Do you ever have the feeling of "why me?" We can all feel like we are set apart in what is expected of us. For me, it is in food. Why do I have to eat differently than everyone else? Why can't I indulge by eating just one cookie? But it can be in other things as well. We can all look around us and ask ourselves those seemingly simple question, but often if we are honest with ourselves, those questions are the ones that haunt us within every detail of our lives. It is very easy to carry this thought and place others under our own restrictions. We can look at them and hold others to our same standards. Easy example is food. Because of my mothers diligent study in the dietary arena, I know more than I ever wanted to about food and how eating affects our health. (Doug Kaufman is somewhere you should look if you are interested in why we often suffer.) Anyway, because of my health and what I now know, I can watch my husband eat and know when he is not going to feel well the in the next couple of days. When this does happen and I prove right, it is very hard for me to not hold it against him for how he partook in certain foods prior to him getting ill (migraine, fatigued, ect.). We all do this on some level. We often hold others accountable to our standard and knowledge.
Acts 15, Their peace was disturbed, however, when certain Judeans came with this teaching: “Unless you are circumcised according to Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved.” The placing of rules and customs upon others is so easily done. There are so many rules we hold upon others that keep them from ever seeing the goodness of God. Why do we do this? It is so hard to look at others and Not go there. We expect them to keep the same rules we hold. "...God knows the human heart, and He showed approval of their hearts by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did for us. In cleansing their hearts by faith, God has made no distinction between them and us. So it makes no sense to me that some of you are testing God by burdening His disciples with a load that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to carry. No, we all believe that we will be liberated through the grace of the Lord Jesus—they also will be rescued in the same way."
What does God have that we don't? Patience. We don't think that we, or they, have time, so we aren't patient. Often we we heap rules upon others because we know the outcome of their choices. But, why do we try to "protect" them from that end result? Don't we trust God enough to allow Him to deal with their heart? Don't we know Him and how he has taken care of us, then why would He not take care of them?
This thought about expectations takes a spin in the every next chapter, Acts 16. "...but there was a problem: although Timothy’s mother was a believing Jew, his father was Greek, which meant Timothy was uncircumcised. Because the Jewish people of those cities knew he was the son of a Greek man, Paul felt it would be best for Timothy to be circumcised before proceeding." Why when he just scolded the Jewish leaders for putting this burden on others, does he now put it on Timothy? It is expectations! What were the expectations of Timothy? Why would he be held to a more rigid standard? What was his goal in all of this?
For many are not called to be teachers. Not everyone is held to the same standard. Some know God, they have faith, but they are not ever going to be in the spotlight as God's emissaries. What does this mean for you and for me? I am constantly reevaluating my role in God's service. The whole "why me" thought takes a backseat to what I really want for my life. I want to be a ambassador for Christ. I want others to be able to see my life and see a life worthy of the calling, so why do I go there. Why do I ever feel sorry for myself and why would I hold others to the same standards? Often it is because I loose focus. If I keep my eyes upon my Lord and my relationship with Him as my focal point, I won't be swept up in the judgement and drama of others.
How does drama enter into my life? It is never about me, but in me focusing on others. I start pointing my finger at them and seeing what they are or are not doing. I forget that what is expected of one may be different from what is expected in another. It doesn't mean that anyone is better than the other, but that we each have our own calling and role to play in this life. There are only two rules we need to keep, all of us regardless of our calling.
"You should love the Eternal, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second great commandment is this: 'Love others in the same way you love yourself.' There are no commandments more important than these."
No matter what our role is to be in this life, are we living our life in fulfillment of these commandments? How are we doing here? Its Not about others, but about ourselves. This is the hardest thing to focus on.
Liberty and the Standards of Jesus, this was yesterdays Oswald. Last night at LIVE we discovered that we shouldn't hold our own standards upon others. We each have a calling. Can we focus on God and ourselves?
