For those of you who have read my blog in the past, you know that I don't mind going after religious mindsets. I mean...I love to see them broken. Whenever I'm able to help someone come out of that into true freedom in Christ - it exhilarates me. With that being said, I discovered something about myself this past week. I realized how easy it was for me to judge people based upon their "lack" of freedom rather than seeing where a particular person was in their journey. My judgement would lead me to criticism rather than love. Through this discovery I realized that my judgment and criticism of others was more defining of where I was in my journey rather than where they were in theirs. OUCH!
I'm sure that I will still go after religious mindsets. I just want to be sure that people understand that I'm not going after them. In my relentless pursuit of relationship with Jesus over religious mindsets I have found myself pounding on people rather than pouring into their lives. When they couldn't grasp what I was after, I could easily categorize them as "religious". And what I have seen in myself is that I was doing to many of them what they were doing to me (or "vice versa") - I was labeling. When I became aware of this my heart was immediately softened to see the people that I was hurting rather than helping. I realized was creating animosity rather than relationships built upon love. I was creating division rather than unity.
What did I miss in all of this? How was it possible to create something that wasn't in my heart? While I do not have all the answers to these questions, I think I have discovered what was lacking: HUMILITY. I had honestly forgotten what it was like to approach my relationship with God from a religious mindset. I forgot how difficult it was for me to embrace the same message that I now share with others. I forgot to respect the journey that each of us are on in our relationship with God and how we are all in different places. It was a hard lesson to swallow but a valuable one nonetheless.
When we learn how to clothe ourselves with humility toward one another, we can achieve so much more in our relationships. Humility allows us to love unconditionally, forgive frequently, and work through anything. It will allow us to see people based upon who they are in Christ rather than labeling them through their actions. It will help us to respect each other's journey with the Lord. While I may not do the same things they do, I recognize that this is where they are in the walk. We may dress differently when we go to church, we may believe some different things as it relates to godliness/holiness, and we may view worship through a different lens but most of it is due to where we are in the relationship.
Think about your own life. What are some areas of your belief system where you have grown? Are any of these areas ideas that you once refuted? Have you found yourself on the other side of the issue wondering how in the world you ever believed "that"? If you have answered "YES" to any of these questions then you are now on the road to seeing other people in their journey with the Lord. Their spiritual development must go through many of the same processes that yours had to go through. They will have to wrestle with their own questions. What we cannot do is become critical of them. They should find in us a safe place to discuss, ask questions, and maybe even debate. All the while keeping our love on them. Never allowing judgment or criticism to enter our thinking. Clothing ourselves in humility.
These are the types of relationships that I'm after. I hope to one day get to a place where judgment of others cannot even enter into my mind. I long to be clothed with humility, seasoned in the grace of God, and walking in the love of God with everyone. I want them to experience Christ in and through me. Do I believe it's possible? I most definitely do believe it's possible. I see it in the life of Jesus. I see it in the person of God: "...He gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'" {James 4:6} We can do this because in Christ all things are possible.
Let's enjoy the journey AND respect the journey of others.
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