If you know me in person, you'll know that I am an enthusiastic fan of social media. While we all know there are pitfalls, discerning use of the tool also creates unlimited opportunities for connection and promotion of the Gospel. It has been the means of my own re-connection with family across the globe, as well as a vehicle for support during an isolating time in my life.
As of late, the shadow side of such connection has begun rearing its ugly head. With all the news, fake and legitimate, available to us on a 24-hour loop, it is possible to become so embroiled in the terror and heartache and dysfunction of the world that we begin to lose hope.
I have a "fixer" disposition. Where I see injustice, I want to level the field. Where I see pain, I want to bring healing. When I cannot do these things, I begin to spiral into helplessness and despair. How could we possibly fix all that is wrong in the world? How can I create a just world for my children when there is so much in need of correction? It is possible that my need to fix all the things leads me to forget that I am not the Savior. My impatience to see a just end leads me to forget that He has promised to make straight the path in His time -- not mine.
Copyright 2018 Rakhi McCormick. All rights reserved.[/caption]
With the desire to make right all that is wrong with the world, I forget that He has given me one task. Love. Love God. Love neighbor. Love. I do not have control over all the woes of the world. I can, however, commit myself to loving those who God has placed in my path. I can show them the mercy of Christ. I can offer hospitality to give them a safe place to land just as they are. I can extend kindness and grace to help them grow into who God has created them to be. I can be the face and arms and voice of encouragement and acknowledge that this person I am encountering -- however rough around the edges, whatever their life story, no matter the color of their skin -- is also created in the image and likeness of the Creator of the Universe.
If we can each make the people who ARE in our sphere of influence feel that they are loved and valuable and worthy of Love Himself, how different might this world look? If we came from a mindset that there is enough to go around -- that by lifting another up we are not losing anything of ours -- how might we transform our world? If we began to work through our fear -- of loss, of harm, of uncertainty -- into a place of radical trust in the Lord, how much life would He breathe into our souls?
I can dream of all the ways I would like to fix all the things, but the only thing I have control over is what God has placed in my path. All I can do in this life is choose to love better, or I risk falling into despair. When it seems like the world has gone mad, I know I have two choices: love or perish.
Copyright 2018 Rakhi McCormick
Copyright 2018 Rakhi McCormick. All rights reserved.[/caption]
With the desire to make right all that is wrong with the world, I forget that He has given me one task. Love. Love God. Love neighbor. Love. I do not have control over all the woes of the world. I can, however, commit myself to loving those who God has placed in my path. I can show them the mercy of Christ. I can offer hospitality to give them a safe place to land just as they are. I can extend kindness and grace to help them grow into who God has created them to be. I can be the face and arms and voice of encouragement and acknowledge that this person I am encountering -- however rough around the edges, whatever their life story, no matter the color of their skin -- is also created in the image and likeness of the Creator of the Universe.
If we can each make the people who ARE in our sphere of influence feel that they are loved and valuable and worthy of Love Himself, how different might this world look? If we came from a mindset that there is enough to go around -- that by lifting another up we are not losing anything of ours -- how might we transform our world? If we began to work through our fear -- of loss, of harm, of uncertainty -- into a place of radical trust in the Lord, how much life would He breathe into our souls?
I can dream of all the ways I would like to fix all the things, but the only thing I have control over is what God has placed in my path. All I can do in this life is choose to love better, or I risk falling into despair. When it seems like the world has gone mad, I know I have two choices: love or perish.
What are some concrete ways we can extend the love of God to the people He sends our way?
Copyright 2018 Rakhi McCormick
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