter. The series is entitled “Go in Love, Be a Light.” Furthermore, I had seen a book recommendation on social media that interested me, and a few weeks ago I downloaded it.
I Needed This.
I had become more anxious and angry (again). Same thing: the trigger is the behavior and choices of others. I am very sick of COVID 19 and do believe that the primary blame for my feelings should belong with the pandemic, to keep me emotionally healthy and better able to live by the axiom: “You can’t change others, but you can change how you respond to them.” But then … back down the rabbit hole I go! Both the worship series and the book helped me to get back on the path where I belonged.
Troubling Times.
Chit and chat about this and that. Anecdotal stories containing partial or misinformation. Digging in to decisions made a year ago, and then digging in deeper no matter what has evolved. Watching others suffer because we are still in the middle if this D*&% pandemic. And then I overthink about the causes, and right back into anger mode is where I go … realizing that this is based on MY perceptions, opinions, and thoughts based upon what I CHOOSE to think.
A few weeks ago, one of my daughters in law lost her mother, who was in ICU after suffering a massive heart attack. My daughter in law was not able to be with her until the last few hours of her life. Her father, who was heartbroken, was able to be with his wife for a few hours one afternoon, and then with her at the end. The rest of the time, her mother was not able to have family with her with the exception of a brief FaceTime session along with her doctor. Listening to my daughter in law recount her story enabled us to see first-hand the consequences of an overwhelmed medical system due to too many people currently hospitalized with COVID … the majority of which are unvaccinated.
Then there were a few frustrating conversations with people that are making decisions based on their unvaccinated status, and blaming outside forces for these decisions, or based on misleading stories by non-doctors. But most of all … it was some good, kind God-loving people that consider it their God-given right to choose, no matter what … choosing what is taught in schools, and choosing whether or not COVID protocols and mandates set by our state need to be followed at the moment. It just sort of piled up on me.
Individualism VS the Common Good
First, the book ….
The book that I am reading, titled When Everything’s on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes by Brian Zahnd, makes a few points that resonated with me:
- My foundation for my faith is my own experience with the risen Christ.
- Church is the gathered COMMUNITY of the baptized who confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that Jesus is the way and the truth.
- Christianity is the RELIGION of beliefs and practices about Jesus Christ developed by the church.
- I can see how there has been a failure by many to make critical distinctions between Christ, the Church, and the Community … in particular, conflating a relationship with Jesus and the Religion of Christianity.
So … my takeaway from the book so far (which I haven’t finished yet) … is that I need to be careful to not let the Religion of Christianity, and the individual beliefs and practices of others, affect or distance me from my Walk with Jesus and what that means. What would Jesus do? What would He think?
And then, the Worship Series …. the Love and the Light
The first five verses of 1 John:
- Show no toleration of sin by owning your own!
- A quinones (closeness with God) is not possible when in darkness. Darkness is selfishness.
- God is bigger and “me is smaller.”
- When we have the “light” we have fellowship with Jesus. Be persistent in this~
- Jesus is the personification of that light!
It’s not about perfection … but rather, persistence. There are amazing stories and “word pictures” throughout this small Book.
My takeaway from this message:
I so needed to review these fundamental truths and I am blessed by this study of 1 John. I’ll continue to work on not going near the darkness. But if I do, Jesus will be there to pick me up, listen to my confessions, and get me back on the path!
Listen to the message “The Blame Game” by Pastor Kip McCormick.
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