Charisa Stories

Tag: romans 12

  • Want to Represent Your Faith Effectively?

    Regular consumers of my humble ramblings (bless your hearts) know that I often find spiritual application from song lyrics both secular and sacred. Blame it on faulty brain wiring at the factory. This week I heard a snippet from Carly Simon’s haunting ballad “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” that triggered today’s musing. The song talks about the ideal of marriage. Her partner wants to marry and is convinced their union will make their relationship different. The lyrical response hit my heart.

    You say we can keep our love alive
    Babe – all I know is what I see –

    She had seen too many marriages start with fairy tale dreams and end in sorrow. That sad topic is another blog. What hit me on this day was how that principle of believing only what you see is how we, as followers of Jesus, can impact non-believers. We tell people we have good news. We tell people we have an eternal hope. We tell people they need this Jesus we talk about. But what hurts my heart is that too many people echo Carly Simon’s response.

    All I know is what I see

    I began my book When Bad Christians Happen to Good People with this quote from Brennan Manning.

    “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

    Ouch.

    If my friends, family, and workmates don’t see anything different in my life then why should they listen? Wait..don’t leave me yet! I am not talking about legalistic sin management and self-righteous “good” behavior. I am talking about unvarnished honesty about the radical grace of Jesus. What if I lived that kind of grace?

    What if I showed them grace that frees me to admit my shortcomings without shame and self-loathing? What if I demonstrated  grace that gives me the courage to be vulnerable and let them see who I really am? What if I let them know I am a total train wreck that needs that grace every moment of everyday? What if I lived out of grace that compels me to run to hurting souls instead of retreating to a safe distance to observe and hope it all works out okay?

    What if I quit agonizing about the uncertainty in the world and started sharing my belief that God is in control and He will always be with me? What if I genuinely showed gratitude for the small things as well as the big ones? What if I was consistently kind even when that action was inconvenient? What if I led instead of lamented about racial and other injustices? What if I acknowledged how much Jesus loves me by allowing that love to flow to others? What if I shared that this relationship with Jesus isn’t based on performance or merit but 100 percent on His unmerited Grace? What if I lived like God loves me on my worst day exactly the same as He loves me on my best day? What if I had this honest passage from Paul memorized and remembered it on the way out the door everyday?

    “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!”
    ‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

    Famous theologian D.L.Moody wrote that “Out of 100 men, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.”

    That thought would be completely overwhelming if I tried to do it on my own. But thank God I don’t have to attempt that unassisted. Jesus promised to be with me and is there anyone better to have your back?

    Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. (Ephesians 3:17, NLT)

    If I believe that I would guess this little light of mine would burn a few watts brighter. And maybe some skeptics would be willing to listen.

  • 2 Easy Ways You Can Be A Light In This Dark World

    2 Easy Ways You Can Be A Light In This Dark World

    A recent behavioral study reinforced something I have emphasized in my own journey. The power of simply reaching out and checking in with others is stunningly underrated as a way to love one another.

    An article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology detailed how people react when others reach out to them. The authors seemed a bit surprised by their results.

    We kept finding that people underestimated how much their reach-outs were appreciated. We also found that one reason this underestimation of appreciation occurs is that people do not think enough about how positively surprised others feel upon being reached out to. The role of surprise is important. We found that the one situation in which people do not underestimate how much others appreciate being reached out is when the reach-out occurs in an unsurprising context. For example, if someone is expecting you to reach-out to them, then you are pretty well calibrated to how much they will actually appreciate you reaching out to them. Thus, it’s really these unexpected reach-outs that people appreciate much more than we expect.

    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, July 2022, American Psychological Association (APA)

    The pandemic made this simple gesture even more critical for our emotional and spiritual health. Relationships suffered as isolation became the sad new normal. Friends parted over disagreements about proper Covid protocol and politics. I have seen long time relationships shattered over these issues.

    When I realize how frustrated I get over selfish and immature behavior by believers it magnifies the incomprehensible amount of grace and patience that God grants us every single day. He never gives up on His Children.

    I saw people who had been loved and nurtured in a church community for years leave over mask disputes. Are you kidding me? Maybe reading, rereading, and then rereading one more time these words from Paul would be a starting point before leaving a community of believers over politics.

    Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! (Romans 12:9-16, NLT)

    So how can we be a light in this increasingly damaged and dark culture? I rarely use Diana Ross lyrics as a spiritual behavior launching point but these words are powerful and needed.

    Reach out and touch
    Somebody’s hand
    Make this world a better place
    If you can
    (Just try)
    Take a little time out of your busy day
    To give encouragement

    I have made it a priority when someone comes to mind to let them know I am thinking about them. I reach out to them by texting or calling to let them know they are on my heart and I am praying for them. I have realized as a Christian that people coming to mind is usually not random. They are planted in my heart by the Spirit. It is remarkable how many times that person will respond with a comment like this.

    “Wow. I can’t believe you reached out at this moment. I really needed that encouragement right now.”

    I makes me wonder how many of those moments I have missed when I was all wrapped up in me. When someone comes to mind consider it a potentially sacred moment to encourage that person.

    When someone comes to mind let them know. Encourage them. Reach out with a word of affirmation and a promise of prayer. The other thing I am realizing more and more is that followers of Jesus have something that is in desperately short supply in this culture. I have a lot of friends who don’t share my faith who are kind. Many are loving (at least to those they agree with).

    But there is one word that seems to be missing for most of my friends who don’t have faith in God.

    Hope.

    Why is that word so important? Just a few reasons why.

    Washington D.C. is a train wreck? I will do my part to be a concerned citizen but my hope is in God for my future.

    Our country is increasingly more dangerous? I will be smart but my hope is in God for my protection.

    The economy is volatile? My hope is in my God who always provides.

    Concerned about the cultural influences on family and friends? My hope is in God to help me create an environment of grace, truth, and love that will encourage honest conversations about the things that truly matter.

    I have great hope as I write this and I want to share that hope with others.

    Let’s review the 2 easy ways to be a light.

    1. Reach out and let others know you care.
    2. Share the hope that you have in Christ.

    You don’t have to be a theologian or a brilliant apologist to do those two simple things. You just have to care about and love others.