One of the joys and burdens of our image driven, cameras in our hands every second of the day, more social media platforms than we know what to do with is that that we have access to post to the entire world anything and everything that is happening in our lives. This can bring us a lot of joy as we get to celebrate with friends and family the joys and incredible moments of life together even if we are thousands of miles away from one another. It can also create this nagging burden that we are constantly feeling the cultural pressure to display to the world perfect lives, perfect marriages, perfect kids, perfect bodies, perfect vacations, etc…
This blessing and burden forced me to ask a very simple question recently – When it’s all said and done, how do I really want to present myself to others and more importantly, how does Jesus want me to present my life to those closest to me and others that I will encounter in life?
The apostle Paul writes these words in COLOSSIANS 3 (THE MESSAGE)
12-14 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
Regardless of what else you put on, wear love… Never be without it!
Paul Miller, a wonderful writer says this:
“Love means losing control of our schedule, our money, and our time. When we love we cease to be the master and become a servant. To love it means that during the day your eyes are on others”
To love – it means during the day… your eyes are on… others!
IMAGINE THIS for a minute…
Years ago a missionary to the Philippines summarized the entire program of Jesus this way:
“The simple program of Christ for winning the whole world is to make each person he touches magnetic enough with love to draw others.”
As you and I consider the chaos and craziness of raising children, managing hectic and demanding work schedules, and feeling the pressure to present to the world our perfect little lives and perfect little moments, let us pause and be thankful that we truly can be freed from that pressure and can wear the risk-taking, life-altering, subversive wardrobe of love!
When we love, we cease to be the master and become a servant.
When we love, we gladly surrender control of our lives.
When we love, we consider others as more important than ourselves.
We can’t “will-power” ourselves into a wardrobe like this.
We can’t squeeze ourselves to fit into this outfit!
But we can look at Jesus, we can fix our eyes on Him, we can remind ourselves that this is exactly how He has loved us and in response to His extravagant love, we too can wear this new wardrobe!
God bless,
Ryan Snow
How often we fail in the recognition that Jesus was attendant first, not to the “things” of God, but to God Himself. We often falsely believe ourselves consigned to be mere emulators of Jesus rather than being the full participants in His sonship, gained for us by His death and resurrection. If we can ever hope to have a true image of ourselves here on earth, the one our Father sees and which we each hope to take into Heaven with us, we will seek always to look upon the countenance and into the eyes of our Father as Jesus never ceased to do in His life and as He does now and will forever.