Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Forgetting to give back - the legalistic pastime.

2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

It works in power plants and it SHOULD work in our life.  What goes in must come out.  If 1000 gallons per minute is drawn from a tank by a pump, the process can only continue if that 1000 gallons per minute has somehwhere to go.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that if we are comforted by the Lord, then we in turn should comfort others.  This implies that the optimal comfort for anyone involved in suffering comes from God AND from those closest to them.

Unfortunately, when we've had trouble in our life, we've received comfort, and then many times, we have failed to look for and comfort others who encounter similar situations.  When this occurs, we quickly forgot that we had the problem, and then we may judge others with the very same problem as being weak, incompetent, or lazy.

Unless there's a steady stream of love emanating from us that equals the amount of love we receive from the Lord, we became self-righteous blowhards spouting legalism at every turn.  You don't have to look far to see this phenomenon, just pick about any church in America that is stagnant and inwardly focused and that is what you will get.

My advice to you is three-fold.  First, exercise your Christian faith enough to encounter some troubles.  Second, joyfully receive the comfort of the Lord and the comfort of others.  Finally, be another one's comforter and not their judge.  This is how God's glory is displayed for all to see.  Have a great day!

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